Rockstar Rumble, Round 1, Posts 57-64

Here are the latest games in the first round of the 2018 Rockstar Rumble. We've listed each "game" (one post versus another) along with wording provided by the author when the post was submitted. Also listed is a keyword after each post title to make it easy to vote. Be sure to vote for your favorites since you will help determine the winner! Criteria for the best article is what makes Rockstar content which includes these factors:

  • Starts with an interesting title
  • Includes unique content — we like posts that are edgy, feisty, funny, failure-focused, and super helpful
  • Easy to read
  • Positive/uplifting (vs. negative)

The voting will run for 48 hours. At that point, a winner will be named and will advance. You can follow the results in the brackets here. Please note, there is ONE VOTE PER PERSON. To be sure you see all games, click on the Rumble category link and scroll down. If you like great posts like these featured, you can subscribe to the Rockstar Finance weekday email and get the best personal finance articles delivered to your inbox. Today's games are brought to you by Mediavine, a full-service ad management solution for digital content creators. Here are today's games: GAME 29

VERSUS

  • The Dream of Barista FIRE (Barista) - A lot of us have had those simple, chill jobs that we love for whatever reason - golf pro, bookstore worker, sports coach, bike messenger. Unfortunately, these jobs usually don't pay enough to make live from it. But it's possible to put yourself in a position where you can take a job like this. It's called Barista FIRE, not quite financial independence, but maybe just a step below it. And maybe it's just as good.

[poll id="32"]   GAME 30

  • The Five Finger Discount (Finger) - The Five Finger Discount explores the gray area between frugal living and random acts of petty thievery. The post strikes a chord with readers because most readers have participated in a least one or two "five-finger" behaviors in order to cut costs and stretch a dollar. In discussing these behaviors in a light-hearted and humorous way, the post encourages everyone to recognize our common foibles in the face of striving for financial freedom.

VERSUS

  • The Hierarchy of Personal Finance Needs (Needs) - Inspired by Maslow, The Hierarchy of Personal Finance Needs allows readers to visualize and prioritize their finances. Learn the order in which to tackle your financial goals and the ways to set yourself up for success and financial freedom. "This is practically a whole personal finance course in a post with just over 1000 words"- My Mom.

[poll id="33"]   GAME 31

  • I Challenge You (Challenge) - The FI/RE community is amazing but we are often focused on the long game. I challenge you to take a look at your life and ask if you are getting everything you want out of it, because things can change quickly. Planning for FI/RE over many years, I was diagnosed with cancer late 2016 and have been battling the disease since. Getting sick clarified the importance of finding the right balance of planning for the future and ensuring you are really living now.

VERSUS

  • Hustle in Your 20s to be Financially Independent in Under 10 Years (Hustle) - I wanted to break down the math on how much a side hustle can lead to retirement in 8 years or less, even on a comfortable lifestyle -- add in a more frugal lifestyle and you get there in 6 years! It's easy to that a side hustle allows you to keep 100 percent of your income while a fixed number of hours working your 9-5 are your day to day living costs. Growing your salary is hard as you can only have a few raises a year, but taking on a side hustle is something you can control yourself. Even if you take on a side hustle, there's still plenty of time for fun in a week. There's 112 waking hours in a week -- why do we just assume a ceiling of 40 hours for work? Get out there, do more, earn more, and retire sooner.

[poll id="34"]   GAME 32

  • Women! Are you using all your financial power? (Power) - Why is this post so great? Because it's just so important. Women have the gender pay gap to contend with, are overlooked for promotions as mothers, and have to work harder to earn respect from co-workers. But investing... well, it's a little slice of financial equality. And we need to seize it, not shy away from it.

VERSUS

  • Once you've bought it, it's your problem (Problem) - Rarely do we think about the downside of consumption except for the monetary cost. But the cost of buying "stuff" runs much deeper and has a more profound impact on us that we're not generally aware of until it becomes painfully obvious. Stress, anxiety, time and precious energy is also invested into everything we buy. But are we investing those resources into the things that make us better, happier human beings?

[poll id="35"]