Squirrelers

Since 2010, sharing my journey to help you squirrel away your money and build net worth!

Take a Bite Out of Your Food Expenses

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This week marks the 13th anniversary of the bite felt around the world. In 1997, Mike Tyson – while doing battle with Evander Holyfield in a heavyweight championship boxing match – apparently decided to do more than punch. He opened his mouth, and bit his opponent’s ear. Ouch.

Now, in honor of taking a big bite out of things in a different, how about taking a big bite out of your expenses?

One great way to do that is to watch what you bite and chew. Really.

Sure, you could get free food at work.  But what I’m getting at is the idea of eating homemade meals vs food prepared outside.  Buying groceries and cooking at home or taking food to work can save a lot of money over eating a restaurant meal, or lunch from your workplace cafeteria.

Here’s an example:

For breakfast, I had previously eaten on the go while driving to work, or purchased food in my company’s cafeteria. Eating on the go, I would typically get a bagel and cream cheese. I recall this costing somewhere around $1.50 at the time. Or, I would buy oatmeal from the company cafeteria. I recall this being sold for approximately $0.70.

Let’s assume that I got a bagel 3 times per week, and oatmeal at work 2 times per week. That’s $5.90 per work week for breakfast. With the bagel and cream cheese, it’s not the most nutritious either.

Now, let’s assume that I ate oatmeal at home, or filled a bowl with hot water at work. This cost me just $0.09. When multiplied by 5, it results in a weekly cost of $0.45. Now, if I loaded it with extra nutrition by adding a banana, flaxseed, and blueberries, the cost would be $0.74 per day. That’s just $3.70 per work week for a frugal and healthy breakfast.

$5.90 vs. $3.70 – it’s an easy choice, especially when the latter option is a better way to start the day. That’s a $2.20 per week impact – totaling $105.60 assuming 48 working weeks per year.

That’s $105.60 saved by 9:00am, and we haven’t even talked about:

  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Snacks
  • Drinks

It just takes a few different choices to be made, and the savings add up. There is much power in substitution, especially when it comes to food.

On top of this, we can consider the long-term benefits that a healthy diet will provide by putting you in a position to spend less on medical issues.

All told, you could save your family thousands per year by making smart food choices. Not a bad way to bite into your expenses, and grow that income minus expense gap!

Have you made any changes to your food consumption that have resulted in savings? If not, do you know where you could be saving – but just haven’t done it yet?

Random Acts of Kindness Can Bring Riches of Happiness and Experience

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Many of us are so busy in our day to day lives, that we don’t take the time to realize how something so small can mean so much to someone. We tend to look at things from our own individual perspectives, and value certain actions or objects based on what they mean to us. There’s the saying that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Not the perfect analogy here, but an action that’s no big deal to one person may be special to another.

I had one of those experiences the other day. I ran into a elderly gentleman who was in a motorized wheelchair. He didn’t look healthy, and seemed to have a sad face. He was asking people, while in a public walkway, if they could help him. Most kept walking by.

As I walked by him, slowing to get a better sense of what he was about, he looked at me and said, in a raspy voice, “excuse me, would you be willing to help me?”

Now, living in a large metropolitan area, I have seen all kinds of scams. Plus, you never know when a seemingly innocuous situation could be a setup.

That said, I still stopped and asked him, “What do you need?”

He looked at me, seemingly with relief and appreciation, and said – with difficulty – “Can you please pick up that book for me?”

Next to his motorized wheelchair was a book, almost like a diary of some kind. I looked around, making sure this was legit (you never know, I thought), and grabbed this book for him. Then I handed it to him. He took the book gently from me, hands shaking, and said “Thank You”.

He then proceeded to tell me it’s a book that’s important to him, and unfortunately he just couldn’t pick it up when it was on the ground. He had real trouble getting in and out of the motorized wheelchair. The part that hit me, though, is that he said “I really appreciate that you did this for me. Nobody else would stop and help me. They all walked by me without answering or just said no.”

It made my stomach turn when I heard that. 

Then, I asked him if he needed any other help. He said “No, thank you. I just really appreciate you doing that for me.  Thank you very much, it was really helpful to me.”

I followed by asking “Do you have anyone nearby to help you?”

He said “No, I live alone. It’s not easy but I have my phone with me if anything really bad happens to me. I had internal bleeding last year and a heart attack, but the ambulance got there just in time.”

I asked again if he was sure about not needing anything, and he said he was sure, and he thanked me again. Then he slowly motored onward, as I watched him move on. After a few seconds, I moved on too.

