Here's the second round of Free Money Finance March Madness (if you wonder what's going on in these posts, see my article announcing March Madness and/or click on my March Madness category link and scroll down to read all the posts involved in this subject.) I've listed each "game" (one post versus another) in segments along with the wording provided by the author when the post was submitted. I've also listed a keyword(s) after each post title to make it easy to vote (as a made-up example, you can just comment: Game 1 - Saving; Game 2 - Investing, etc.) Be sure to comment which one you like the best out of each set of two. Here we go:
GAME 9
- Achieving Financial Freedom - I've Retired In My Forties (Forties) - The holy grail of personal finance is retiring in one's forties or earlier. Getting here was a combination of preparation, planning, lots of hard work, perseverance, some sacrifice and a little luck.
VERSUS
- 8 Lessons I Learned From The Cheapest Family In The Nation (Lessons) - This post was the single most popular post I wrote last year. It garnered a huge response on the net and a lot of discussion to boot. I think it's a great and inspiring look at a real-life family's frugality. The Economides family proves that with teamwork, strategy and determination, we can all live below our means and live well with less.
GAME 10
- Travel the World Cheaply, Without Dying - A Complete Guide (Travel) - Death. It's not the goal of most vacations, but it was a fate I barely escaped while abroad. To save you from the same, I compiled a (hopefully) witty and comprehensive guide to traveling frugally. Without dying.
VERSUS
- In Defense of Personal Finance Bloggers (Defense) - I got riled up by a couple of readers who seemed to think that personal finance bloggers pinch every penny, constantly worry about money, and never have any fun. I wrote this article barely a month after I started blogging, but it seemed to have strike a chord with several bloggers. For the record, PF bloggers write about retirement and savings because they enjoy writing, they enjoy the subject, they want to help people, and people want to read about those subjects!




Forties
Defense
Posted by: Livingalmostlarge | March 10, 2008 at 03:19 PM
Lessons
Defense
Posted by: Finance Girl | March 10, 2008 at 03:50 PM
Lessons
Travel
Posted by: CBaker | March 10, 2008 at 04:04 PM
Forties
Defense
Posted by: Ken | March 10, 2008 at 04:17 PM
1. Forties
2. defense
Posted by: Matt | March 10, 2008 at 04:40 PM
Lessons
Travel
Posted by: Jon | March 10, 2008 at 04:45 PM
Game 9: Forties
Game 10: Travel
Posted by: Jeffrey | March 10, 2008 at 06:53 PM
lessons
travel
Posted by: Julie | March 10, 2008 at 07:20 PM
Game 9 - Lessons
Game 10 - Travel
Posted by: Beth | March 10, 2008 at 07:55 PM
Lessons
Travel
Posted by: Pri | March 10, 2008 at 08:07 PM
Lessons
Travel
Posted by: Dan Swadley | March 10, 2008 at 08:13 PM
Lessons
Defense
Posted by: paidtwice | March 10, 2008 at 09:37 PM
Forties
Travel
Posted by: kentuckyliz | March 10, 2008 at 10:12 PM
Lessons
Defense
Posted by: Lily | March 10, 2008 at 10:16 PM
40s
Travel
Posted by: Jessica | March 11, 2008 at 10:49 AM
Forties
Travel
Posted by: Super Saver | March 11, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Lessons
Defense
Posted by: Dave Bartlett | March 11, 2008 at 08:45 PM
Lessons
Travel
Posted by: Penny Nickel | March 11, 2008 at 10:36 PM
9: Lessons
10: Defense
Posted by: Eric | March 12, 2008 at 10:20 AM
Voting for this round is now over. Winners are:
9 - Lessons
10 - Travel
Posted by: FMF | March 12, 2008 at 03:38 PM