Tag: gifts
There are 6 entries that are tagged gifts. Now displaying reults 1 - 6.
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Merry Christmas!
Posted on December 24, 2007 by Him
photo: Sherlock77 (James)
Dear Santa,
Can you please magically make our student loan balance disappear? We promise to be extra nice this year.
Love,
Him & Her
Lack of Time = Crappy Christmas Presents?
Posted on December 12, 2007 by Him
With all of the commitments that I have this holiday season, from long hours at work to doing long homework assignments for school to volunteering, I've come to the realization that Christmas is rapidly approaching. Usually by this time of year I've completed my Christmas shopping by getting the people on my list thoughtful, locally sold gifts.
As Christmas approaches, I'm realizing that my commitments aren't likely to die down that much, or are going to be replaced with other duties such as getting the apartment ready for family who will be staying with us for the holiday. I've done the goofy-clueless-guy-Christmas-shopping-on-Christmas-eve thing, and it wasn't fun picking through the leftovers to give as gifts.
How have you managed your holiday craziness? Any tips for last minute shopping ideas?
At least tell me it's not too late.
Non-Corporate Christmas
Posted on December 01, 2006 by Him
Last year I set out do do what I thought was impossible: buy all of my Christmas presents at locally owned businesses in Chicago.
Fortunately, local culture blog Gaper's Block showed me the way: they published a 2005 holiday shopping guide. It featured 12 different independently owned stores in Chicago. While I didn't totally succeed in my holiday mission, I did by a good portion of gifts from thse vendors.
Fortunately, this year will also be a great year for buying locally-made goods. Gaper's Block and Time Out Chicago have tons of listings of stuff that's going on.There are a plethora of crafty type shows, happenings, and bazaars going on this weekend in Chicago.
Why local businesses? I like putting money into the hands of people in our neighborhood. I appreciate the personal "thank you" I get from owners and craft-makers. I like getting unique gifts for people that aren't from nationwide department stores. I like that I'm even helping the environment a little by buying locally so that goods don't have to be transported over long distances.
To me, putting smiles on peoples' faces and helping out is what the holidays are about.
Spontaneity, Surprises and the Joint Account
Posted on November 30, 2006 by Him
Yes, the holidays have descended upon us, meaning the purchasing of gifts. This is probably the one time of the year that Her and I like to get something expensive special for each other.
But when you share an account, how do you keep purchases secret? Both Her and I check our checking account on a daily basis, so any unexpected purchases need to be thoughtfully explained. It's not really a secret if the online ledger says VICTORIA'S SECRET BATH AND BODY WORKS. How do I explain that?
"Uh, my skin is really dry. And I really need to exfoliate. A lot."
"This lingerie is for...my boss?"
This doesn't just apply to holidays, though. Birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
If you share a joint account with your partner, how do you remain spontaneous? How do you surprise your significant other with a gift without raising red flags?
Wedding Budget Panic: We've lost $10,000
Posted on April 27, 2006 by Her
EDIT:
We know you'd love to just jump right in and leave a scathing comment, but please read our responses to this post as well. Thanks.
Read His response.
Read Her clarification and response.
--
This week our wedding budget suffered a huge blow. My parents reduced the amount they are offering to pay for our wedding from $10,000 to....zero. To be fair, my parents never actually promised us the $10,000. When we got engaged, I told my mom that I would like her to tell us how much they would be willing to contribute by April 15. Between then and now she has repeatedly said she would like to give us $10,000 but that she and my father were having trouble agreeing on an amount. April 15 came and went with no mention of the money. So a few days later I called my mom and reminded her that we will need to know exactly how much they can give us and when, so we can accurately plan our wedding budget. She seemed to have forgotten all about the April 15 deadline and sounded a little put off by the request. Still, she promised to give me an answer soon.
