Over the past week, more than 100 people have anonymously shared their deepest, darkest financial secrets (PostSecret-style) for a chance to win an HP notebook PC package worth over $1500. Now it’s time to reveal the secrets to the rest of the world and announce the winners.
With so many great entries, it was extremely difficult to narrow it down to 5 finalists, but it had to be done. I picked my top five, ordered them by the date I received them, and used a random number generator to select the grand prize winner. The winning number was 2.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest. I really enjoyed looking at all of the entries, and as you’re about to see, they range from creative to dull, serious to funny, and slightly strange to completely bizarre.
Without further ado, here are the winners of my Secret Notebook PC Giveaway. Be sure to check out the rest of the pages for more financial confessions. Enjoy.
Today is the last full day to enter my laptop giveaway contest. One lucky person will be receiving an HP notebook PC package worth around $1500 and four other winners will receive messenger bags, so enter today if you haven’t already! I’ve received 70 entries so far, so your chances of winning a prize are still really good.
Two other laptop giveaways are also underway, so you can enter these to increase your chances of winning. Study Hacks is asking people to explain why you need a laptop and to share an innovative laptop study hack for a chance to win. Cooking for Engineers is asking people to take a picture of food showing the phrase “cookingforengineers.com” in the picture (no image editing or Photoshop allowed!).
With all of this giveaway madness going on, I’ve still been trying to keep up with my weekly financial reading. Here are some of my favorite articles from the past week.
Did you know that 10 out of 10 college students procrastinate? I just made that up, but I think it’s pretty accurate. Well, except for that one guy who does his homework assignments ahead of schedule, but he doesn’t count.
No matter how driven you are, everybody needs a break every once in awhile. Some of us just like to take a little more time than others. Here are 8 sites that have been helping college students turn 15 minute breaks into hour-long detours from productivity (conveniently organized by stereotype).
The Geek
FAIL Blog is geek heaven. Think Jay Leno’s Headlines, but uncensored. People submit photos and videos of “fail” moments, and the best ones get posted on the blog. Throw in some witty headlines, and this site will have the geek in you laughing for weeks.
The Aspiring Yuppie
Stuff White People Like is exactly what it says it is — an exhaustive list of stuff white people like with tongue-in-cheek explanations of why white people like that stuff. More specifically, it focuses on left-leaning, city-dwelling white folk — a.k.a. people who like things like:
PostSecret is one of the coolest ongoing community art projects, and it started with a simple idea. People mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. Funny, scary, sad, and thought-provoking are only a few of the words that describe what you’ll find there. You’re almost guaranteed to come across at least one confession that you can relate to, and the feeling is strangely therapeutic.
The Frat Boy
CollegeHumor was a staple of my freshman year of college. Living in a suite with 7 other guys, I can’t even remember how many times we showed each other stuff that we found here. The site has grown a lot since then, but it has still remained true to its roots with events like Governing Bodies 2008, where people are encouraged to write who they’re voting for somewhere on their body, take a photo, and send it in.
For those of you who are a fan of more family-oriented entertainment, here’s something for your viewing pleasure.
The Sorority Girl
Perez Hilton is the most popular celebrity gossip blog around. Filled with Hollywood gossip and celebrity rumors, this site is a procrastinator’s dream come true. I’m not even going to pretend that I keep up with or care about any of this stuff, but I know there are plenty of you who do. Who needs tabloids and magazines anymore when you can get all of this info for free online?
The Sartorialist covers street style like no other. This blog is filled great photos of everyday people and their unique styles. Aspiring fashion designers should find plenty of inspiration here.
The Dorm Potato
YouTube has made it possible for college students to see everything ever imaginable without even having to leave their own dorm rooms. From discovering what happens when you mix Diet Coke and Mentos to watching a live concert recorded from somebody’s cell phone, you can find practically everything here — even a rap about CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.
The Professional Procrastinator
Facebook makes it easier than ever for college students to procrastinate these days. What do you get when a site allows you to connect with practically every person you’ve befriended since you were born? A social networking site that’s as addictive as crack. Keep in touch with friends, keep an eye on enemies, and keep on the lookout for embarrassingly funny photos of your friends. These are just a few of the reasons you’ll find every serious procrastinator on Facebook.
September was another great month here at Broke Grad Student. While I didn’t break any traffic records this month, the numbers are definitely still respectable. More importantly, I made about $200 in online income in September, which means I’m still on track to pay off my student loans with money I make online.
Meanwhile, something exciting is going on right here, right now, and you should know about it. In quite possibly the most exciting event to ever pass through here (so far), I was asked to participate in the HP Freshman 15 Giveaway. That means I’m giving away a notebook PC package, courtesy of HP, to one very lucky person. My contest started yesterday and only lasts for a week, so be sure to check it out and see what you have to do to enter. I promise you, it’s fun.
Anyway, let’s get on to the stats. I’ve definitely noticed an increase of traffic coming from colleges now that school is back in session. Here’s what most of my readers looked at when they visited my site last month.
A decrease from August’s record shattering numbers, but guess what? I’m fine with it. A few months ago, I would have pointed and laughed at myself if I tried telling someone that 19,000+ visitors to my blog would be a decrease from the month before.
301 Subscribers
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. I still can’t believe that I’ve tricked this many people into reading what I write. With Halloween coming up, who knows how many more I’ll be able to trick (or treat)?
Top 8 Referring Blogs
As always, thanks to my fellow bloggers who send traffic this way. Here are the top 8 referrers to Broke Grad Student during the month of September.
Broke Grad Student is giving away a notebook PC and more as part of the HP Freshman 15 promotion. With a grand prize package worth around $1500, this is easily the biggest giveaway ever held here. Keeping that in mind, I want to make the contest a little more interesting than the typical leave a comment contest, but first, let’s take a look at the prizes.
Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. If that’s not enough, HP is also providing me with some additional swag to giveaway. While slightly less exciting than a free computer, it’s still free swag, which is always cool.
4 HP Protect Messenger Bags
How To Enter
You may have noticed that I called this the “secret” notebook PC giveaway, and now you’re about to find out why. We all have secrets, but sometimes it’s good to get them out. Since this blog focuses on money issues, I’m asking you to share your financial secrets – PostSecret style.
If you’ve never visited PostSecret, the basic premise is that people anonymously mail in their secrets on one side of a postcard. For example, if I entered this contest, my entry might be something like:
That’s it. You’re only limited by your imagination and how much you’re willing to anonymously reveal to the rest of the world. To enter the contest, send your deepest, darkest financial secret to:
If you don’t have access to Photoshop, you can use Splashup or Paint.NET.
How To Win
I’ll post all of the entries I receive on my blog and choose my 5 favorite entries. Out of the top 5, I’ll randomly select a winner using a random sequence generator. The remaining 4 people will receive messenger bags.
All entries must be received by 12:00 PM PDT on October 6. The entry period is over. All entries received after the deadline will not be considered for the prizes.
Rules and Regulations
The contest is open to non-U.S residents. Everyone can enter!
