Free Money Finance March Madness, Elite Eight

We're now down to the Elite Eight posts left in 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.) If you're wondering how each team made it this far, click on the link at the end of this post to download the bracket.

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 1

• Getting Rid Of Your Debt Without Worrying About The Latte Factor - This post builds a case against David Bach's concept of Latte Factor and suggests putting bigger problems higher on the list of priorities. To make things easy to understand, a hypothetical case of a person in debt is followed and the approaches are compared with respect to his debt reduction efforts.

VERSUS

• Ten Simple Ways to Cover Your Ass(ets) - Saving and investing are only part of the equation... You also have to protect the wealth that you've managed to amass, no matter how much or little that may be.

GAME 2

• 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

• 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.

GAME 3

• Teaching Kids the Value of a Dollar - I like this one because it's a perfect example of how easy it is to use everyday occurrences to teach kids about money. And guess what? It works!

VERSUS

• Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math - This is probably the most controversial post I've ever written. Love it or hate it, it has certainly gotten people fired up over repaying their debts. Nearly two years and well over 100 comments later and it's still going strong.

GAME 4

• The True Cost of Owning a Home - Not a true devil's advocate post, but certainly a biased look at home ownership and many of the costs that are ignored when someone says that buying a home is no brainer decision.

VERSUS

• Does your credit score matter? - Your credit score can affect your ability to rent a flat, the rate you get on a car loan, and can cost or save your hundreds of thousands of dollars. This post lists ways to boost your credit score, uncovers the breakdown of the score and identifies the interested parties in your credit score.

I'll leave voting up on these until noon Eastern time on Friday, March 23. Sometime Friday afternoon/evening, I'll announce the Final Four and start voting on them over the weekend until Tuesday, March 27 at 7 am Eastern time. Sometime on Tuesday, I'll announce the championship and allow voting to go on for a few days before announcing the champion.

Good luck to all!!!

Download fmf_march_madness_brackets.xls

Comments

[nickel]

Ten Simple Ways to Cover Your Ass(ets)
12 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Retirement Savings Plan
-no vote-
The True Cost of Owning a Home

[LivingAlmostLarge]

1. Getting rid of debt without the latte factor
2. 12 mistakes to avoid with your retirement plan
3. dave ramsey is bad at math - one of the most commented posts, very interesting and yet at the same time it really pulls people in
4. true cost of homeownership

[Nick]

1. Ten Simple Ways to Cover Your Ass(ets)
2. Avoid 10 Common Debt Reduction Mistakes
3. Teaching Kids the Value of a Dollar
4. The True Cost of Owning a Home

[My Financial Journey]

1. Cover your Ass(ets)
2. Avoid 10 common debt reduction mistakes
3. Teaching kids the value of a dollar
4. The True Cost of Owning a Home

[y0mbo]

1. Getting Rid Of Your Debt Without Worrying About The Latte Factor
2. 12 mistakes.
3. Teaching Kids the Value of a Dollar
4. The true cost of owning a home.

[Super Saver]

1. Latte (double OT)
2. Retirement (3 pointer to win at buzzer)
3. Value of Dollar (call by ref give win to Dollar)
4. Home (blowout)

[FMR]

1. Cover your Ass(ets)
2. Avoid 10 mistakes
3. Teaching value of a dollar
4. The True Cost of Owning a Home

[TC]

1. 10 ways
2. Avoid 10
3. Teaching kids
4. Credit Score

[Shaw]

1. Cover your ass(ets)
2. Avoid 10 mistakes
3. Teachings value of dollar
4. credit score

[debt monster]

1. Cover your Ass(ets)
2. Avoid 10 mistakes
3. Teaching value of a dollar
4. The True Cost of Owning a Home

[BB]

1. Cover your ass(ets)
2. Avoid 10 mistakes
3. Teaching value of dollar
4. Credit Score

[Amber]

1. Latte Factor
2. Avoid 10 mistakes
3. Teaching kids
4. True cost of owning a home.

[ispf]

1. Getting Rid Of Your Debt Without Worrying About The Latte Factor
2. Draw (Both are really good!)
3. Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
4. The True Cost of Owning a Home

[Jo]

1) Cover Your Ass(ets)
2) Avoid those 10 Mistakes
3) Value of Dollar
4) Cost of Owning a Home

[Henry @ Binary Dollar]

Ten Simple Ways to Cover Your Ass(ets)
12 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Retirement Savings Plan
Teaching value of a dollar
The True Cost of Owning a Home