Photo: Mike Fillion

Many thinkers and motivators throughout history have advised us to “choose our battles.” From Sun Tzu to Dale Carnegie and even Dr. Phil, we are urged not to “sweat the small stuff” and, instead, to channel our energies into things of higher priority. Heeding these words makes sense, given that we have but 24 hours a day and only so much energy to work with.

Just as it is with time and energy, money is a limited resource that we need to manage with care. We just don’t have enough of this resource to go around, in order to address all of our needs, wants and whims! Each significant financial choice we make often means making a sacrifice and careful deliberation. It’s therefore often the case that we ask ourselves “is making this purchase worth it?” How do value a purchase before you go ahead and make it?

This week’s personal finance blogger roundup is all about how we make choices and how we determine whether the things we pay for are worth the money. Then again, there are no right and wrong answers here, because each consumer’s situation is different. What’s important is that we are all able to arrive at our own personal decisions through careful evaluation.

Have you been presented an upsell as you’re faced with a major appliance or electronic purchase? Before falling for it, ask the question: Are Extended Warranties Worth The Money? Explore this extra cost in this article by 50 Plus Finance.

Out Of Your Rut’s New Or Used? Cheap New Cars – Are They Worth the Money? takes a look at Yahoo’s discussion on cheap cars. This post goes through various points that need to be considered by the car buyer. For instance, would you go for a brand new but cheaper car — or a used but pricier car? Weigh all the criteria to arrive at the decision that you’re most comfortable with.

Recently, hybrid cars have been all the rage. Peek under their collective (and figurative) hood before you buy one, by reading WealthPilgrim‘s take on hybrids: 5 Big Disadvantages Of Buying A Hybrid. Just how economical and environmentally friendly are they really?

Let’s move on to international trade and currencies. MoneyVille discusses a credit card and currency issue for Canadians: Is A U.S.-Dollar Credit Card Worth It? Foreigners may wonder whether applying for an American credit card can make sense. If you are Canadian and are considering the possibility of picking up a US Dollar credit card for yourself or for business, then MoneyVille’s article discusses the pros and cons of this decision in-depth.

It’s a good idea to diversify into foreign assets. But one thing that you may not hear about often are certain schemes that are marketed to expatriates. Creveling & Creveling discusses the thorny issues behind offshore investing in the article Five Things to Consider Before Buying Offshore Investment Schemes. It’s an interesting read, and offers us a “buyer beware” warning. While it’s good for our portfolios to have foreign exposure, always be aware of the risks found in different types of schemes, particularly those that involve unconventional investments.

Let’s move on to domestic matters. Some people may find that outsourcing certain jobs is a worthwhile tradeoff between the time they save and the money they spend on these arrangements. DIY or Hiring a Professional: Factors to Consider by Squirrelers.com can give us some points to consider. Which stance will you take for the tasks you need to do — hire someone or do it yourself? Which activities should you delegate to someone else?

Is a TV set worth keeping as a living room accessory? A lot of us are certified couch potatoes, and will say that our indoor entertainment offers us a pretty good value. However, Million Dollar Journey disagrees about this in his post about Living Without A TV. Where do you stand?

A life isn’t well lived if you’re only thinking about saving money and penny pinching. If you work hard, you deserve to treat yourself to an occasional break. If you’re not a traveler, then you may want to Try A Staycation, which is also a budget-friendly way to enjoy a break. This article by The Savvy Life may help you find a creative, frugal way to unwind and de-stress.

Throughout our lives, we expect to face a lot of financial decisions, both large and small. Ultimately, living well involves maintaining the right kind of balance in our lives. The decisions we make should be based on our understanding of the tradeoffs between our time, money and other resources. Any mistakes we end up making in the face of these decisions should be taken as the price we pay for a lesson learned.

Silicon Valley Blogger (SVB) runs  The Digerati Life and  The Smarter Wallet, where she writes about  general personal finance topics such as investing, budgeting, debt management and small business ideas.

photo: AMagill 

Different strokes for different folks, they say. So when it comes to our finances, it’s often the case that how we go about dealing with our money matters isn’t quite like how other folks may do it. After all, personal finance is…well, personal.

We’ve all got different ways to handle money and it’s typically based on our background and the role models we’ve had in our lives. Many times, our experiences also shape the way we think and work with money. And while there are often broad guidelines with how we can best achieve financial success, getting to that point may take each of us through different routes and experiences.

There’s no absolute “right” way to make your money work for you. With all our diverse circumstances, what works for you may not necessarily work for someone else. The key is to find that approach to money management that fits you well.

Nevertheless, we can always learn a thing or two from the way other people handle their finances. Seeing how others go about their financial tasks can help us change our way of thinking or even help us tweak our own behavior.

So what kind of personal financial value system do you have? Some financial bloggers share with us some of their personal perspectives:

How Do You Deal With Your Finances?

