Update: Please submit posts with the four pieces of information noted below (in past years, a good percentage has left off the charity). If you do not include everything, you won't be in the competition. I'm already receiving submissions without all the information. I will NOT be contacting submitters with incorrect submissions -- it's your responsibility to make sure you include everything.
Update #2: While it says below that January 15 is the final submission deadline, it appears that the competition will fill up well before then (in the next few days.) So this is a reminder that it is a first come, first in competition, so you'll want to get your entries in VERY SOON if you want to be included.
Yes, it's that time of year again -- Free Money Finance March Money Madness is upon us!
For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, it's our annual "tournament" of the best personal finance articles of the past year. They face each other in an NCAA-style bracket system, FMF readers vote for the winner, and at the end of it all, the best post is left standing. And like last year, it's all for several good causes. Here are some details from last year:
This year I'm getting a head start on it. In the past, we've had so many posts in the early rounds that it's been hard for readers to keep up. So this year I'll be starting the tournament early (still ending near the end of March) and letting everyone have plenty of time to read all the posts.
64 posts in total will be allowed in the 2009 competition. Each one will be assigned randomly in a bracket set of "games" similar to the one used for the Men's NCAA basketball tournament. (If you want to see what one looks like, go here to download last year's bracket.) Here are more details:
How to Enter
If you're a blogger and have money-related posts you want to include you can email the following to me:
1. The name of the post you're submitting
2. The URL of the post you're submitting
3. Two to five sentences on what makes this post so great (I'll be using this wording in the competition, though I reserve the right to edit it, so really "sell" your posts).
4. The charity you're playing for (see below.)
I need to receive all this by Friday, January 15 (though I'm guessing spots will be taken well before then). Note: if you do not submit your posts in this format, they could be rejected. Also, the posts submitted need to be from the calendar year 2009. Participation will be on a first come-first served basis. So if you wait, it's possible you're not going to get a spot.
Submission Details
You can submit up to two posts, but if you do, be sure to list them in order of your preference. I'll start by allowing only one post per site, but if all the slots don't fill up, I'll start adding extra posts by sites already in the tournament. If I don't receive enough submissions, I'll fill in the brackets with my own posts.
If you have more than one blog, you can submit posts for each blog, though your second blog's submissions won't be considered until all the first-time submissions have been considered from other blogs.
In the past, there were 64 slots open at the start. This year, there are only 54. As noted earlier in the year, the ten best winning posts for the year (as judged by me) from the Best of Money Carnival will receive automatic bids. These entries will NOT count as a blog's official entry and if a blogger wants to submit an additional post for March Money Madness he can without penalty and with the same consideration (first come, first served) that other entrants receive. I'll be naming these winners as part of the seeding process.
FYI, if you have a Best of Money Carnival winning post and don't know if it will make my 10 and yet you might want to submit it anyway, I suggest you simply send me the top four posts you'd like to have included in March Money Madness (in the order you'd like them to be considered.) This way, if one of your posts gets an auto Best of Money Carnival bid, I'll just move on to the next one on your list for consideration. Some blogs have more than one Best of Money Carnival winner, hence you should submit four posts if you want to be safe and get as many considered as possible.
How Posts Compete
The posts will "play" each other with the winner advancing and the loser being bumped. They'll "play" in this manner:
1. I'll post the competing posts, listing who's playing who
2. Readers can leave comments on which they like better
3. The post with the most votes wins -- I'll break any ties
4. The winner will advance in the bracket to "play" again. Ultimately, there will be only one post left -- the "champion" for this season.
Criteria for great articles are as follows:
1. Practicality of the post
2. How interesting/provocative/unique it is
3. The "personal-ness" of it
4. Its impact on net worth.
What the Winners Receive
Like last year, I'll make contributions to the charities of the top four winners' choices as follows:
- First Place donation -- $500
- Second Place donation -- $300
- Third Place donation -- $100
- Fourth Place donation -- $100
The charity has to be a registered charity to receive a tax deduction under U.S. law. In other words, I won't be giving $500 to a "charity" you and your brother came up with on the spur of the moment. In addition I reserve the right to ask you to select an alternative charity in case I don't feel it's appropriate for me to give to the cause you've listed. This wasn't a problem last year and I don't suspect it will be this year, but I'm putting this stipulation in up front just in case I need a bit of flexibility.
Why Readers Should Care
As readers, you get the chance to read some great pieces and help decide who wins this year's championship. It should be great fun and full of the best personal finance posts of the past year. Good stuff all the way around!
Oh boy, I can't wait. Bring it on!
Posted by: Peter | December 16, 2009 at 11:55 AM
"Also, the posts submitted need to be from the calendar year 2008."
I assume you mean 2009?
Posted by: cmadler | December 16, 2009 at 11:59 AM
cmadler --
Yes, thanks. I changed it to be correct.
Posted by: FMF | December 16, 2009 at 12:03 PM
Just submitted my entries! I didn't participate last year, but I voted a lot. :) Thanks for hosting the contest again.
Posted by: 3princessesmomm | December 16, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Great idea - any registered charities are in the running? Will be hard to think of just one - might be helpful to pick from a list. I'll have to think. Will the charity be included with the post in the voting? I hope people wouldn't vote against a post due to the charity it was playing for (eg., if they don't like that charity)...
Posted by: MoneyEnergy | December 16, 2009 at 03:36 PM
MoneyEnergy --
You pick the charity. If you can't think of one, simply say "your choice" and I'll pick it.
No, I don't reveal the charities until the very end -- after the last votes have been counted and the winner picked.
Posted by: FMF | December 16, 2009 at 03:51 PM
Sounds good; I just sent an email with (I hope) all the required information. Eagerly awaiting the start of competition!
Posted by: Roger | December 16, 2009 at 09:20 PM
What if you don't author a blog? Can you just submit a "post" for entry?
Posted by: Travis D | December 17, 2009 at 12:14 AM
Travis D -
No, but you can submit it as a guest post here. Details:
http://www.freemoneyfinance.com/2009/02/how-to-write-a-guest-post-for-free-money-finance.html
Posted by: FMF | December 17, 2009 at 08:11 AM