On Sunday night, she called. She sounded more chipper than usual and made some small talk before announcing that she and my father had decided on their wedding contribution. Then things started to take a turn downhill. She began by stating some facts:
They are 70 and 72 years old. They are still working, and cannot stop working because they do not have much money saved for retirement (I do not know how much but it isn't more than $50,000). Their health is failing and they are afraid they will be forced from their jobs. They have borrowed the full amount available from their home equity loan (not for any sort of emergency, but for Christmas gifts and the like) and they will have to make monthly payments of $1500 for two years in order to pay off that debt. They have no money set aside for our wedding. And they cannot give us any money for the wedding.
Part of me feels abandoned. They have made bad financial decisions their entire lives, and did not plan for their retirement or our wedding. I feel like if they cared about me, they would have saved some money for our wedding. My mom even had the nerve to suggest we should elope. How could she so easily say she doesn't care if she's at our wedding?
Part of me feels angry. How can they be surprised that I would expect them to help pay for our wedding? We've only been out of college for two years and are already burdened with $1000 a month payments for the student loans my parents forced me to take out (because they saved nothing for college, either). I'm angry that my mom kept hinting at a large gift, than cheerily told me we'd be getting nothing.
Part of me feels relieved. I am aware of their financial situation and know that they really cannot afford to help us. This is probably the first financially responsible decision they have ever made. I foresee that I will be expected to care for them when they run out of money, so this thrift will help delay their dependence on me.
Most of all, I feel panicked. The typical wedding costs around $25,000 and I don't see how we can do it for much less, especially in Chicago. Of course there are ways to cut costs, but it takes a lot of cutting to halve the budget. We have $4,000 saved up for down payments and a quarter of that will go to reserve the church. That doesn't leave much for reserving the reception hall and everything else. We both agree we do not want to take on any more debt to pay for the wedding, and estimate we can save up around $15,000 ourselves if we try very very hard.
On the phone with my mom, I couldn't help but cry. I didn't want to say anything I would regret so I told her I had to go. Then she heard me crying and sounded shocked. "You expected us to pay for your wedding?" she exclaimed. I told her again that I needed to go and I hung up. I have not called her back yet. I don't know what to say to her. I'm just so hurt.
Any suggestions from our readers would be appreciated.
Stocks For Babies
Posted on March 23, 2006 by Her
After reading Laws of Finance's post, Starting Them Off Young today I was curious enough to do some research. LoF wrote a pretty persuasive piece on why stock is a great gift for babies and children. My cousin just had a baby last weekend and we haven't yet bought a baby gift, so this sounded like a really innovative idea. I googled "buy stock for baby" and lo and behold, someone has created a business to do just that. www.oneshare.com sells stocks as gifts. You purchase one share in your recipient's name (for gifts to children, their parent must be named as a joint owner) and receive one stock certificate, matted and framed, with an inspirational message. Some of the stocks for children include Pixar, Disney, and Dreamworks. They sell about 150 different stocks in all. The concept is really fun, but it's also pricey. You pay the going rate for the share of stock, plus a $39 fee, plus around $50 for the frame. This puts the total price of a $25 share at around $115. It's a good thing the kid has plenty of years for the stock to gain value, because it's going to take until they're 105 just to break even! In addition, high-risk/high-return stocks such as small cap companies aren't offered by oneshare, as they deal in popular large cap stocks. It's highly unlikely that a single share in a large cap company could become a golden ticket to wealth. So really, these kinds of gifts are more of a novelty than a serious investment.
However, this could be a fantastic investment for two other reasons.
The stock certificates are often lavishly illustrated with characters from the company. I've heard that in some cases these "collectible" certificates can be worth more than the stock they represent. A particularly rare certificate could end up increasing in value.
The other way the certificate could be of value is as inspiration. If the parents of the child hadn't considered making investments in their child's name, this could be a fun push in that direction. And of course, the framed certificate could inspire the child to take an interest in finance and lead to life of fiscal responsibility. Now that's a good investment!
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