Highlights of 18 months of Money and Values

Just a little bit late, I'm celebrating 18 months of blogging here at Money and Values! Here's what I think are the best posts of the last 1 1/2 years:

Sweatshops or co-ops? Finding sweat-free apparel

Fair trade basics & Bananas, rice, sugar, and more: Where to find 12 types of fair trade products

Locally-Owned Businesses vs. Corporate Chains

Socially Conscious Gas Guide, Part 1 (Environmental Rankings) & Part 2 (Workers)

... and click here for more posts about being a conscious consumer

Socially Responsible Investing: Part 1, Part 2 ,Part 3, & Part 4

When your mutual fund speaks for you, what does it say?

Socially Conscious Finances: Spotlight on GLBT (& Why GLBT-friendly policies are smart for businesses and investors)

... and click here for more posts about socially responsible investing

Making your money fit your priorities: budgeting advice for new (and not-so-new!) grads

Eating less or no meat

Picking money over time-- are we working too much?

Work, retirement, and financial independence

Save for tomorrow or live for today?

Salary negotiations and the gender gap

... and click here for more miscellaneous posts about money and values

Cable TV for -$7

Frugal Vacations, Free Souvenirs, and Buying frugal souvenirs that multi-task

15 tips on how to enjoy baseball games cheaply

Gas mileage tips for cheaper road trips

Slay your energy vampires

What to do with those unwanted holiday gifts

Look out for abusive overdraft charges at your bank!

... and click here for more posts about frugality and saving money

Carnival of Ethics, Values, and Personal Finance

Hi everyone! I've got a really great edition of the Carnival in store for you this time around.

Let's start with my personal favorites:

• Are we too selfish to change? at No Impact Man, where Colin Beavan discusses consumption, acquisition, and how societies' values can change over time.
• Parenting, work, and guilt at Tired but Happy is TBH's discussion of part-time vs full-time work, and how following her heart seems to conflict with what she "should be" doing.
  
• Voting With Our Wallets at Philaahzophy is one blogger's (Aahz's) exploration of the ethical and political ramifications-- and dilemmas-- of personal spending decisions.

Here are some other fantastic posts that illustrate what this carnival is all about:

• The 2008 War Tax Boycott at The Picket Line, where David Gross presents a major campaign to get anti-war activists to connect their values to their money choices by becoming tax resisters.
• Dumpsters get popular: Freegans and junk yard tours at green LA girl in which Siel talks about a few ways people are decreasing waste by reusing trash.
• The Powerful (and Addictive) Nature of Giving at Millionaire Mommy Next Door, where Millionaire Mommy Next Door reflects on the emotional effects of giving, and makes a plan for her blogging income.
• Charitable Ambivalence at An English Major's Money, in which English Major wrestles with whether or not to pause charitable giving.
• Don’t be a Donaghy at The Real Estate Zebra is Daniel Rothamel's discussion of the importance of honesty and integrity in business.
• Who Is Responsible For Lead In Toys? at Money, Matter, and More Musings, in which Golbguru asks questions about the recalls of Chinese-made toys, looking towards an understanding of the root of the problem.
• Why we are not as ethical as we think at Sox First, where Leon Gettler summarizes psychological studies on ethical behavior.
• Ethics and Work-Life Balance at Slow Down Fast Today! is David B. Bohl's post about how employees' work-life balance helps promote ethical behaviors that benefit their employers.
• The Psychology of Free posted at A Penny Closer is an interesting discussion by penny-eric about how we value things that are free.

And a few more posts for your enjoyment:

