Well, despite other critique, I particularly like the last two. There's something very interesting about them. It may be that the saturation and contrast contribute to that, kind of like a signature style.
By no means am I suggesting that you ignore the previous critique, but also bear in mind that the 'rule' of chopping off hands and feet is one of fairly hot debate around here... I, for one, am not terribly bothered by it in most instances, as I have seen some of the same type of thing in publications over the years, but others are rabid about it. So take it as you will.
The focus is good on the third one, but the fourth one seems a little soft. Now, in this particular instance, to my eye it resembles more of a film look, which can be good... but of course the 'good' part about it is doing it intentionally rather than by happenstance. (This is all assuming you didn't find a film look filter in post and apply it. 
)
In the third one, I would have suggested removing the fence from the image altogether by having your subjects stand down on the ground by the ruts, behind them, and somehow incorporate the ruts as a background compositional element.
In the first one, I would have suggested moving your camera to the left just a smidgeon more. Otherwise, I rather like the way the eye is led to him by the steps.
In the second one, the pose looks odd, given her location. I would have suggested moving in, have her stand in by the middle post, framing the left and right sides of the image with the two concrete posts on either side of her, using a shallow depth-of-field to draw less attention to her surroundings, and fill more of the frame with her.
Otherwise, not a bad start, really. The observation of 'too much contrast' - like anything else - can be subjective, depending on the look you're going for or ultimately trying to achieve. This is not meant to dismiss the previous critique; there were good points in it, but then again everything is subjective, even my observations.
As far as using your 100 Amazon credit: I would suggest a portable softbox of some sort, to give yourself some light modifier options, as I see you have none listed in your collection (not sure why there were quotation marks in the previous critique on that one...). A white balance card is nice, but you can also get one from the stack of paper in your printer, for the time being.
Decent start. Keep going.