Delayed Gratification

There are common threads in the ways people deal with money. And here we present a great read on one of the most influential factors in financial management: the ability to delay gratification. Punch Debt In The Face shares Marshmallow Test: A Look At Delayed Gratification. If you’re the type who could be profiled as a shopping addict, you may want to read this article. Indeed, your impulse control has a lot of bearing on your ability to grow your wealth.

New System in Order?

Speaking of personal systems, Fiscal Fizzle talks about how managing money may not always be about what new software you’re using. It actually boils down to four ideas that drive home the point, which he lists in his article It’s Rarely About The System. This is an interesting read that may lead you to rethink the way you plot your cash flow.

Factoring in the Fun Stuff

Do you factor the fun things into your personal financial system? Well you should! Fun things are what make life, well, fun. And Sweating The Big Stuff reminds us of how crucial it is to take care of one’s partnership. The question Do You Exchange Gifts With Your Significant Other brings to mind those things that matter most: our relationships. This article brings us back to what’s real and important in life.

The Perfect Salary for Happiness

Since we’re on the topic of contentment and what life is all about — One Money Design asks, What Is The Magic Salary For Happiness? Here’s a pertinent response from The Wall Street Journal: It’s around $75,000. These articles share a surprising result: contentment reaches a plateau when people hit that “magic” level of $75,000. One Money Design reminds us that that happiness goes beyond our salaries, and that job satisfaction plays a bigger role in getting people to stick to their careers and their jobs.

A System That May Not Work For Everyone

Not everything you hear or read about is necessarily etched in stone. Two Pennies Earned challenges some long-held beliefs of coupon users with this piece on Why You Shouldn’t Use Coupons. This just proves that there are exceptions to any rule, and what works for some may not necessarily work for you. Is coupon clipping really worth the savings? Maybe not, if it becomes a headache to deal with or causes you to spend a lot more than you expect.

Making A Budget Work

Money Beagle shares another situation that may not be true for everybody. While some people may be paid every two weeks, others may be paid bi-monthly, or even monthly. If you’re paid every other week, you may be pleased to receive “extra” paychecks for two months in a year. But this system can have a downside, as Money Beagle discusses in his article When That Extra Week Goes Against You. Because of some accounting nuances, this system may do a number on your budgeting schedule, especially if you advere closely to your budget.

Financial Etiquette

How do we approach money matters in a social situation? 50 Plus Finance brings up the matter of financial etiquette and the proper ways to address certain situations that revolve around money issues. Not everyone finds it comfortable to discuss money and finances, so take note of the checklist you find in this article that asks Do You Have Financial Etiquette? This piece gives you a heads up on those potentially awkward situations.

The Bottom Line

We all have our personal ways and approaches to making things work. The financial strategies we follow and the systems we embrace are there to make things easier for us to function. The things we learn about personal finance are usually just basic guidelines we can adapt to help us manage our finances better. Sometimes, learning about how others handle their money can give us ideas on how to improve our own personal financial system. Are you happy with how your system works?

Silicon Valley Blogger (SVB) runs The Digerati Life and The Smarter Wallet, where she writes about  general personal finance topics such as investing, budgeting, debt management and small business ideas.

Where do you keep your birth certificate? Passport? Maybe you are finding it harder to trust the bank with anything these days, and even have your cash stuffed in the mattress. However, there are still plenty of good reasons to keep some of your most vital documents locked up under the watchful eye of the bank.

There are some drawbacks, of course, to having your access to important items and papers somewhat restricted and only accessible during bank hours, so you need to know which things to keep close to home and which ones you can manage without for a few days.

Some are quick to point out other problems that can arise when you don’t take matters into your own hands, but we will help you make your own choice and decide if a safe deposit box at least beats the mattress and a plastic filing cabinet for security, or at least point you to some basics for safer storage within your home.

Opening a Safe Deposit Box

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Most banks and credit unions offer the service, and may even give discounts to existing customers, so start with your current bank. It is really important to plan ahead and give permission to someone you trust to access the safe deposit box or at least have an executed power of attorney that allows them to easily get to the contents.

This is especially important in case of death so that important papers and heirlooms can be accessed without delays. Consult with an attorney to determine state laws that affect the ability of your loved ones to gain access if you have reasons for not granting them access while you are alive.

The annual cost will typically range anywhere from $30 to $75 and you should also contact your insurance agent because the contents are not covered by the generous new $250,000 in FDIC coverage that you get, and most causes for loss within the bank will not be deemed to be the bank’s responsibility. Because neither the bank nor the insurance company will likely cover flood damage, make sure to put all contents in sealed plastic bags.

What You Should Put in the Safe Deposit Box

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A good rule of thumb to keep in mind that is grounded in common sense is to view your safe deposit box as the repository for stuff that you really need, but will not likely ever need on a moment’s notice. Items that are a pain to get replaced such as birth certificates and other family records definitely belong here.

Another important item to remember for insurance purposes is a videotape of your home’s content for insurance purposes, and a copy of this video definitely belongs in your safe deposit box. Contracts, stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, original deeds to property, collectibles and rare jewels are also commonly kept in safe deposit boxes. If your grandmother gave you a pouch of diamonds or if you have negatives from your honeymoon that aren’t safe for the film lab then lock it all up at the bank! For that matter, you can put just about anything you want in the box.