As I reflect on that situation, I think of that old man – so frail, with so little energy, and little mobility. And nobody living with him. He had a very tough existence. Yet he carried on, and showed me appreciation for helping him. I just did the right thing, nothing more.

The people that walked right by him missed out on a great opportunity for a chance encounter that could have enriched them immensely. How can we be so callous to let this be the exception, rather than the norm, when it comes to helping someone? I felt bad for being leery at first; I could have walked by him too.

I have to say, whatever small amount of help I gave him, he gave me much more back in terms of happiness for being able to truly help someone who needed it. More than that, he taught me how someone in a tough situation can still be nice to others and appreciate what they have. It was actually a moving experience.

What a great investment of my time. It paid off tremendously.

Wherever you are, sir, I hope you’re well. It was great to meet you. And by the way – thank you.

Movie Tickets are Free When You Use a Credit Card, Right?

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I recently went to see a movie with my 7 year old daughter.  It was going to be a great Daddy and Daughter time, just the two of us having a fun few hours.

I had promised her a chance to see the most recent Shrek movie, and she was excited about it. For me, there was excitement because this might be the last movie in the Shrek franchise:) That said, I was looking forward to the movie because of the chance to share in her excitement, and to have a fun Sunday afternoon together.

So we went to the theatre complex, I parked the car, and we walked in. We saw on the marquee that the movie was playing in three forms:  normal screen, 3-D, and 3-D on an IMAX screen. For those that haven’t experienced it, the IMAX is pretty cool – you get to see the move on a much larger screen and in higher resolution. The sound systems are typically very good, so the overall experience is different but a bit better in my opinion.

Anyway, my daughter saw that it was showing in IMAX and got excited about the possibility of seeing the movie in that particular format. She really wanted to go. So, what does a dad do? I said yes. Couldn’t resist, and actually, I didn’t think about the consequences. Perhaps it was a few dollars more, I thought, but I really didn’t give it much more thought than that. I just thought of her happiness and excitement.

So we walk up to the ticket counter, and I ask for one adult ticket and one child ticket. The cashier promptly said: “That will be $30.50 please”.

I paused. I did a double take. I thought to myself…$30.50? Really? Are you KIDDING me?

So, I asked the cashier how much the other options were. She said it would have been $14.50 on a conventional screen, $23 to see it in 3-D, and $30.50 to see it in 3-D on IMAX.

I looked down at my daughter, with those puppy dog eyes of hers looking up to me, and I said to the cashier: “That’s fine. Here’s my card.” Then I let my daughter hand the card over (by the way – that’s not my daughter in the picture; kids aren’t growing up that much faster these days!)

So, as we walked into the theatre and to our seat, she said: “Daddy, these tickets are expensive.” Feeling like I had already said enough about money after questioning the cashier, I told her that it was ok and that I was glad that we were going to have fun.

Then, she surprised me, as kids often do to their parents. She said: “It’s a good thing you used your credit card so we didn’t have to give them any money.”

I paused, and thought to myself, surely she doesn’t think these were free. A few months back, she had shown some surprising maturity for such a young kid, when she told me about saving and investing. This time, it looked like another learning opportunity to teach a child the value of money.  Just to confirm, I asked if she thought that using a credit card means that we weren’t paying anything.

Her answer: “If you use your credit card to get something, it means it’s free!”

So, I tried to explain to her that if that were the case, then wouldn’t everybody use them?

“Yes”, she said. “If they don’t make what you buy free, then how do they work?”

I quickly came up with an example. I started by saying, “let’s pretend that you buy 10 hamburgers in a month, for $1 each. With a credit card, you can charge them each time, and then pay all $10 at the end of the month.”

She immediately said, “But I don’t like hamburgers that much!”

OK – I forgot that I was talking to little kid here! Let’s try again, I thought.

“Well, instead let’s pretend that you bought a barbie doll for $10”, I said. “If you pay with cash, you will pay the store $10 right away. If you pay by a credit card, you don’t pay them right away – but will pay in a month after the credit card company sends you a bill.”

“Why would you do that?”, she said.

“You would pay them because you owe them. Since the credit card company let you buy the things with their card, you will owe them later”, I said. “It’s not fair for them to let you buy things, and then you don’t pay them back.”

I think she got that, from her expression.

Then I added, “the good thing is that you can buy even more things, add up the cost, and pay them the total when the send you the bill. So if you got another Barbie two weeks later, and it was also $10, how much would you then owe the credit card company?”

