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 2010 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 (must be from the calendar year 2010)
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.)
NOTE: IF ANY OF THESE (INCLUDING THE CHARITY) ARE MISSING, YOUR ENTRY WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. AND I WILL NOT GET BACK TO YOU TO REMIND YOU THAT YOU SUBMITTED INCORRECTLY.
Entries are on a first-come, first-served basis and all spots usually fill up in a few days. So if you wait, it's possible you're not going to get a spot.
Submission Details
You can submit one post per site. 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 hasn't been a problem in past years and I don't expect it to 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!
Wow! This is such a great idea! I definitely will submit a post! My favorite charity is The Alzheimer's Association!!! This would be of great benefit to them!
Posted by: Jacob @ My Personal Finance Journey | December 14, 2010 at 02:21 PM
FYI, we're at about 20 posts entered so far...
Posted by: FMF | December 14, 2010 at 04:42 PM
@Jacob, the Alzheimer's Association was my second pick! Nice choice! That is one scary disease...
Posted by: Crystal@BFS | December 15, 2010 at 10:39 AM
Just e-mailed/submitted. Was fun last year!
Cheers, Sam
Posted by: Financial Samurai | December 20, 2010 at 09:36 PM