What Does Not Go in My Safe Deposit Box?

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There are plenty of things that obviously do not belong in the safe deposit box that we do not need to go into for the sake of brevity i.e. food, pets and cash you are hiding to dodge paying taxes, although the latter is certainly a common but unethical choice.

You certainly can place copies but should never put originals or your only copy of medical care instructions, burial preferences or original Power of Attorney documents. Further, if you live your life like you are starring in Bourne Supremacy (or simply have friends and family overseas that you would visit in an emergency), you definitely don’t want your passport locked up overnight, let alone a three-day weekend.

You Don’t Understand Me…There Is No Way I Am Keeping My Valuables at the Bank

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Would you rather just bury it all in the backyard? If the thought of a bank robbery or putting your great-grandfather’s watch in a dark box somewhere makes you simply too uncomfortable, then it is time to shop for a fireproof safe and make sure that you get adequate insurance coverage to keep these items in your home. If you purchase an inexpensive safe, you might end up regretting the move as many of these safes only withstand an hour in a fire – not good if your videotape of the home’s contents gets melted in a fire in said home.

However, there are some heavy duty safes that can only be hacked into by Tom Cruise that will also give you the necessary levels of protection (UL125) to protect your computer data. You can check here and here for more information on choosing a fireproof safe, and make sure that you don’t buy a safe that is too small to contain any gold bars you plan on purchasing in the next few years.

If you already have a safe deposit box, but haven’t visited your safe deposit box in awhile, go check it out in person to make sure it looks like the one in the photo at the top and not like this one:

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So, remember to either get the safe deposit box along with a separate insurance policy, or do some research and get a fireproof safe that will protect digital information and film negatives (not just your paperwork) and insure the contents. Make sure that you are protected – this is not an item to put on the “vague list of important stuff to eventually take care of down the road.”

Shocking, I know.

If you want your union (financial and otherwise) to last, it’s time to do something radical: Set some ground rules to prevent your next money fight. “Rules” may sound overly formal — however, couples report that rules are the very thing that keep their money talks from devolving into bicker-fests.

If your money melees typically result in one of you sleeping on the couch, rest easy. These five simple strategies can strengthen your financial union, starting today.

Five ways not to fight

To steer tough interactions toward more fruitful results, heed the advice of negotiation experts (the folks who coach executives, family mediators, political leaders, and yes, hostage negotiators). The latest thinking in the field is that the key to a successful negotiation is not to win, but to reach an agreement that meets everyone’s interests. That’s certainly sound advice for twosomes who have to share the same tube of toothpaste every night.

Here’s how to keep the financial peace in your household:

1. Preempt the conflict. The best time to initiate problem-solving is before any emotional flare-ups can steer the conversation off course.

2. Approach problems like partners, not adversaries. Since your long-term relationship is critical, foster respect and trust for future interactions. The goal is not to defeat the other person — it’s to come to a resolution together.

3. Focus on what really matters. Don’t turn every money issue into a formal summit. Acknowledge and appreciate your partner’s biggest and most sensitive financial concerns and communicate yours as well.

4. Set up money rules that encourage autonomy. Reduce the number of potentially contentious interactions by establishing clear decision-making guidelines. When I interviewed Daniel Shapiro, one of the authors (along with Roger Fisher) of Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate, he suggested a three-bucket sorting system for making money decisions:

• Inform: I make the decision myself, and then I inform you.
• Consult: I get your input, and then I make the decision myself.
• Negotiate: Together, we negotiate a joint agreement.

Come up with dollar- or decision-based parameters for each bucket. When in doubt, Shapiro suggests using the “ACBD” rule: “Always consult before deciding,” which can help you avoid having to sleep on the pull-out couch in the den.

5. Prepare a relationship first-aid kit. Don’t let your money conversations get sidelined by negative emotions. If things get heated, take a break. Pre-arrange a collection of your favorite couple-y things (e.g., cards you gave each other, vacation pictures, movie passes to get you out of the house). Kiss and make up and refer back to tip No. 1.

Finally, a “get out of jail free” card

If you have to pour your heart into cultivating just one relationship building block, many pros agree that “appreciation” is the one to address. “We all want to feel appreciated within business, within marriage, within any relationship; empirically, the research has shown it to be true as well,” Shapiro says.

Appreciation in a relationship context doesn’t mean “approval” or “gratitude” — it’s about understanding, respecting, and acknowledging the other person’s point of view. Even if you don’t agree with how they see things, their viewpoint has merit because, quite simply, it’s how they feel.

Just like there’s no “I” in team, there’s no “me” in “we.” Are you cool with that? (A rhetorical question, by the way.) Good. Now you’ll have to find something besides money to bicker about — perhaps leaving dirty dishes on the coffee table, or forgetting to pick up the dry cleaning.