GoodContest.org

2023 Ruleset

1. GoodContest is a Personal Finance Contest beginning and ending every 3 months of the calendar year.
2. Contestants may register any time during ongoing contests because GoodContest may retrieve up to 90 days of prior transaction history.
2. Top 40% of points earners earn $100 in a mailed check to the address confirmed at checkout.
3. Points are earned for healthy transactions in each category.
4. For many transaction types, scoring is relative to a contestant's ZIP code of their primary address confirmed at checkout.
5. Each contestant's transactions are bucketed into one of six categories:
   a. Income​ (salaries, gig-economy work, tips earned, pension payments, dividends from investment accounts, interest on savings accounts, and other miscellaneous income, including alimony, social security, child support, and rental)
   b. Needs (Car loans and leases, Payments to a credit card (these are positive amounts for credit card subtypes and negative for depository subtypes), Payments on mortgages, Payments on student loans, Purchases at coffee shops or cafes, Dining expenses for fast food chains, Purchases for fresh produce and groceries, Other miscellaneous debt payments, Purchases made at vending machine operators, Other miscellaneous food and drink, including desserts, juice bars, and delis, Furniture, bedding, and home accessories, Building materials, hardware stores, paint, and wallpaper, Plumbing, lighting, gardening, and roofing, Home security system purchases, Other miscellaneous home purchases, including pool installation and pest control, Dentists and general dental care, Optometrists, contacts, and glasses stores, Nursing care and facilities, Pharmacies and nutrition shops, Doctors and physicians, Prevention and care procedures for animals, Other miscellaneous medical, including blood work, hospitals, and ambulances, Gyms, fitness centers, and workout classes, Wash and fold, and dry cleaning expenses, Other miscellaneous personal care, including mental health apps and services, Financial planning, and tax and accounting services, Oil changes, car washes, repairs, and towing, Babysitters and daycare, Consulting and legal services, Elementary, high school, professional schools, and college tuition, Insurance for auto, home, and healthcare, Mail, packaging, and shipping services, Storage services and facilities, Other miscellaneous services, including advertising and cloud storage, Government departments and agencies, such as driver's licenses and passport renewal, Tax payments, including income and property taxes, Other miscellaneous government and non-profit agencies, Purchases at a gas station, Parking fees and expenses, Public transportation, including rail and train, buses, and metro Gas and electricity bills, Internet and cable bills, Rent payment, Sewage and garbage disposal bills, Cell phone bills, Water bills, Other miscellaneous utility bills)
   c. Wants (Gambling, casinos, and sports betting, Digital and in-person music purchases, including music streaming services, Purchases made at sporting events, music venues, concerts, museums, and amusement parks, In home movie streaming services and movie theaters, Digital and in-person video game purchases, Other miscellaneous entertainment purchases, including night life and adult entertainment, Beer, Wine & Liquor Stores, Dining expenses for restaurants, bars, gastropubs, and diners, Books, magazines, and news, Apparel, shoes, and jewelry, Purchases at convenience stores, Retail stores with wide ranges of consumer goods, typically specializing in clothing and home goods, Stores selling goods at a discounted price, Electronics stores and websites, Photo, gifts, cards, and floral stores, Stores that specialize in office goods, Multi-purpose e-commerce platforms such as Etsy, Ebay and Amazon, Pet supplies and pet food, Sporting goods, camping gear, and outdoor equipment, Superstores such as Target and Walmart, selling both groceries and general merchandise, Purchases for tobacco and vaping products, Other miscellaneous merchandise, including toys, hobbies, and arts and crafts, Manicures, haircuts, waxing, spa/massages, and bath and beauty products, Bike and scooter rentals, Taxi and ride share services, Toll expenses, Other miscellaneous transportation expenses, Airline expenses, Hotels, motels, and hosted accommodation such as Airbnb, Rental cars, charter buses, and trucks, Other miscellaneous travel expenses)
   d. Savings, Donations & Retirement (Transfers to an investment or retirement account, Outbound transfers to savings accounts, and Charitable, political, and religious donations)
   e. Donations (Charitable, political, and religious donations)
   f. Not Applicable (Income from tax refunds, Unemployment benefits including unemployment insurance and healthcare, Loans and cash advances deposited into a bank account, Cash, checks, and ATM deposits into a bank account, Inbound transfers to an investment or retirement account, Inbound transfers to a savings account, General inbound transfers from another account, Withdrawals from a bank account, General outbound transfers to another account)
  g. In some cases, transactions are bucketed into an improper category. GoodContest will not make concessions to allow contestant's to manually change the category for any transaction. Contestants may report transactions labeled an improper category to cs@goodcontest.org for future consideration of GoodContest's transaction ID profiles. 
6. Each category has a number of total possible points:
   a. Income - 300 points
   b. Needs - 100 points
   c. Wants - 250 points
   d. Savings, Donations & Retirement - 300 points
   e. Donations - 50 points
   f. Not Applicable - 0 points
7. Points System
   a. Income
      - A contestant's total net Income must be greater than or equal to their ZIP code's median net household income to earn all 300 possible points.
      - If a contestant's total net Income equals less than their ZIP code's median net household income, the percentage difference is their points earned of 300. Example: My ZIP code's median net household income is $5,000/month and I earned an average of $4,000 each month then I've earned 80% of 300 points which is 240 points. 
   b. Needs
      - A contestant's total Needs spend must be less than or equal to 50% of their total net Income to earn all 100 possible points.
      - If a user's total Needs spend is greater than their total net Income, the percentage difference is their points earned of 100. Example: My total net Income is $4,000/month and my Needs spend is $2,400/month then I've earned 80% of 100 points.
  c. Wants
     - A contestant's total Wants spend must be between 10-25% of their ZIP code's median net household income to earn all 250 possible points.
     - If a user's total Wants spend is less than 10% or more than 25% of their ZIP code's median net household income, the percentage difference is their points earned of 250. Example #1: My ZIP code's median net household income is $5,000/month and my Wants spend is $400/month then I've earned 80% of 250 points. Example #2: My ZIP code's median net household income is $5,000/month and my Wants spend is $1,600/month then I've earned 72% of 250 points.
  d. Savings, Donations & Retirement
     - A contestant's total Savings, Donations & Retirement must be at least 16% of their total net income to earn all 300 possible points.
     - If a user's total Savings, Donations & Retirement is less than 16%, the percentage difference from 16% of their total net income is their points earned of 300. Example: My total net income is $5,000/month and I allocate $400/month to Savings, Donations & Retirement then I've earned 50% of 300 points. 
  e. Donations
     - A contestant's total Donations must be at least 5% of their total net income to earn all 300 possible points.
     - If a user's total Donations is less than 5%, the percentage difference from 5% of their total net income is their points earned of 50. Example: My total net income is $4,000/month and I allocate $60/month to Donations then I've earned 75% of 50 points which is 37.5 points. 
  e. Not Applicable
     - Numerous transaction types are not applicable to GoodContest scoring.
     - See the list of not applicable transaction types above.

If you'd like to submit changes for next year's contests, please use this template and share to cs@goodcontest.org.
Similarly, if you have questions or concerns, please reach out to us in email at cs@goodcontest.org.
Please send your questions or concerns to cs@goodcontest.org.