Stop-fighting-about-money
http://bit.ly/apTAVN
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http://moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/blog/devil-details/valentine-5-numbers-you-need-to-know-about-your-honey/3967/?tag=content;col1
He or she may be your perfect Valentine — the person who makes you laugh, makes your heart beat faster and who gives you chills just by holding your hand. But if your sweetheart can’t come clean with a few pivotal numbers, you might want to think twice before tying the knot.
Money woes and financial infidelity are a key component in the majority of romantic splits, experts contend. A few key numbers can tell you whether you’re fiscally compatible or headed for the economic shoals.
Those numbers:
Credit Score: It’s a three-digit figure that typically ranges from 500 to 850, the higher the better. High scores mean you’ve been responsible with loans and are likely to get the best rates when you borrow in the future. That will be important if you want to buy houses and cars together some day.
If your Valentine has a score of 700 or more, they’re golden, says Joseph J. Montanaro, financial planner with USAA Group. It’s not necessarily a deal-breaker if the score is lower. Some young people have low scores because they have no credit, rather than bad credit. But you ought to ask more questions to ferret out the issue.
Risk Quotient: Behavioral psychologists tell us that we all have money personalities that direct our spending, saving and investing patterns, leading us to either stash cash in a mattress, gamble it all on the spin of a Roulette wheel, or, ideally, do something in between. It’s okay if you’re a financial granny and he’s a gunslinger, as long as you know where your differences lie and can find ways to work out budgetary and investing compromises that keep you both happy and sane.
How do you know your money personality? Rutger’s University researchers developed a nifty little risk quiz. You can do the his and hers versions. (Okay, it’s the same quiz. But do the quiz separately so you can see if you’re economic twins or opposites.)
Net worth: This is simply the value of everything you own, minus what you owe. If you’re starting out and this number is positive, congratulations — even if your net worth is only a dollar. A significantly negative number should make you wary. Again, it’s not a deal-breaker on its own. But when your net worth is negative, you’ve got to dig yourself out of a hole before you can start on a road to wealth. That makes for a bumpier journey.
Savings rate: That last figure might have depressed you, but a lot of people have student debt. You don’t necessarily dump someone for borrowing to get a better education. But you should consider what they’re doing to dig themselves out. Your sweetie’s savings rate can serve as the canary in the coal mine.
Is he or she saving prodigiously to pay off debts and build up long-term equity in a retirement account? Montanaro says young people should be socking away at least 15% of what they earn. (Though, initially at least some of this could be dedicated to paying down debts rather than building up savings accounts.) But if he or she is spending faster than saving/repaying, this canary’s a goner.
You can expect big trouble if you wed. This is the type of person likely to have secret accounts and hide purchases — just so you won’t get angry, they’ll confess later. The time to learn that your spouse is a spending nightmare is before those debts are joint obligations.
Emergency money: A lot of people talk about having emergency savings but few people do, says Montanaro. If you’re sweetheart is young and already has started an emergency fund, that’s a great sign. If he or she has between three and six months of living expenses saved, this Valentine is smelling like roses.
Thinking about tying the knot? Check out MoneyWatch’s Wedding Survival Guide, including How to Get a Dress for Less, 9 Ways to Save on the Wedding, Wedding Rules for Mom & Dad; and Best & Worst Wedding Gifts.
More on MoneyWatch
Does Love Make You Richer?
Prenups: You Want Me to Sign What?
Beware Secret Accounts and Clothing in the Trunk
Money Makes Us Liars
Money Tips for Gay Couples
6 Little Things that Cost a Lot
**********
Try:
http://www.smartaboutmoney.org/LifeValuesQuiz/Quiz.aspx
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Research shows four categories of human values corresponding to people’s concerns in life:
*
Inner values: psychological and spiritual
*
Social values: family, friends and communities of interest
*
Physical values: health and environment
*
Financial values: sufficiency, sustainability, appropriateness
(VS: why not Intelectual too???)
Inner LifeValues
Inner LifeValues are personal. They include our identity and our social identity, the desire to worship (or not) as we please, our need for safety and security, and many other aspects of the “real me.” Inner values constitute our desire for freedom and independence, and for control over our life, our goals and our priorities. Strong feelings of autonomy and security, for instance, help us feel in charge of our life. From a financial perspective, inner values frame the behaviors that lead to financial security and the resourcefulness than can help us to survive a sudden money crunch that blindsides us.