• Learning About Debt Relief Programs posted at Care on Credit. ("Thinking about taking out a debt consolidation loan against the equity in your home? Read up on the facts about the debt relief industry before you commit to a permanent decision.")
• Just Say No posted at Frugal Journey. ("There is a very easy way to save money. It’s the power of the word NO. Say NO to nights at the movies, NO to lattes with lunch and NO to expensive vacations.")
• Top 10 Money Lessons by Dissecting Billionaire Leona Hemsley’s Will posted at KCLau's Money Tips. ("After dissecting Helmsley's 14-page will filed in Surrogate’s Court, I am going to elaborate some personal finance money tips in this post. Some facts will amuse you while some lessons are to be learned to alert you of planning your estate more effectively. Here are the top lessons I learn from researching Leona’s will.")
• How to Get Ahead In America (1st of a 12-Part Series) at PowerWealth.com. ("I am a living example – among millions of such examples in America – that a multi-generation American can make a conscious choice to get ahead financially and then go out into America and make it happen within a reasonable timeframe...Based on my experience, I am confident that you can accelerate your potential to replicate or exceed my financial success if you are willing to adopt my “12 Refusals That Helped Me Pull Ahead in America.”")
• How to Stop Abusive Homeowners Associations before Problems Begin at Getting Green.
• Pork: Wha'ss On The Barbeque In Congress Is Your Future at The Agonist. ("Companies that give money to political campaigns have better-performing stocks, according to a new study, than companies that don't contribute. So let's take a closer look at the intersection of capitalism and political corruption, American-style.")
• The best money advice of all time at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog. ("According to MONEY magazine, this is the best money advice from some of the wisest people who have lived.")

Well, that's it for this week! The next edition will be up on October 4th, so please submit using this form. Please contact me if you'd like to host a future edition.

Also, please comment or e-mail me with suggestions of other great posts you've seen around the blogosphere that you think would fit this carnival-- let's work together to make this a real showcase of the very best writing on the web about ethics, values, and personal finance!

Technorati tags: ethics, values & personal finance, blog carnival.

Vacation tradeoffs: being frugal vs. maximizing experiences

How do you decide if it's time to quiet that frugal voice in your head while you're on vacation?

 

This came up several times for me while on my latest vacation.  I knew that it was going to be much more expensive than my usual camping/road-trip variety, for lots of reasons, so I was definitely keeping my eye out for ways to cut costs.

 

But, as usual, cutting costs comes with a whole set of trade-offs.  Here are just a few of the questions we faced during our trip:

• Should we stay in lodgings very close to cities and/or other sites of interest, in order to make the most efficient use of our time... or stay farther away and save money but spend an extra half-hour or 45 minutes driving?
• Should we pick the most interesting and appealing attractions every time, regardless of the price... or choose cheaper or free ones sometimes, which we would enjoy but maybe not quite as much as our top picks?
• Should we pay to enter a museum or visitor's center when we knew it would close before we had time to see the whole thing... or skip it and save the entrance fee but miss out on learning what we could in the time we had?
• Should we always choose to eat good, authentic local food, even when the only options were pricey... or sometimes grab cheap food of the kind we could find almost anywhere?

As we wrestled with these questions, I noticed that I generally found myself on the money-saving side of the issues.  "Do we really want to pay $25 for the four of us to spend a half-hour in this museum?"  "Look, this B&B is almost $50 cheaper, and it's not too far outside of town..."  On the other hand, my father was very focused on making the most of the trip.  "This sounds really interesting, don't worry about the price.  Who knows when we'll have a chance to see this again?"  "Yeah, that hotel is more expensive, but look at the location!  I bet that means we can fit in something else we wouldn't have time for otherwise."

 

I found myself feeling a little guilty about the dollar signs (or should I say Euro signs?) popping up in my decision-making process.  One of my most important values is that money concerns shouldn't interfere with living a happy, fulfilled life.   Wasn't I doing exactly that by penny-pinching on a once-in-a-lifetime (or at least once-in-a-decade) trip, at the cost of maybe passing up some really special experiences?  I didn't want to be distracted by worrying about money! 

 

In the end, though, I think it was valuable to have both perspectives involved in the decision-making process, and we ended up somewhere in the middle, which was probably more-or-less the best outcome.  We had to find a balance that let us fill our vacation with things that made us happy and satisfied, but also kept costs in control so we can afford to take our next great vacation sooner!

 

How do you strike the balance while on vacation?  If you're trying to keep frugal, do you feel like you miss out on some experiences?  Or do you plan to indulge on vacation and budget around that?  Do you have a different mindset about spending money at home and on vacation, and if so, do you find it difficult to switch over?  Do you and your traveling companions usually agree on the approach?

Contact the SEC about their proposals to silence shareholders' voices!

The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) is considering new rules that would drastically decrease ordinary shareholders' ability to voice their opinions on corporate policies. Make your voice heard! Click here to send comments to the SEC before October 2.

