Here we go with the Championship (final) 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 the "game" (one post versus another) 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: Savings). 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 the finalists:
- Identify & Overcome Money Anxiety & Stress in Relationships (Stress) - There is a new “diagnoses” of sorts that has come onto the scene and is growing fast since the recent housing crash. The acronym is all too fitting… M.A.D. or Money Anxiety Disorder is basically a fancy way of saying that people are more stressed out than ever about all the debt they have gotten themselves into. I touch on how this “disorder” has effected our lives, how we stumbled upon it by accident, and the plan we have to overcome it.
VERSUS
- Debt Free in One Year: A True Story (True) - Upon getting married in January, 2009, my son Jeremy and his wife Erin set a goal of becoming debt free in one year. With $21,500 of debt and a very average income, this was clearly a lofty goal. This post chronicles that one year journey, including many of the trials and frustrations they encountered. On December 8, 2009, eleven months after setting their goal, they paid off their last debt. I am a very proud Dad.
Stress
Posted by: Four Pillars | April 01, 2010 at 10:17 AM
STRESS :)
Posted by: Matt Jabs | April 01, 2010 at 10:17 AM
Stress (love them both by the way - either guy winning is deserving!)
Posted by: Peter | April 01, 2010 at 10:18 AM
Stress
Posted by: jim | April 01, 2010 at 10:19 AM
Stress
Posted by: Dan | April 01, 2010 at 10:20 AM
Stress!
Posted by: Karthik | April 01, 2010 at 10:21 AM
Stress
Posted by: David | April 01, 2010 at 10:22 AM
Stress
Posted by: Matthew | April 01, 2010 at 10:22 AM
Congrats to both for making it to the finals. I'm going to go with....
Stress
Posted by: PT Money | April 01, 2010 at 10:23 AM
Stress
Posted by: Ryan | April 01, 2010 at 10:41 AM
Stress (I can't believe I am voting for "stress". That would never do as an election platform.
Posted by: David with seo-writer.com | April 01, 2010 at 10:41 AM
Stress
Posted by: Jason | April 01, 2010 at 10:48 AM
Stress
Posted by: Mike Piper | April 01, 2010 at 10:51 AM
stress
Posted by: MD | April 01, 2010 at 10:52 AM
Stress
Posted by: Craig/FFB | April 01, 2010 at 10:53 AM
Stress
Posted by: Miranda | April 01, 2010 at 10:54 AM
STress..
Posted by: neal | April 01, 2010 at 11:11 AM
stress
Posted by: brian | April 01, 2010 at 11:11 AM
Stress
Posted by: Paul @ FiscalGeek | April 01, 2010 at 11:17 AM
True
Posted by: Joe | April 01, 2010 at 11:21 AM
Stress! Great blog, Matt.
Posted by: JB | April 01, 2010 at 11:42 AM
stress
Posted by: Alice | April 01, 2010 at 11:52 AM
STRESS
Posted by: Dave O. | April 01, 2010 at 11:58 AM
Stress
Posted by: LRGCHE | April 01, 2010 at 12:01 PM
STRESS
Posted by: Dave Smeak | April 01, 2010 at 12:02 PM
TRUE
Posted by: Jake | April 01, 2010 at 12:02 PM
stress
Posted by: Early Retirement Extreme | April 01, 2010 at 12:04 PM
Stress
Posted by: Sarah | April 01, 2010 at 12:05 PM
TRUE
Posted by: Chuck | April 01, 2010 at 12:07 PM
STRESS
Posted by: Robert Espe | April 01, 2010 at 12:10 PM
true
Posted by: Bill | April 01, 2010 at 12:19 PM
STESS is definately worth the read to help couples learn to communicate better, which is often the biggest road block in a relationship. I love how he gives us the example of shepherding his wife and drawing out her feelings to better understand her. The other article was great in becoming free of consumer debt...but unfortunately they were not debt free after taking on yet a larger debt in the house. True debt freedom is to "owe no man anything." When this occurs the value of your house becomes completely irrelevant.
Ron J.
Posted by: Ron Jaster | April 01, 2010 at 12:19 PM
stress
Posted by: Erica Douglass | April 01, 2010 at 12:19 PM
STRESS
Posted by: JB White | April 01, 2010 at 12:30 PM
True
Posted by: Kay | April 01, 2010 at 12:40 PM
Stress
Posted by: RJ | April 01, 2010 at 12:42 PM
Stress
Posted by: Ashley | April 01, 2010 at 12:54 PM
STRESS
Posted by: Brian | April 01, 2010 at 12:55 PM
S.T.R.E.S.S.
Posted by: ADB | April 01, 2010 at 12:55 PM
STRESS
Posted by: Christina | April 01, 2010 at 12:59 PM
True
Posted by: S. R. Gustave | April 01, 2010 at 01:02 PM
stress
Posted by: Mike Las | April 01, 2010 at 01:02 PM
true
Posted by: Erin Plemon | April 01, 2010 at 01:12 PM
True
Posted by: Andrew Webb | April 01, 2010 at 01:35 PM
True
Posted by: Stewart | April 01, 2010 at 01:49 PM
Stress
Posted by: Tracey | April 01, 2010 at 02:02 PM
Stress
Posted by: Betsy | April 01, 2010 at 02:08 PM
Stress
Posted by: Dr. Russ Buss | April 01, 2010 at 02:19 PM
Stress is the best!
Posted by: Scott parsons | April 01, 2010 at 02:37 PM
Stress article
Posted by: Charity parsons | April 01, 2010 at 02:38 PM