We're now down to the Elite 8 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 -- 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 3
- 10 Things I Have Learned About Money (Learned) - Since I started writing about personal finance a year ago I've really come to realize a lot of things about money. Some of them are basic, but some of them are life changing. Here is a rundown of the top 10 things I've learned about money in the past year.
VERSUS
- Why you can't trust real estate agents when buying a house (Trust) - I really liked this post because it was a lot of fun to write and I know it probably helped a few people rethink their relationship with their real estate agent.
GAME 4
- A Story About Banks; They Are Not In The Real Estate Business (Banks) - This is the story of two men who had their dreams: one wanted to make money from his own farm and the other wanted to make money from the others through lending. By reading this story, you will understand how banks got into so much troubles.
VERSUS
- The College Student Debt Machine: A National Disgrace (Disgrace) - This post exposes the shameful and often ignored failure of colleges and universities to control their own budgets. Concurrently, these same colleges freely encourage their students to use student loans to finance the ever increasing costs to attend. With no one held accountable, young adults graduate with crushing debt that takes years to repay.
Trust
Banks
Posted by: Eric | March 30, 2009 at 09:13 AM
Learned
Disgrace
Posted by: Bible Money Matters | March 30, 2009 at 09:17 AM
Learned
Disgrace
Posted by: Shaun | March 30, 2009 at 09:26 AM
Learned
Disgrace
Posted by: Patrick | March 30, 2009 at 09:32 AM
Learned/Disgrace
Posted by: TheHappyRock | March 30, 2009 at 09:38 AM
Learned
Banks
Posted by: Ben | March 30, 2009 at 09:48 AM
Learned
Banks
Posted by: ChristianPF | March 30, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Learned / Disgrace
Posted by: NCN | March 30, 2009 at 10:01 AM
Trust
Banks
Posted by: walter | March 30, 2009 at 10:01 AM
Learned
Banks
Posted by: Emily | March 30, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Learned
Banks
Posted by: Miranda | March 30, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Learned
Disgrace
Posted by: Frugal Dad | March 30, 2009 at 10:15 AM
learned
banks
Posted by: Zachary Scheidt | March 30, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Learned
Posted by: PT Money | March 30, 2009 at 10:25 AM
Learned
Posted by: seecents | March 30, 2009 at 10:32 AM
Trust
Banks
Posted by: Sophie | March 30, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Trust
Banks
Posted by: Rezurekt | March 30, 2009 at 10:50 AM
trust
banks
Posted by: Praveen Puri | March 30, 2009 at 11:01 AM
trust
banks
Posted by: Vero | March 30, 2009 at 11:19 AM
Learned
Disgrace
Posted by: Steve C @ MyWifeQuitHerJob.com | March 30, 2009 at 11:21 AM
Learned
Disgrace
Posted by: Arohan | March 30, 2009 at 11:30 AM
banks
Posted by: James | March 30, 2009 at 11:33 AM
Learned
Banks
Posted by: MoneyNing | March 30, 2009 at 11:33 AM
Great posts!! Good luck to all!
My votes for this week:
Trust
banks
Posted by: cathie | March 30, 2009 at 11:34 AM
bank
Posted by: jessica | March 30, 2009 at 11:38 AM
Learned
Disgrace
Posted by: Matt Jabs | March 30, 2009 at 11:40 AM
Disgrace
Posted by: Jack | March 30, 2009 at 12:18 PM
Disgrace
Posted by: GM | March 30, 2009 at 12:19 PM
Disgrace
Posted by: Sandy | March 30, 2009 at 12:20 PM
disgrace
Posted by: lwb | March 30, 2009 at 12:24 PM
Learned
Banks
Posted by: FFB | March 30, 2009 at 12:31 PM
Trust!
Banks!
Posted by: guinness416 | March 30, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Trust
Disgrace
Posted by: Matt SF | March 30, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Learned
Disgrace
Posted by: BudgetSketch | March 30, 2009 at 12:40 PM
Learned
Trust
Posted by: Glblguy | March 30, 2009 at 12:43 PM
Disgrace
Posted by: Patti | March 30, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Disgrace
Posted by: Beverly | March 30, 2009 at 12:57 PM
Learned/Disgrace
Posted by: Snowy Heron | March 30, 2009 at 01:25 PM
Learned
Disgrace
Posted by: SGP | March 30, 2009 at 01:28 PM
Trust
Disgrace
Posted by: Corporate Barbarian | March 30, 2009 at 01:29 PM
disgrace
Posted by: guilty | March 30, 2009 at 01:32 PM
Disgrace
Posted by: Judy | March 30, 2009 at 01:39 PM
DISGRACE
Posted by: RDL | March 30, 2009 at 01:58 PM
Disgraced!
Posted by: Carol Stansfield | March 30, 2009 at 02:06 PM
disgrace
Posted by: tapatterson | March 30, 2009 at 02:10 PM
Disgrace
Posted by: JD | March 30, 2009 at 02:10 PM
Disgraced!
Posted by: meg | March 30, 2009 at 02:14 PM
Disgrace!
Posted by: John | March 30, 2009 at 02:18 PM
Trust
Banks
Posted by: IS | March 30, 2009 at 02:19 PM
DISGRACE
Posted by: BELLA | March 30, 2009 at 02:20 PM