With all the spending going on in the next few days, I thought I would share a couple ideas that we have used for Christmas gifts.
Everyone likes food. Since we first dated, my wife has baked for the holidays. All the relatives are happy with the breads and cookies. She skipped one year and still has not heard the last of it.
We have a 16 year old niece. A year ago we bought her minutes for her pay as you go phone. It was like we gave her a car.
Speaking of a car, the same niece started driving this year and she has a car now. But she has to pay for everything, repairs, gas, Insurance, etc. We gave her a gas card. It was her favorite present. She still thanks us for it a month later.
We also watch thrift stores. Many times we find name brand clothes with original tags from the name brand stores still on them. We have also collected crystal.
If you are really broke, try this. One year I had no job and no money. I looked at all my processions and found special items that I knew someone would love as much as me. I then gave each one away with a note on how I acquired the item and what it meant to me and why they were special to me too.
Here are a couple of ideas I found on the web that I thought are good too.
- Set up a Google Talk account for a relative that lives far away and buy them a web cam. They can have video conversations with you. They can see grandkids, etc.
- “Give actual shares of stock. You know how department stores sometimes have those neat “gifts under $10″ sections? The stock exchange has one too – and right now it’s piled to the ceiling with famous brand-name equities. Citigroup, Time Warner, News Corp. (publisher of the Wall Street Journal), Macy‘s, Goodyear, CBS, Sun Microsystems, Starbucks, Nordstorm, Whole Foods, Royal Caribbean. They’re all less than $10 a share.” These will increase in value when the economy turns around.
- Piggy bank or savings bonds. Start a college fund for a youngster.
- Free labor is a great idea if you have no cash. Babysitting for a night or two, cleaning every Saturday morning for a month, mowing the lawn or shoveling snow, painting, etc.
Just my 2 cents. Jim @ ChangeJarSavings.com
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