As I wrote recently:

Every year when companies have their annual meetings, there are a series of resolutions for stockholders to vote on. Many of these are introduced by the company and have to do with things like confirming board members, but there are also increasing numbers of resolutions introduced by shareholders, often having to do with issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

These votes are only advisory, but they express the positions of shareholders on the company's approach important social and environmental issues, and often lead corporate management to take action. Resolutions are filed every year on issues from environmental impacts to non-discrimination and diversity to animal welfare to executive compensation to political contributions to human rights and many, many more.

The SEC is considering a number of changes including:

• Allowing companies to opt out of allowing shareholder-filed resolutions
• Substituting online chatroom/messageboard discussions in place of votes on shareholder-filed resolutions
• Significantly increasing the number of votes that shareholder resolutions must get in order to be refiled the following year

Click here to send your comments to the SEC (cc:'d to members of Congress) if you oppose these changes. Similar changes were proposed several years ago but were withdrawn after public outcry. Now they're back on the table. We can beat them back again, but only if enough citizens make it clear that we believe shareholders have the right to file resolutions and make their positions clear.

The SEC is taking comments until October 2nd so click through today!

Buying frugal souvenirs that multi-task

I'm really happy with my souvenir-shopping on my recent vacation... because I didn't pick up a lot of "just because" souvenirs, but instead looked for things I already wanted or needed. This way I have items that will remind me of the wonderful time I had in Ireland, but instead of adding clutter to my home and straining my vacation budget, they fill needs that were already there.

For example, after moving from Chicago to Washington DC earlier this year, the decor in my apartment has remained rather sparse. One of the reasons I've held off on purchasing things is that I knew this vacation was coming up and I'd have the opportunity to look for art that would be especially special because of the associated memories.

Of course, for this to work well, you have to be patient and only buy things that are really right for you. Nina recently wrote about souvenirs that "don't translate" when you get home from vacation, and that's really true. So you have to be very honest with yourself about what will still seem like a good idea when you get back to everyday life. For me, this meant that I decided that if I couldn't find something that fit my criteria, I wouldn't buy any art at all. I didn't want to get something that reminded me of Ireland but after a few weeks or months ended up in the closet gathering dust! I just kept reminding myself about my plans to enlarge some of my nicest photographs from the trip to put on the walls, and made myself pass up a few items that temporarily tempted me but didn't hold up to scrutiny.

Luckily, I took my time and eventually came across a beautiful piece of pottery in a Dublin craft shop. It has a spiral motif, which I came to strongly associate with Ireland and my vacation due to the prehistoric art we saw, so that was a great and subtle connection. (If I'd gotten something covered in shamrocks and leprechauns I bet I'd have gotten tired of it pretty quickly!) It's my favorite color, blue, and goes well with a few pieces I already have. And even with the exchange rate, it was in my price range. In other words, it was something I would have realistically bought at home-- but I'm so happy to have bought it on vacation because it means a little more.

My next souvenir was smaller, but followed the same theme. We visited the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. Now, the Aran Islands are famous for their sweaters, hand-knit by island women with each pattern having a meaning. However, the sweaters are rather pricey, and even more to the point, I don't need any new sweaters! What I did need, however, was an earwarmer/headband-- something I intended to buy all last winter every time my cold ears started to ache, and yet somehow never got around to. So I picked up a hand-knit Aran Island earwarmer instead of a sweater... same intricate pattern, same connection to the islands and their people, but more affordable and something I will actually use.

(I have to admit that my last souvenir was not nearly so useful, but it was sort of a last-minute airport "I-have-5-Euros-in-my-pocket-to-use-up" kind of thing... and I am enjoying my tin whistle even if it's not practical in the least!)

How about you? Do you try to buy souvenirs that also fit other wants/needs? How do you approach souvenirs? I must say, on most smaller trips I stick to postcards and other cheap or free souvenirs, but this one was a special vacation for me and I am quite glad to have something nicer as a memento.

Carnival of Ethics, Values, and Personal Finance

Hi everyone! Here's the latest Carnival of Ethics, Values, and Personal Finance:

• My picks this edition focus on knowing yourself as a path to well-being (financial and otherwise):
  
• Zen and The Art of Personal Finance in 4 Steps by teaspoon at www.TeaspoonFinance.com - Financial wisdom, one teaspoon at a time....
• How to Fight With Your Spouse About Money by The Dough Roller at The Dough Roller.
• Finding The Center by Trent at The Simple Dollar.
  
