Free Money Finance March Madness, Final 32, Posts 21-24

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 11

• Use the Rule of 72 to Understand Compound Interest (Compound) - Most people generally understand the concept of compound interest, knowing that over time, interest earned will begin to snowball and accumulate more rapidly. Even though it is a relatively simple concept, visualizing how it works can be more difficult. I think Albert Einstein said it best, "Compound interest is the greatest mathematical discovery of all time."

VERSUS

• The US Health Care Crisis (Health) - US Health Care is a mess.  If you look at it from your college economics text book though, it's not a big surprise.  Let's remind ourselves of those basics and use those same tools to think about how we can fix health care in the country.  You'll also see why our presidential candidates are barking up the wrong tree and, economically speaking, will probably only make things worse.

GAME 12

• 30 Days to Millionaire Money Habits (Habits) - The personal finance habits you have can accelerate or impede your ability to accumulate wealth. This is a short guide on how to create those wealthy money habits and train your mind to unconsciously and automatically accumulate more wealth.

VERSUS

• Think before you buy!  A wallet-sized reminder of your priorities (Think) - Being a thoughtful shopper is vital if you're trying to buy less and/or buy in ways that fit your values and priorities.  This post links to a ready-made credit/debit card sleeve printed with some great questions to ask yourself before you buy anything-- and is also full of suggestions and inspiration for designing your own list of questions if the existing one isn't right for you.  It's an exercise that's all about developing a mental checklist (with a physical reminder) that makes you more intentional and thoughtful about your consumption.

Comments

[CBaker]

Compound
Think

[Kristi]

FMF- Just a thought...
I love reading these March Madness articles, however, once I get into the other blogs I get distracted and then lose where I was on your blog. Is there a way you could make these links open up to a new window? That way you aren't directing people away from your own site.

[Colin]

Health Care Crisis
Think

[Matt]

1. Health
2. Habits

[Kevin]

compound
think

[paidtwice]

Compound
Habits

[Beth]

Game 11 - Compound
Game 12 - Think

[Ken]

Compound
Habits

[Super Saver]

11 Health
12 Habits

[Penny Nickel]

Compound
Think

[Jeffrey]

Game 11: Health
Game 12: Think

[Diane Eats the Elephant]

Game 11 - Compound!! Health was good, but Compound was directed to the audience better and a nicely simple way of putting the information in user-friendly form. Health made a good stab at it but still had a bit loss-of-focus in my eyes. Yet, very timely and worth the read. Both are aces!
Game 12 - Habits!!! Very simplified down to focusing your goal on one line basically; "Think" was good, but the list on the wallet card holder was too long; both had essentially the same idea, yet I think "Habits" will be the simplest at allowing follow-through and real action.

[Finance Girl]

Compound
Think

[Eric]

11: Compound
12: Habits

[kentuckyliz]

Health
Think

[FMF]

Voting for this round is over. The winners are:

11 - Compound
12 - Think