These cases can save your phone from the brink of disaster

If you're like me, your cell phone contains your life. The contents of your phone include your contacts, appointments, to-do lists, instant messages, photos, business applications, mail, travel tools and more. Yet, it can all be lost at the drop of a hat, I mean, phone. I've done it all: dropped my phone on cement, plopped it into the toilet and submerged it in mud. All of these occurrences resulted in the demise of my phone. I had to wait for an insurance replacement or, worse, pay for a new device after my insurance was canceled due to excess claims. Then, with new phone in hand, I had to go through the anguish of retrieving the back-up — hoping against hope that it contained somewhat recent data. Although nothing can protect against losing a phone, a good case can protect against the elements and clumsiness. My vote for best case is Lifeproof. It is guaranteed to be: drop proof from heights up to 6.6 feet; water proof — submersible up to 6.6 feet for one hour; dirt and dust proof — sealed for protection; snow proof — closed to snow and ice. A more temporary inconvenience is running out of power. This is where Lifeproof comes to the rescue with a battery-pack case. When your phone power is depleted, simply push the button on the back of his case and the phone is charged to 100%. The best part about the Lifeproof battery-pack case is that it works. It's also not bulky or heavy. I don't own stock in Lifeproof and, to be fair, there are other good alternatives. If you're not afraid of water, Otterbox offers many types of great cases. You can choose from various styles that are drop-proof, dust-proof and scratch-proof. Some models also include a built-in battery pack. And, they offer cool accessories such as camera lenses, chip reader, tripod, speaker and more. Depending on which features are important to you, other good choices include cases from Catalyst and Ballistic. My case has been a god-send to me. I no longer worry about dropping my phone or running out of power. Now, if I could just make sure not to leave it in a taxi ... Sheryl Rowling is head of rebalancing solutions at Morningstar Inc. and principal at Rowling & Associates. She considers herself a non-techie user of technology.