• Other highlights:
• Marlon J. Broussard presents The 7 Immutable Laws of Building "True Wealth" posted at MoneyBlog. ("I have come to realize that my core beliefs about economics, finance, capitalism, business, money, consumerism, and the like, are all contrary to how our world functions today. Now, the questions to ask are rather simple; Does that make the "Worlds" way of functioning wrong?, Are those who make their livelihoods through this way of functioning, bad for doing so?, Are you an anarchist? The simple answers to these three questions are no, no, & NO!")
  
• plonkee presents who do you donate to and why? posted at plonkee money. ("Which charitable causes do you support?")
• ChristianPF presents Don't give to the poor? posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog . ("Is giving to beggars helping them or hurting them? A quick discussion about giving to the poor.")
• Leon Gettler presents The Pope and taxes posted at Sox First. ("The blogosphere has come to life with the Vatican announcing that Pope Benedict XVI will issue a doctrinal pronouncement condemning tax evasion as "socially unjust" and denouncing tax havens and offshore bank accounts, claiming this reduces tax revenues for the benefit of society as a whole.")
• Silicon Valley Blogger presents Cheap Barbecue And Safe Fireworks: Our Fun Family Extravaganza posted at The Digerati Life. ("We had a simple get together with the family using our cheap barbecue grill. And it was as usual, a truly fun time.")
• Anna Ross presents Money & Soul posted at From Anna's F-R-E-E-Writing. ("Applying SQ (spiritual intelligence) to money")
• Living Better presents What Is Your Credit Saying About You? posted at PlainAdvice. ("Take a candid look at what your credit problems might be saying about you.")
• Christopher Smith presents You want to be a hippo, not a whale shark posted at Real Estate Investing in the Real World. ("Business and investing is all about dealing with people. Entrepreneurs and investors who have their eye on the long term when it comes to building relationships will build more value in the long term. Trust, honesty, and open communications are values that good businesspeople practice.")
• The rest:
• Paula presents WWYD: Repair, Upgrade, or Buy New? posted at Queercents. ("When something isn't working as it should do you sink the money into repair or upgrading it? Or, do you just scrap it and bite the bullet and buy something new?")
• Chris Russell presents Working Hard Does Not Produce Success posted at Productivity Planner. ("Yes, we work hard to be successful, but we also have to choose to be successful. It is a decision. It is a conscious effort. It takes mental discipline. It is a deliberate mindset.")
  
• John presents WWYD: Speak Now, Or Forever Hold Your Peace? posted at Queercents. ("We've all had some reservations about a friend or relative's decision to seal a commitment with a formal union. Of course, the emotional cost of a failed marriage or union is greater than what dollars can measure, but sometimes people jump into commitment ignoring all that is at stake...")
• Kevin Surbaugh presents Mega Millions, Powerball & Other Lottery Thoughts posted at Becoming & Staying Debt Free. ("With last weeks Powerball getting as high as $314 million , before an Iowa woman won the huge amount, and last night's Mega Millions game garnering four winners in four states (dividing the $330 million prize), I thought I would take some time and discuss the lottery.")
• Nenad Ristic presents Attribution Theory posted at Money Conciousness.
• Wanda Grindstaff presents Summer is Over, Is it Time to Focus on Success? posted at Creating Abundant Lifestyles.
• Kevin Bedell presents Global Warming and Personal Leadership: A Picture Essay posted at 21st Century Citizen.
  

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the Sept 20 edition of ethics, values & personal finance using our carnival submission form. And please contact me if you're interested in hosting!

Technorati tags: ethics, values & personal finance, blog carnival .

I am back!

I've returned from my vacation. It was a fantastic trip, and I had a wonderful time. And it's inspired a number of posts I'm hoping to write in the next days and weeks.

But not tonight. Right now the clock is telling me that it is 9:30 PM but my body is telling me it is 2:30 AM and I'm just about ready to collapse.

So I will try to have some good new posts up for you soon. But in the meantime, if you missed it, please do check out the edition of the Carnival of Ethics, Values and Personal Finance that was up at Millionaire Mommy Next Door on August 23rd.