Inner values also shape our sense of purpose and meaning in life, and the principles by which we live. We vary from person to person in our need for personal space, our desire for autonomy at work, and the need to achieve or to feel accomplished. We all have such values, and they are rooted in how we see ourselves and how we believe others see us.
Social LifeValues
Social LifeValues are about “belonging” and relatedness. They concern our parents, spouse, partner, children, other family members, neighbors, friends and community at large. Our desire to be with others or to be a loner affects our living and working habits. Providing for others, budgeting jointly and sharing expenses are part of this domain. How we handle money is in part tied up in our unique family history. Habits and cultural preferences are rooted in family and other social relationships.
Social LifeValues also resonate on a broader level with our communities of interest: peer groups, organizational groups with which we identify and/or interact, our relatedness to political parties and representatives, and even whole nations.
Physical LiveValues
Physical LifeValues are about the tangible aspects of life: the external world as well as the state of our physical health and well-being. Such values relate to the amount of space we need to feel comfortable and the degree to which we are satisfied and fulfilled by aesthetic stimulation and material possessions. Physical values involve the actual health of our bodies and the measures we are willing to take to secure that health, but they also are about our desire for beauty and comfort.
These values can be seen in our pursuit of art and artifacts, clothing styles, vehicles, and architectural preferences in the home we select to buy or rent. Physical values are about feeling physically satisfied and comfortable in our home and our environment.
Financial LifeValues
Financial LifeValues are about money and finances. They are unrelated to how much money we actually have. These values reflect what we think or believe about our money and financial affairs. They reflect how we value money and what it can buy or how it can grow as an investment.
Financial LifeValues may or may not be related to what we actually know about money and finance. As with any deeply held value, we might intend action to increase savings or decrease debt, but choose instead to reinforce our self-esteem on “needs” manufactured in the marketplace.
Nearly everyone, regardless of educational level or affluence, is concerned with:
* The sufficiency of their money (“Do I have enough?”)
* The sustainability of their resources (“How long will my money last?”), and
* The appropriateness of their financial decisions (“Is this the right choice for me?”)
The answers to those questions have different meanings for different individuals based on their financial values. Individuals less concerned about appropriateness of purchases are less likely to be prepared for financial emergencies. Those who think more about the sustainability of their money generally have a healthier bank balance. And what is “enough” to one person can differ greatly from the “enough” of the person standing next to him or her.
**********
Valentine: 5 Numbers You Need to Know About Your Honey
http://moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/blog/devil-details/valentine-5-numbers-you-need-to-know-about-your-honey/3967/?tag=content;col1
He or she may be your perfect Valentine — the person who makes you laugh, makes your heart beat faster and who gives you chills just by holding your hand. But if your sweetheart can’t come clean with a few pivotal numbers, you might want to think twice before tying the knot.
Money woes and financial infidelity are a key component in the majority of romantic splits, experts contend. A few key numbers can tell you whether you’re fiscally compatible or headed for the economic shoals.
Those numbers:
Credit Score: It’s a three-digit figure that typically ranges from 500 to 850, the higher the better. High scores mean you’ve been responsible with loans and are likely to get the best rates when you borrow in the future. That will be important if you want to buy houses and cars together some day.
If your Valentine has a score of 700 or more, they’re golden, says Joseph J. Montanaro, financial planner with USAA Group. It’s not necessarily a deal-breaker if the score is lower. Some young people have low scores because they have no credit, rather than bad credit. But you ought to ask more questions to ferret out the issue.
Risk Quotient: Behavioral psychologists tell us that we all have money personalities that direct our spending, saving and investing patterns, leading us to either stash cash in a mattress, gamble it all on the spin of a Roulette wheel, or, ideally, do something in between. It’s okay if you’re a financial granny and he’s a gunslinger, as long as you know where your differences lie and can find ways to work out budgetary and investing compromises that keep you both happy and sane.
How do you know your money personality? Rutger’s University researchers developed a nifty little risk quiz. You can do the his and hers versions. (Okay, it’s the same quiz. But do the quiz separately so you can see if you’re economic twins or opposites.)
Net worth: This is simply the value of everything you own, minus what you owe. If you’re starting out and this number is positive, congratulations — even if your net worth is only a dollar. A significantly negative number should make you wary. Again, it’s not a deal-breaker on its own. But when your net worth is negative, you’ve got to dig yourself out of a hole before you can start on a road to wealth. That makes for a bumpier journey.
Savings rate: That last figure might have depressed you, but a lot of people have student debt. You don’t necessarily dump someone for borrowing to get a better education. But you should consider what they’re doing to dig themselves out. Your sweetie’s savings rate can serve as the canary in the coal mine.