She thought about it, and said, “You would have to pay them $20”. I was pleased – she figured out how the payment process works. At least that part of the equation was understoon, which is a good start!

Ultimately, I can’t pretend credit cards don’t exist. They do. Some even offer cash back. I want her to eventually have an understanding of their proper use, the need to never carry a balance or pay interest/late fees, and the benefits of cash.

Overall, this experience reinforced and also taught me a few more things about kids and money:

  1. Don’t assume that they understand what appears obvious to you. Clearly, we all know that credit card doesn’t equal free. While far too many adults still charge away like there are no consequences, if you’re reading this or other personal finance blogs, you probably don’t do that. But if some adults actually do have difficulty understanding some basics, then it’s certainly understandable how kids have their own learning curve as well.
  2. When explaining a concept to kids, keep it simple. Instead of complicating it as I initially did, I changed tactics and talked about one barbie doll instead of 10 hamburgers. One purchase makes it a simpler concept.
  3. Make it interesting. Talking about hamburgers got her distracted. Talking about something she likes, Barbie dolls, kept her engaged.

Have you had any experience teaching kids about credit cards – whether younger child or teenager? Any tips to share with us?

 

Updates and Favorites

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Hello everyone – I thought this would be a good time to connect with all of you on a few things, and share some of my favorites from the personal finance blogosphere this past week.

  1. Thank you for being a part of the growth of this blog. I appreciate the time you spend following the articles here, and hope you have enjoyed it. If you have shared your thoughts via comments, keep telling us what you think. If you’re lurking, feel free to add to the discussions!
  2. There were some very good articles in the personal finance blogosphere this week. Here are a few in particular that caught my eye:
    • What to Do With Your 401(k) When You Leave Your Job, at Free from Broke
    • How Would Life Change if Your Income Doubled?, at Gen Y Wealth
    • Behind the Green Curtain: An Insider’s View of the Millionaire’s Mind, at Len Penzo
    • Three Steps to See if You’re Ready For Early Retirement, at Free Money Finance
    • When was the Last Time… , by Everyday Tips and Thoughts
    • What do You Truly Value Most, at No Debt Plan
    • Which is the Best Way to Save Money, at Balance Junkie
  3. Guest Posts: I have held off guest posts to this point, as I wanted to set the tone for this blog, and provide it with its own “personality”. At this point, after about 3 1/2 months, and a growing group of terrific readers, I’m now welcoming guest posts! Here is the format:
    • Bring content that you believe other readers will find to be compelling; it will reflect well on you!
    • Please keep it original, and non-promotional in nature
    • Please send an article that has not been posted on your site or any other site; in other words, an original piece by you is what would work well. Thanks for understanding.
    • If I post your article, I’ll provide a link to your site in the article’s introduction, which will highlight your site; I would like to help you grow visibility to your blog in this way.

Thanks again. Happy reading!

Would You Pay $21 to Eat a Lion Burger?

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If you’re hungry for a hamburger, and want to go out to get one, you have plenty of choices to choose from across the price and quality spectrum. If you want a one for less than $1.00 that’s along the lines of late night college munchies fare, perhaps you can make a beeline to the nearest White Castle or Krystal. If you want a burger that’s of top quality and at the “high end” of the spectrum – if there is such a thing for burgers – perhaps you could try a Kobe beef burger. These can be purchased online, often for $10 or more per patty. In a restaurant, you could be shelling out $20 or more.

Or, for something different….how about $21 for a lion burger?

Yes, I’m talking about a burger that’s made of from the big cat with a big roar. Apparently, per widely reported news stories, a restaurant in Arizona had recently started selling these burgers for $21 each. This wild idea was apparently in honor of the World Cup being in South Africa.

The burger isn’t entirely lion, based on reports. Apparently, it’s a mixture of ground beef and lion, but is sold as a lion burger.

In any event, it’s no ordinary burger. Think about it, folks – it has lion meat in it!

From where I stand, $21 for an exotic dish like that isn’t exactly a bad deal. People regularly pay that much for overpriced, mediocre meals at generic chain restaurants. Why not shake things up a bit, walk on the wild side, and have a lion burger?

Apparently there are people protesting. I respect their point of view – it’s unnerving to think of a lion being served. Perhaps you share that view. Here in the U.S., we see them in zoos and on television. Maybe in kids books. But not on the menu!

Would I eat one? No.

