Happy Birthday! Wait… it’s my birthday, I’m not supposed to say that. And I’m not supposed to be giving out gifts. I’ve got this all wrong, don’t I?

Too bad! I’ll do what I want for my birthday, and what I want to do is give you the chance to win a sweet laptop prize pack from HP. I’m really pumped to be the first blog in the HP Freshman 15 giveaway, so let’s get this party started, shall we?

How to Enter

It’s an Easter Birthday Egg Hunt! The answers to the following 10 questions can all be found on this blog:

• Since it’s my birthday, how old am I?
• What did I do for Earth Day this year? (Not on what I did here on the blog, but out in the “real world”)
• What is the Compact?
• How many college seniors have four or more credit cards?
• What’s one reason you should over-pay your taxes right after graduating college?
• List Rule Zero and the Steps of the Quick Start Financial Guide.
• Name a government application that I hate.
• Name a show from my childhood that I miss.
• What should you do with extra financial aid money?
• What “percent of a guy” is checking in on bottled water’s cleanliness?

Find the answers to these questions, and submit them using the contact form. If you get all the right answers, you’re entered to win! I’ll use randomizer.org to pick the winning entry, and announce the winner on October 3rd.

Rules and Stuff

• Don’t post the answers anywhere online! Remember, the more correct entries, the lower your odds of winning, so giving other people the answers can only hurt you.
• Send in your entry by 11:59PM, EST October 1st. This will give me time to sort through all the entries, so I can pick the winner before the announcement date.
• You do not have to be a US resident to enter!
• One (correct) entry per person.
• If any of your answers are wrong, I’ll reply to your email telling you how many you got wrong, but not which ones. Kinda like that game Mastermind, which I love!
• The correct answers are the one’s that come from this blog. Although I’m sure many of them can be found on other websites, the only answers that are correct for the purposes of this giveaway are the ones that come from PoorerThanYou.com.
• Use a valid email address that you check often when entering, so that I can contact you if you win!

That’s it! Find the answers, send them in, and then check back on October 3rd to see if you’re a winner! You might want to subscribe via RSS or subscribe via email to help you remember. And most importantly, don’t forget to check the other 14 blogs giveaway away these prize packs! The next giveaway starts on September 28th at Broke-Ass Student!

First thing you have do is say “ooooooooooooo!” in excitement and awe. Come on, do it, or I won’t tell you what’s going on!

Ok, good, here’s the deal: HP (yes, Hewlett Packard) is giving away 15 laptop prize packages on 15 blogs. For serious! And you know what’s better than a free laptop prize pack? A free laptop prize pack given away on PoorerThanYou.com!

The prize pack I’ll be giving away includes:

• HP Pavilion dv4t series notebook
• HP xb4 Media Docking Station
• HP 500GB Pocket Media Drive
• HP Photosmart C6380 All-in-One
• HP Protect Messenger Bag

(The dv4t is the first laptop featured in this video, if you want to get a better look at it.)

Not only do I get to give away this fabulous prize pack, but I get to kick the whole thing off! The excitement starts right here on Friday September 26th. I’ll announce the requirements for my giveaway, and every two days after that, another blog will announce theirs. So you get 15 chances to win, and it all starts right here!

Giveaway will vary by site, and the details will be announced on each site’s start date. Here are the participating sites and the dates of their giveaways:

• Sep 26 – Oct 3: Poorer Than You
• Sep 28 – Oct 5: Broke-Ass Student
• Sep 30 – Oct 7: Broke Grad Student
• Oct 2 – Oct 9: Study Hacks
• Oct 4 – Oct 11: Cooking for Engineers
• Oct 6 – Oct 13: College Being
• Oct 8 – Oct 15: Paul Stamatiou
• Oct 10 – Oct 17: DormDelicious
• Oct 12 – Oct 19: Student Bloggers
• Oct 14 – Oct 21: Jessica Mah Meets World
• Oct 16 – Oct 23: UNEASYsilence
• Oct 18 – Oct 25: Gomeler.com
• Oct 20 – Oct 27: CampusGrotto
• Oct 22 – Oct 29: Hack College
• Oct 24 – Oct 31: The University Blog

So you’ll want to check each site on their start date. Some blogs will give away dv4t notebooks, like me, and some will give away dv5t and dv7t series notebooks. We each got to pick – I picked the dv4t because it’s the most portable. All three are great systems!

So check back here on September 26th to get find out how to enter. You’ll want to subscribe to the RSS feed or subscribe by email, so you don’t forget!

Ohhhh… I bet you guys are wondering just what’s going on around here. Why is Stephanie, who claims to be poorer than everyone, giving away so much stuff? First, I let you guys know about a $100,000 sweepstakes. Then, I throw a secret giveaway on this site (which I’d link, but then it wouldn’t be secret! Poke around if you want to find that.). Now what?

We at the recently-formed College Money Network are throwing a big Back-to-School giveaway! Yep, we’re kicking off a batch of back-to-college-themed posts by giving away some awesome stuff! There are multiple ways to enter, all of which are totally easy… but I know what you’re really interested in is the prize list!

