Here we go with the first round of Free Money Finance March Money Madness (if you wonder what's going on in these posts, see my article announcing March Money Madness and/or click on my March Money 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 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 -- you will help determine the winner! Criteria for the best article is somewhat subjective, but you can use these factors as a guide: 1) practicality of the post 2) how interesting/provocative/unique it is, 3) the "personal-ness" of it and 4) its impact on net worth.
Here are today's games:
GAME 15
- Mortgage Payoff: Lump Sum or Monthly (Payoff) - My wife and I considered putting every last cent toward our second mortgage to pay it off. We were going to forgo saving for other things like retirement and car repairs to do so. I ran the math on what the difference in interest costs would be if we threw everything we had at the mortgage.
VERSUS
- The $100 Scratch Off Lottery Project (Lottery) - I LOVE lottery tickets, but I know financially it may not be the smartest thing to buy. So one day I decided to play a game that was ridiculously stupid, but also fun, exciting, and rewarding all mixed into one! I would buy 100 scratch off lottery tickets and report back my findings - the good, the bad, and the ugly - with the winnings going straight to charity. And as it turned out, I learned a lot more than just a few mathematical odds.
GAME 16
- Where To Find Other Sources Of Income (Sources) - Once you've cut many of your expenses, the only other way to have additional money for savings is to increase your income. These 5 tips are some of the quickest ways to add new sources of income!
VERSUS
- How To Negotiate With Wireless Carriers (Carriers) - Do you hate paying too much for your cell phone plan? Do you know that the wireless companies are ripping us off (20 cents for a text message! The actual cost to them is $0.00.) but don't know what to do about it? I've negotiated with every major wireless company with amazing success, and here is a taste of what I do and just how much you can save ($30+ a month) with a simple phone call.
Lottery
Sources
Posted by: Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog | February 03, 2010 at 10:15 AM
Lottery
Sources
:)
Posted by: J. Money | February 03, 2010 at 11:13 AM
Payoff
Sources
Posted by: Peter | February 03, 2010 at 11:15 AM
Payoff
Sources
Posted by: FFB | February 03, 2010 at 11:30 AM
Payoff
Sources
Posted by: MoneyEnergy | February 03, 2010 at 11:41 AM
Lottery
Sources
Posted by: Miranda | February 03, 2010 at 11:44 AM
Payoff
Sources
Posted by: Patrick | February 03, 2010 at 11:47 AM
Payoff
Sources
Posted by: Aaron @ Clarifinancial | February 03, 2010 at 11:50 AM
Payoff
Sources
Posted by: craig | February 03, 2010 at 11:52 AM
LOTTO
Posted by: David Damron - LifeExcursion | February 03, 2010 at 12:14 PM
Lottery
Sources
Posted by: Amanda | February 03, 2010 at 12:31 PM
Lottery
Carriers
Posted by: Jason | February 03, 2010 at 01:04 PM
Lottery
Sources
Posted by: Jeff | February 03, 2010 at 01:20 PM
Payoff
Carriers
Posted by: Mark | February 03, 2010 at 01:36 PM
Sources, most definately!
Posted by: Kevin@OutOfYourRut | February 03, 2010 at 01:40 PM
payoff
carriers
Posted by: texashaze | February 03, 2010 at 01:56 PM
Lottery
Carriers
Posted by: Christy | February 03, 2010 at 02:13 PM
Game 15 - Lottery
Game 16 - Carriers
Posted by: Crystal | February 03, 2010 at 03:06 PM
Game 14 - Is a PUSH (I love both bloggers and both articles are awesome so I'm not committal.)
Game 15 - Sources
Posted by: Matt Jabs | February 03, 2010 at 04:04 PM
Lottery
Carriers
Posted by: twitter.com/centsiblelife | February 03, 2010 at 04:22 PM
Sources
Posted by: Gordon | February 03, 2010 at 04:29 PM
lottery
sources
Posted by: MD @ Studenomics | February 03, 2010 at 04:34 PM
Payoff
Sources
Posted by: Paul | February 03, 2010 at 04:57 PM
Lottery
Sources
Posted by: Ray @ Financial Highway | February 03, 2010 at 06:20 PM
Lottery
Carriers
Posted by: DanielPacker | February 03, 2010 at 06:44 PM
lottery and carriers
Posted by: Shira Burcat | February 03, 2010 at 07:36 PM
Payoff
Carriers
Posted by: Ben Franklin | February 03, 2010 at 07:36 PM
payoff and carriers
Posted by: Masha | February 03, 2010 at 07:42 PM
Carriers
Posted by: Packer smells | February 03, 2010 at 07:44 PM
Payoff and carriers
Posted by: Roksana | February 03, 2010 at 07:46 PM
payoff and carriers
Posted by: Anon | February 03, 2010 at 07:46 PM
Carriers and Lottery
Posted by: Lbergs | February 03, 2010 at 07:49 PM
lottery and carriers
Posted by: Sara | February 03, 2010 at 07:52 PM
payoff and carriers
Posted by: shmukkums@aim.com | February 03, 2010 at 07:53 PM
Carriers and lottery
Posted by: JG | February 03, 2010 at 07:56 PM
payoff
CARRIERS
Posted by: competative packer | February 03, 2010 at 09:06 PM
Payoff
Sources
Posted by: ctreit | February 03, 2010 at 10:10 PM
Carriers
Posted by: mark | February 03, 2010 at 10:36 PM
lottery
sources
Posted by: Frank | February 03, 2010 at 11:51 PM
Lotteries
Carriers
Posted by: LeanLifeCoach | February 03, 2010 at 11:55 PM
payoff
sources
Posted by: Jeff | February 04, 2010 at 12:02 AM
I'll go for Lottery and Sources as well!
Posted by: Financial Samurai | February 04, 2010 at 01:23 AM
Lottery
Sources
Posted by: Mandy | February 04, 2010 at 01:23 AM
Sources!
Posted by: youngandthrifty | February 04, 2010 at 01:26 AM
I'll go for sources and then lottery
Posted by: finance | February 04, 2010 at 02:19 AM
lottery, sources
Posted by: mxlplsk | February 04, 2010 at 03:24 AM
carriers, lottery
Posted by: Avi | February 04, 2010 at 05:48 AM
carriers and payoff
Posted by: Zak | February 04, 2010 at 05:50 AM
carriers and payoff
Posted by: Matt | February 04, 2010 at 05:54 AM
Payoff
Sources
Posted by: Wojciech Kulicki | February 04, 2010 at 07:16 AM