Free Money Finance March Madness, Round 3, Posts 9-16

We continue with the third 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. Be sure to comment which one you like the best out of each set of two as commenters have the chance to win a free book. Here we go:

GAME 5

• Avoid 10 Common Debt Reduction Mistakes - If you've decided to get out of debt, that is awesome!  But, be careful.  Read this post so that you can avoid some common mistakes.

VERSUS

• Thinking of Emergency Funds as Insurance - Thinking of Emergency Funds as Insurance is about the importance of changing the way we look at certain financial obligations.  By thinking of an emergency fund as "rainy day insurance" and then thinking of the monthly contribution as an "insurance bill" it is easier to justify to oneself the necessity of an emergency fund.

GAME 6

• Why Aren't We All Wealthy (Yet)? - If PF bloggers are so knowledgeable, why aren't we all wealthy?   After all, most of the principles are simple, timeless, and can be done by the majority of people.  Here's my take on the age-old question.  Only one group will likely make it.  The other three groups will try valiantly ... and likely fail.

VERSUS

• How To Invest With Only $100 - I was turning up the creativity bone on this particular post where I recommend ways someone with $100 could increase that to over a $1000 by taking advantage of referral bonuses from banks like ING and Bank of America and signup bonuses from Sharebuilder and the like. It was picked up by Lifehacker and quite popular with readers.

GAME 7

• 12 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Retirement Savings Plan - While most people take part in some sort of retirement savings that doesn't mean everything is just fine. There are twelve common mistakes that people make that can actually hinder their results. This list outlines the most common mistakes that everyone should avoid.

VERSUS

• Solving Customer Service Problems - This is a post that I'm really quite proud of. Helpful and to the point. If you're tired of getting walked on by companies with which you do business, then this post is for you.

GAME 8

• Why Dave Ramsey's "Drive Free" Theory May Be Flawed - When financial gurus speak, most people usually follow them blindly. Sometimes, for our own benefit, it is essential that we dissect their ideas to see if they really make sense. In this spirit, this post attempts to critically analyze Dave Ramsey's Drive Free theory on practical grounds.

VERSUS

• Reasons why you should not save for retirement - I think this post hits home with a lot of people and hopefully opens up their eyes that just because you can come up with an excuse does not mean that you should just go ahead and throw away your retirement dreams.  Well all have our problems\issues\dilemmas as to why we haven't started saving for retirement, but there really is no excuse for not starting right this very second.

Comments

[Daisy]

5. Avoid 10 Common Debt Reduction Mistakes
6. How to Invest
7. Solving Customer Service Problems
8. Dave Ramsey

[y0mbo]

5. Thinking of Emergency Funds as Insurance
6. How To Invest With Only $100
7. 12 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Retirement Savings Plan
8. Reasons why you should not save for retirement.

[raising4boys.com]

Avoid 10 Common Debt Reduction Mistakes

How To Invest With Only $100

Solving Customer Service Problems

Reasons why you should not save for retirement

[Henry]

5. Thinking of emergency funds
6. How to invest with $100
7. 12 mistakes to avoid
8. Dave Ramsey's drive free theory

[Nick]

5. Avoid 10 Common Debt Reduction Mistakes
6. Why Aren't We All Wealthy (Yet)?
7. 12 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Retirement Savings Plan
8. Reasons why you should not save for retirement

[Super Saver]

5. Emergency Funds
6. Wealthy
7. Retirement
8. Dave Ramsey

[ispf]

5. Avoid 10 Common Debt Reduction Mistakes
6. How to invest with $100
7. 12 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Retirement Savings Plan
8. Why Dave Ramsey's "Drive Free" Theory May Be Flawed

[The Digerati Life]

Game 5: Avoid 10 Common Debt reduction mistakes
Game 8: Dave Ramsey's Drive Free

All else, draw.

[shaw]

6. why aren't we wealthy yet?

[Golbguru]

5. Debt Reduction Mistakes
6. Why Aren't We All Wealthy
7. 12 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Retirement Savings Plan
8. Dave Ramsey's theory

[Jeff]

5. Avoid 10 Common Debt Reduction mistakes
6. Why Aren't We All Wealthy Yet
7. Solving Customer Service Problems
8. Why Dave Ramsey's "Drive Free" Theory May Be Flawed

[LivingAlmostLarge]

5. Thinking of emergency funds as insurance
6. Why aren't we wealthy yet?
7. 12 steps to avoid with your retirement
8. Dave Ramsey's Drive Free theory

[FMF]

Voting is now closed on this set of games.