For me, however, it’s more about my interest in cutting back on meat in my diet (unless “free”, as I experienced recently). I’m trying to focus on lean meats, as well as adding more vegeterian sources of protein. Lions aren’t part of the plan.

For those that do eat meat regularly, what do you think?

 Would you pay $21 for a Lion Burger? Would you even try one?

You could feel like the new king of the jungle:)

Saving is Great, but Don’t Forget to Make Money Too!

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Many of us who blog on personal finance tend to write a lot about frugality. It’s been a salient topic over the last few years, with the economic pressures that have disrupted the financial lives of millions of people. Frugality, as such, has gone from being socially unacceptable to almost de rigueur. Being frugal has become cool in some circles. Cut expenses to the bone, live on less, and save your way to financial bliss!

I do agree with the idea that cutting expenses to live within one’s means is very important. Additionally, the world is chock full of examples of average wage earners who have been very disciplined with saving a healthy percentage of income, leading to a very comfortable retirement and in many cases, financial freedom.

That said, I also think that it’s important to take a holistic view of personal finance and look beyond the realm of saving money. While frugality is a great thing, we also need to earn money in order to have any to save. And more important than that, what is the role of money in our lives, taken in the broader context of other important aspects of our existence?

Starting with the broad view, I like to look at money as being a part of the HWR framework – health, wealth, and relationships. Each one is an important part of our lives, and each one impacts the other. For example, if you improve your health by getting in great shape and improving physical endurance and mental alertness, you’ll put yourself in position to earn more. So money, while not an end goal (at least for me), is a part of the whole quality of life equation. Financial freedom, while not panacea for all our problems, would likely improve quality of life, all other things being equal.

Now, diving further into the topic of money, let’s examine how we can get closer to the point of achieving financial freedom. Again, given the attention many people (including me, admittedly) devote to frugality, one would almost think that it’s the concept that can most drive our wellbeing, as long as we adhere to the principles of living within our means.

There is some truth to that, to be sure. But there are two things at play here:

  1. Bringing in revenue
  2. Managing expenses

I can relate it to marketing and finance in the corporate environment. Without the innovative, hard work of those in marketing, there wouldn’t be revenue coming in the door. Without the folks in finance, expenditures would be too high, and money couldn’t be reinvested in the business or paid to shareholders.

In our lives, it’s our career that is the engine that drives our personal finances. You could pinch every penny possible, but if your career goes down the drain and disappears, you’ll be left scrambling. You might have to dive into that emergency fund – which, ironically, might have been funded by your career to begin with! Ultimately, what we want to do is maximize the income to expense gap.

To that end, in addition to managing expenses, I recommend investing time, energy, and focus in your career. Aside from an inheritance or other source of outside income, it’s the best place for people starting from scratch to begin to build their financial future and grow income. If you don’t invest in your career, you’ll have little stability and irregular financial income. If you do invest in your career, that could still be the case due to circumstances, but at a higher level of income. If you do it well, and get some good luck and fortune along the way, you have the means to build a nest egg through financial investments.  Some might use market orders in automated trading software to help in such endeavors.

That brings me to the next part – saving. By minimizing expenses, you can put yourself in a position to live within your means. Living within your means requires discipline, and the ability to distinguish between wants and needs. Actively managing expenses will allow for one to maintain a given level of expenses, with annual inflation adjustments.

By actively managing both career (cash inflow) and spending (cash outflow), we can increase the income minus expense gap. This gap equals savings. Once we have money saved, we can start investing and earning an after-tax rate of return that exceeds savings. Doing this early enough, with a good asset allocation, will allow us to grow our wealth.

The key concept: it’s all a system, with money just one part of quality of life – and with regard to money, it takes focus on both cash inflow and cash outflow to put us in position to drive toward financial freedom.

What are your thoughts? Do you follow a similar framework when it comes to your approach toward money in your life?

This article was included in Carnival of Personal Finance #263 at Suburban Dollar.

Can You Ever Get a Truly Free Lunch?

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Last week, I left the office during the lunch hour, and went to grab a quick bite to eat. I work in Chicago, so there is frequently a lot of “hustle and bustle” in the middle of the day. People in suits, business casual folks (like me), tourists – people from all walks of life are out enjoying the city. Late Spring, Summer, and Early Fall in Chicago are beautiful, and I think it’s that reality plus the harsh reality about the brutal weather the rest of the year, that brings people outside.

As I walked down the street, I saw up ahead a group people in short-sleeved, collared shirts – like they were representing a company – stopping people as they walked and motioning them over to the right. This isn’t uncommon, as people in major cities and tourist areas are always trying to sell something to people passing by. In this case, however, I can see that instead of the usual quick brush off, people were stopping to pay attention.

