Rockstar Rumble, Round 1, Posts 73-80

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 37

  • An Interactive Guide to Early Retirement and Financial Independence (Guide) - Imagine a calculator, a choose your own adventure book, a series interviews and a guide to early retirement and financial independence all rolled into one. This article is an experiment - an interactive way of exploring your own numbers through visualizations with the hope of discovering what FI is and how you could retire a little earlier.

VERSUS

  • The Ultimate Escape Room – The Cubicle (Escape) - Escape Rooms have become a new and exciting group challenge. Let's apply the same enthusiasm, savvy and teamwork to break out of the real room that traps us all. The Cubicle!

[poll id="40"]   GAME 38

  • Wearing Success on Your Sleeve (Wearing) - Wearing success on your sleeve is dangerous. It puts a target on your back for criminals to easily identify you and your family. Use your wealth to get more enjoyment out of life and to help others. Blend into the crowd.

VERSUS

[poll id="41"]   GAME 39

  • I made a big money mistake. And I'm blaming Japan (Mistake) - Even money bloggers can be pretty damn silly with their cash sometimes. This post came at the most dramatic point of my long battle against debt: the finish line was in sight and I committed a terrible act of self-sabotage.

VERSUS

  • It's Not a Cheapskate Contest (Contest) - It's a short, sweet response to why frugal living is important. The answer to your friends and family on why you didn't upgrade to the latest phone, don't have a cable package, and drive a used car.

[poll id="42"]   GAME 40

  • Average Net Worth by Age – A Look at American’s Wealth & How You Stack Up (Worth) - When you ask Americans to share what they think of as the average/median of anything, they always over-estimate. One of those over-estimates is median net worth (and income!) - it's much lower than you'd expect. I took data from the U.S. Census, charted it out, and really dig into the data across age, education and other factors. It was a fun post to write, I learned a lot, and was shocked how much of American's net worth is home equity.

VERSUS

  • Can You Do 1% Better? (Better) - No one bats at eye at spending 1% more in their normal day-to-day life, but if we suggest they save 1% more of their income it seems like an impossible feat. If we break that 1% down by paycheck instead of a lump sum, it seems possible and can compound into a big pile of cash at retirement.

[poll id="43"]