Free Money Finance March Madness, Round 1, Posts 33-40

Here we go with the first 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 17

• Zopa - It's Called Social Finance (Zopa) -  This post uncovers a new web solution to investing and borrowing. Along with informative quotes from the site the post has even been noticed by the makers of the showcased website.

VERSUS

• 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.

GAME 18

• 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.

VERSUS

• How I became financially independent in 5 years (Independent) - The first post in a series that describes how I started as a financially ignorant grad student and ended up being financially independent with enough money to retire five years later. In the series I discuss how I learned to think about money, the necessary changes in lifestyle I made, and eventually how I taught myself to invest.

GAME 19

• Save Over $350/Year on Cell Phone Service (Phone) - If you are using the cheapest cell phone plan, then you are paying too much.  Pre-paid cell phones allow you to pay only for minutes that you use instead of having them vanish every month.  By using the bonus offers and knowing how to get the best deal, you can save up to $350 per year on your cell phone bill.

VERSUS

• 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.

GAME 20

• Why I Pay Cash For A Car (Cash) - After a house, a car is generally the largest single expenditure that is made. Thus, a car is also the largest opportunity for me to reduce spending. Paying cash causes me to spend less when buying a car.

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!

Comments

[Tim]

FYI. The link for (Forties) is not working.

[Lily]

Game 17 - Neither. "Zopa" is too promotional, and "Forties" links to this error: "Sorry, the blog you were looking for does not exist."

Game 18 - Lessons
Game 19 - Travel
Game 20 - Defense

[paidtwice]

Forties (I've read the original, I am assuming it is the same)
Lessons
Phone
Defense

[FMF]

Tim --

Looks like the whole site is missing.

[FMF]

All --

The "Forties" link is fixed now.

[Tim]

Game 17 - Neither (Sorry, I agree with Lily)
Game 18 - Lessons
Game 19 - Phone (Travel was well written but not enough pf advice)
Game 20 - Defense

[Tim]

Game 17 - Please add my vote for Forties now that the link is fixed.

forties
independent
travel
cash

[Odnal]

Game 17 - Forties
Game 18 - Independent
Game 19 - Phone :)
Game 20 - Defense

[Jason]

Game 17 - Forties
Game 18 - Independent
Game 19 - Travel
Game 20 - Defense

[Jake]

Game 17 - Forties
Game 18 - Independent
Game 19 - Travel
Game 20 - Cash

[Beth]

Game 17 - Forties
Game 18 - Lessons
Game 19 - Travel
Game 20 - Defense

[Derek]

Game 17 - Zopa
Game 18 - Lessons
Game 19 - Travel
Game 20 - Defense

[Super Saver]

17 Forties
18 Lessons
19 Travel
20 Cash

[R.J.]

Game 17 - Fourties if either.
Game 18 - Lessons
Game 19 - Phone
Game 20 - Defense

[Melissa]

17 Forties
18 Lessons
19 Travel
20 Cash

[Derek Bender]

17 Zopa
18 Independent
19 Travel
20 Defense

[Christopher Neetz]

17 Zopa
18 Independent
19 Travel
20 Cash

[Elizabeth Baranik]

Game 17 - Zopa
Game 18 - Lessons
Game 19 - Phone
Game 20 - Defense

[Andy]

17: Forties
18: Independent
19: Travel
20: Defense

[Ken]

17. Forties
18. Independent
19. Travel
20. Defense

[TC]

17: Zopa
18: Lessons
19: Travel
20: Cash

[Matt]

1. Forties
2. Independent
3. Phone
4. Cash

[PT]

17. Forties
18. Independent
19. Travel
20. Defense

[Elizabeth]

Forties
Independent
Phone
Defense

[Jeffrey]

Game 17: Forties
Game 18: Independent
Game 19: Travel
Game 20: Cash

[Jane]

Game 17: Forties
Game 18: Lessons
Game 19: Travel
Game 20: Defense

[Julie]

Game 17 - Forties
Game 18 - Lessons
Game 19 - Travel
Game 20 - Defense

[Lily]

If it's not too much hassle, I change my vote in Game 17 for Forties, now that it's up.

Game 17 - Forties
Game 18 - Lessons
Game 19 - Travel
Game 20 - Defense

[Susannah]

17: forties
18: lessons
19: travel
20: defense

[Eric]

17: Zopa
18: Lessons
19: Travel
20: Cash

[moneychallenge]

17: Forties
18: Independent
19: travel
20: Defense

[Madame X]

17- Forties
18- Lessons
19- Travel
20-Cash

[Wolfgang]

17- Forties
18- Lessons
19- Phone
20- Cash

[CyanSquirrel]

Game 17 - Forties
Game 18 - Independent
Game 19 - Phone
Game 20 - Defense

[FMF]

Voting for this round has now ended. Winners are:

17 - Forties
18 - Lessons
19 - Travel
20 - Defense