As I got closer, I sensed a vibe of excitement from the people milling about, so I stopped to see what was going on. As it turns out, the people dressed in those short-sleeved collared shirts were pointing people to a stand that they set up, where you could get a free sandwich. I quickly figured out they were promoting a new TV show, which is to be aired nationally on a major cable network. As a part of their promotional campaign, they were stopping folks on the street and offering free sandwiches while mentioning the name of the show and when it will debut.

I was hungry, so I thought to myself: why not?

As I took the sandwich, a guy also handed me what looked like a mini DVD which promoted the show. This DVD, which is what I assumed it was, was very tightly wrapped.

Anyway, I didn’t care about show, I was just happy about the FREE LUNCH!

It was a good sandwich: BBQ pulled pork, very tasty (probably not healthy, but it was good), and filling. And FREE!

As I walked away, I took a look at the mini DVD, and got curious. So, remembering that, I saved it for later that evening, and opened it up. As I mentioned before, it was tightly wrapped, so it actually took a couple of minutes to get the thing open. Then, after looking at the DVD, I got curious about the show. I didn’t try to play the DVD, as I set it aside. What I did do, however, was go online and spend about 10 minutes looking at information on the show.

Then it hit me: I probably spent 15 or 20 minutes of my time when you add up opening and looking at the DVD, and going online out of curiosity. This was for the sandwich that would probably sell for $5 tops.

The company’s strategy worked: give me the sandwich, make me aware of the show, make me try to look up information on the show. The next would be for me to tune in, and at this point, I’m curious.

They won. No regrets at all from me, but they got what they wanted.

That sandwich wasn’t free. As my Dad always liked to tell me when I was a kid: There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Thanks for that advice, Dad!

The World Cup of Frugality: Frugal in Any Language

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The attention of many people around the globe, every four years, centers around the World Cup. Yes, it gets people in a frenzy. Everyone has their own way of showing, it: traveling across borders to follow their team, wearing the jersey of their home country, being glued to the television, even causing pain to eardums everywhere while using a vuvuzela (these things intrigue me for some reason).

So, in honor of the globe coming together for the great soccer tournament that is the World Cup, how about a little analysis on savings rates by country that we can call the World Cup of Frugality!

In this case, lets take a look at a sample of 14 countries, and their rates of savings over the previous 20 years. The rate of savings is reflected as a percentage of disposable household income.

This list is heavily skewed to Western nations, based on the data I could find. The two Eastern nations are Japan and Korea. That said, it shows some interesting trends over the last 20 years, as can be seen in this table (Source: OECD Economic Outlook Database):

Country 1990 2000 2009
Australia 8.2 1.8 2.5
Austria 10.3 8.4 9.8
Canada 13.0 4.7 1.1
Finland 1.9 -1.7 -2.2
France 9.4 12.0 12.3
Germany 13.7 9.2 10.6
Italy 21.7 8.5 6.8
Japan 13.9 8.6 2.6
Korea 22.5 10.7 2.5
Netherlands 18.1 6.9 6.4
Norway 2.7 4.3 1.4
Sweden 3.9 4.8 7.8
Switzerland 9.6 11.8 9.5
United States 7.0 2.3 1.2

As can be seen, there are trends that we can clearly see, over the last 20 years. There are many ways to analyze this, particularly when adding additional context, but purely by these numbers, I see the following:

  1. North American savings headed south. North American neighbors, U.S. and Canada, are clearly trending downward in savings  – particularly Canada, where the magnitude of the drop has been greater
  2. Maybe it’s the English language.If you broaden #1 above by adding Australia, and recategorize it as the primarily English-speaking group, you’ll see all 3 have declined since 1990 (Australia appears to have stabilized a bit)
  3. European neighbors are saving well.Take a look at France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: a core group of European countries that are close georgraphically and have shown high rates of savings.
  4. Scandanavia has been a mixed bag. Sweden’s rate of savings is increasing, while Norway and Finland have been floundering in terms of squirreling away disposable income.
  5. Italy, Netherlands, and the Pacific Rim: look out below! These two European countries, along with Japan and Korea, were saving quite a bit 20 years ago, but aren’t faring nearly as well now, showing precipitous drops in savings rates.

For me, it’s interesting to see how the rest of the world is doing, outside of my own home country (U.S.). Clearly, there are issues elsewhere too, though not everywhere when it comes to savings habits. What I did see, overall, were more sharp declines by individual nations than stability or strong increases in savings rates.