Is he or she saving prodigiously to pay off debts and build up long-term equity in a retirement account? Montanaro says young people should be socking away at least 15% of what they earn. (Though, initially at least some of this could be dedicated to paying down debts rather than building up savings accounts.) But if he or she is spending faster than saving/repaying, this canary’s a goner.
You can expect big trouble if you wed. This is the type of person likely to have secret accounts and hide purchases — just so you won’t get angry, they’ll confess later. The time to learn that your spouse is a spending nightmare is before those debts are joint obligations.
Emergency money: A lot of people talk about having emergency savings but few people do, says Montanaro. If you’re sweetheart is young and already has started an emergency fund, that’s a great sign. If he or she has between three and six months of living expenses saved, this Valentine is smelling like roses.
Thinking about tying the knot? Check out MoneyWatch’s Wedding Survival Guide, including How to Get a Dress for Less, 9 Ways to Save on the Wedding, Wedding Rules for Mom & Dad; and Best & Worst Wedding Gifts.
More on MoneyWatch
Does Love Make You Richer?
Prenups: You Want Me to Sign What?
Beware Secret Accounts and Clothing in the Trunk
Money Makes Us Liars
Money Tips for Gay Couples
6 Little Things that Cost a Lot
**********
Try:
http://www.smartaboutmoney.org/LifeValuesQuiz/Quiz.aspx
-----
Research shows four categories of human values corresponding to people’s concerns in life:
*
Inner values: psychological and spiritual
*
Social values: family, friends and communities of interest
*
Physical values: health and environment
*
Financial values: sufficiency, sustainability, appropriateness
(VS: why not Intelectual too???)
Inner LifeValues
Inner LifeValues are personal. They include our identity and our social identity, the desire to worship (or not) as we please, our need for safety and security, and many other aspects of the “real me.” Inner values constitute our desire for freedom and independence, and for control over our life, our goals and our priorities. Strong feelings of autonomy and security, for instance, help us feel in charge of our life. From a financial perspective, inner values frame the behaviors that lead to financial security and the resourcefulness than can help us to survive a sudden money crunch that blindsides us.
Inner values also shape our sense of purpose and meaning in life, and the principles by which we live. We vary from person to person in our need for personal space, our desire for autonomy at work, and the need to achieve or to feel accomplished. We all have such values, and they are rooted in how we see ourselves and how we believe others see us.
Social LifeValues
Social LifeValues are about “belonging” and relatedness. They concern our parents, spouse, partner, children, other family members, neighbors, friends and community at large. Our desire to be with others or to be a loner affects our living and working habits. Providing for others, budgeting jointly and sharing expenses are part of this domain. How we handle money is in part tied up in our unique family history. Habits and cultural preferences are rooted in family and other social relationships.
Social LifeValues also resonate on a broader level with our communities of interest: peer groups, organizational groups with which we identify and/or interact, our relatedness to political parties and representatives, and even whole nations.
Physical LiveValues
Physical LifeValues are about the tangible aspects of life: the external world as well as the state of our physical health and well-being. Such values relate to the amount of space we need to feel comfortable and the degree to which we are satisfied and fulfilled by aesthetic stimulation and material possessions. Physical values involve the actual health of our bodies and the measures we are willing to take to secure that health, but they also are about our desire for beauty and comfort.
These values can be seen in our pursuit of art and artifacts, clothing styles, vehicles, and architectural preferences in the home we select to buy or rent. Physical values are about feeling physically satisfied and comfortable in our home and our environment.
Financial LifeValues
Financial LifeValues are about money and finances. They are unrelated to how much money we actually have. These values reflect what we think or believe about our money and financial affairs. They reflect how we value money and what it can buy or how it can grow as an investment.
Financial LifeValues may or may not be related to what we actually know about money and finance. As with any deeply held value, we might intend action to increase savings or decrease debt, but choose instead to reinforce our self-esteem on “needs” manufactured in the marketplace.
Nearly everyone, regardless of educational level or affluence, is concerned with:
* The sufficiency of their money (“Do I have enough?”)
* The sustainability of their resources (“How long will my money last?”), and
* The appropriateness of their financial decisions (“Is this the right choice for me?”)
The answers to those questions have different meanings for different individuals based on their financial values. Individuals less concerned about appropriateness of purchases are less likely to be prepared for financial emergencies. Those who think more about the sustainability of their money generally have a healthier bank balance. And what is “enough” to one person can differ greatly from the “enough” of the person standing next to him or her.
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