Prizes

• 4GB iPod nano
• $50 cash
• $20 cash
• Copy of The 4-Hour Workweek
• One-year magazine subscriptions
  • Young Money
  • Kiplinger’s
  • SmartMoney Magazine
  • Money Magazine
• $10 eBay gift certificate

Now you’re interested, right? Sweet. Nearly all the ways to enter can be found on the Back To School Giveaway page at the College Money Network.

Uh… nearly all the ways to enter? Yeah, that’s right, there’s at least two more ways to enter the contest right here!

PTY Method 1) If you’ll be at college for the upcoming year, leave a comment on this post letting us know what your financial goal for the year is, and how you’ll achieve it. For example…

My financial goal is to save $1,000 by the end of the school year. I will do this by getting a part-time job and putting $100/month in a high yield savings account.

If you’re not a college student, leave some words of wisdom for student finances in the comments. (You may leave as many comments as you like, but only the first one will count as an entry for the contest.)

PTY Method 2) Find the secret password hidden in my subscription feed. You can get the password whether you’re subscribed via RSS or the email updates — either will work. Just email in the password, and you’ll get an extra entry into the giveaway!

All entries must be received by August 31, 2008 at 11:59 PM PST. Other rules and restrictions can be found on the giveaway page.

Oh yes, I’m going there. I’m giving away an iPod shuffle. Why? Because I have a brand-new, never-been-used one in my possession, and I’d like to get it to someone who will use it. Or someone who wants to sell it. Frankly, I don’t care either way. I have it, you probably want it, so here’s what you have to do to enter the contest:

On August 1st, I will make a post announcing my “Know Where the Money Goes” challenge, though nary a word will be included in the post about a prize. But those of you reading this will be “in the know,” because you’ll be well aware that participants in the challenge will be entered to win the iPod Shuffle!

That’s all there is to it! Take part in the challenge, and you’re entered to win. What’s the challenge, you ask? More details will come on August 1st, but the basic premise is that you post a comment on the August 1st entry, pledging to track each and every purchase you make for the month of August. All comment pledges will be entered to win, and at the end of the month, one person will be picked at random from the commenters, and contacted for proof that they tracked their August expenses.

So, if you’re the person picked at random, and you email me back with an Excel spreadsheet, or a scan of a spiral notebook, or a picture of entries in a Moleskin — you win! And I send you a cute green iPod Shuffle!

Frequently Anticipated Questions

But Stephanie, couldn’t someone cheat? Like, they take the pledge, and then you email them, and they quickly make up a spreadsheet with fake info?
Sure, someone could do that. But making up fake purchases would take about as much time and effort as tracking real info. Here’s the thing: if you actually take the challenge and track your expenses, you get a little prize whether you win or not. You get a good habit and a month of data about your spending habits! So while I anticipate a few bad apples who only pretend to take the pledge, I hope that most people will see that they can get the most personal benefit by actually taking the challenge.

Oh man, this is great, but I’ll never remember to check back here after August 1st to take the pledge!
Subscribe to the Poorer Than You RSS feed! Or subscribe by email and get PTY articles, including the August 1st challenge announcement, sent to your email!

How long after the challenge is posted will we have to enter?
One week. After August 7th, it would be hard to go back and write down purchases from the 1st, so you have until August 7th to comment on the challenge post and take the pledge.

Can I get an extra entry into the contest by blogging about this?
Yes, but there are some caveats. I ask that you blog about the challenge, but not the contest, if that makes any sense. That is, tell your readers about the pledge, but don’t mention the iPod thing. So blog about the challenge, or take the pledge yourself in a blog post, and then email me the URL of your post, and it will get you another entry!

Why so hush-hush about the fact that you’re giving out a prize?
Because I want people to really take the challenge. Because I want to cut down on people who come by the site just to enter the giveaway and then run off, never to be seen again. Because I want to reward regular readers and subscribers by letting you guys know about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And because I’m weird.

Disclaimer: The iPod I’m giving away was obtained through Wowio’s now-discontinued free iPod Shuffle deal last year, so it has a small engraving on the back that says “www.wowio.com”

Do you use a credit card, debit card, or grocery rebate card? Good! Now go sign up for Upromise.

Upromise is free and easy to set up. You enter in your card numbers for debit cards, credit cards, and grocery club cards (don’t worry, nothing will be charged), and then when you buy things from Upromise sponsors, you get a small rebate deposited in your Upromise account. Really, there’s no reason not to be signed up for it! Retailers include McDonalds, Bed Bath & Beyond, GNC, Mobil and Exxon, and many more.

I’ve talked about Upromise before, because it’s a no-brainer. You just set it up and then there’s nothing else to do! But I’m writing about it again because any time you make an eligible purchase from a Upromise partner, you’re entered to win $10,000 as part of their $100,000 College Dream Sweepstakes! If you’re a new Upromise user, you also get one entry for signing up. (The Sweepstakes ends September 30th)

You don’t have to be heading to college, or have a child heading to college, or even like children to be a Upromise member. But if you do have a friend or relative whose education you care about, you can easily set up Upromise to contribute to multiple people. For example, my mother has a portion of her Upromise earning directed toward me, and a portion directed toward my 4-year-old niece (her granddaughter).

And you don’t have to put your earning in a 529 plan or toward student loans, as the site suggests. Hidden in the Upromise FAQ are the instructions for getting your earning sent to you as a check.

Mmm… free money. Excuse me, I have to go dream about how nice it would be to win the $10,000 sweepstakes!