Ok, since this isn’t really a competition like the World Cup, let’s close by learning how to communicate in “frugalese” with our global friends. To that end, here is the approximate translation for frugal in each of these countries, in the language most commonly spoken in each:

Austrailia frugal
Austria sparsam
Canada frugal
Finland saastavainen
France econome
Germany sparsam
Italy frugale
Japan oshimu
Korea ssan
Netherlands zuinig
Norway noysom
Sweden ekonomisk
Switzerland sparsam
United States frugal

Should You Have a Safe Deposit Box?

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We all have important documents, and most of us have at least a few sentimental items, that we absolutely want to keep safe. Sure, we want to keep most of our things intact, but there are few items that require special care. To that end, we want to keep them in a safe place.

To keep key valuables safe and secure, one option some people take is to rent a safe deposit box.  Some people like this practice and swear by it, and others don’t like the idea of keeping valuables outside of their immediate possession. Let’s explore the question: should you have a safe deposit box?

What are the reasons to have your valuables in a bank safe deposit box, as opposed to at home, where they are in close proximity to you, in a place where you feel you can keep an eye on things? Here are several:

  1. Your bank’s vault is more secure vs thieves. If you have a safe deposit box, you will generally have to show your picture ID, be authorized to access the box, sign in, have the specific key for your box with you, and be accompanied to the locked, secure room by a bank associate – all while being on camera. That’s a more rigorous defense system for your valuables that someone coming into your home.
  2. Thieves can probably figure out where you keep your valuables. Do you keep your valuables in your master bedroom closet? Perhaps in a safe? Under your bed? Maybe in your den? Crooks can figure out how we think, and where we are most likely to keep important things. We all hear news accounts of dumb criminals, but realistically, if the bad guys want to find your stuff, they probably can.
  3. Your safe can be carried out. If you keep a safe somewhere in your home, unless it’s incredibly heavy or very securely attached to your home, home intruders can figure out a way to take it.
  4. A safe deposit box is more secure vs fire and water than your home. Think about it – the safe deposit box is constructed securely, and is housed in a vault that’s constructed to be solid. Is your place of residence constructed that safely?
  5. Insurance premiums. Some companies may charge lower premiums on items kept in a bank safe deposit box vs being kept at home.

There are also negatives to getting a  safe deposit box:

  1. In an emergency, safe deposit boxes are less accessible. If you need a passport for overseas travel, power of attorney documents, and other items that you might need in a hurry. Remember, the box will likely be accessible only during your bank’s normal hours. And many of us have heard the term “banker’s hours”, so we know what that can mean.
  2. Contents are not FDIC insured.If you have financial assets, and they are not held in accounts in the bank but are simply in a safe deposit box, they are not FDIC insured if they are damaged or stolen.
  3. Safe deposit boxes cost money. These can range in cost depending on size, but typically cost at least $50 to $100 annually. Often, these costs can go much higher.
  4. Could be declared “abandoned”. This depends on laws on a state by state basis, but if you don’t pay your rental fees for an extended period of time, the contents may be declared abandoned and turned over to the state’s unclaimed property office. If you’re not careful, or lose sight of this administratively, you could be in for some hassles.
  5. Items are not in your immediate possession. For many of us, there is a sense of security, or peace of mind, knowing that our valuable are actually with us.  At some level, maybe in our subconscious, we have it in us to be like little children when it comes our stuff – it’s MINE! Additionally, sometimes we might want to look at or show certain valuables, such or jewelery, collectibles, etc.

Personally, after weighing the positives as well as the drawbacks of a safe deposit box, and considering the alternatives, I rented one for myself and recommend safe deposit boxes.

Now, it’s not as convenient as having important documents and valuables at home, and the accessibility aspect has caused me some hassles. For example, I recently needed a document during the work week, but needed to wait until the weekend to access it. Fortunately, it didn’t cause me problems in the end, but it could have. However, despite those types of drawbacks, I feel that certain important documents and valuables are safer in my safe deposit box than in my home, even though I live in a safe area. To me, safety and risk management is more important than convenience.

Tip: whether you keep papers or other valuables in a safe deposit box or at home, keep them in a sealable, airtight, water-resistant container. For example, a large ziplock bag. This helps minimize potential damage from any water damage.

What about you? What are your thoughts on safe deposit boxes as a way to store valuables?

This post was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance at Personal Finance Journey.