May I just say to the world that a store gift card really is the single best gift you can give to a broke person with an affinity for credit card usage.  Rid your minds of the notion that giving gift cards is lazy and impersonal.

For a credit card user, store gift cards provide a sense of freedom AND discipline;  one is free to shop without spending their own money, while simultaneously being restricted to one store. One can bask in the euphoria of guilt free shopping. It really is quite a treat.

Now of course it’s hard to scoff at a cash gift, after all, as my father likes to say cash is King.  But the problem with giving cash to a spend enthusiast, with a cash flow problem, is that they’re liable to spend it on BILLS, or worse, NOTHING.

It’s important to remember that spend enthusiasts have a problem with discipline.  It’s very hard not to use a portion of that $20 in cash on a latte or a pack of gum, etc.  And before they know it the money is gone and they have nothing of note to show for it.

The same goes for credit card logo gift cards, those tend to burn a very deep whole in a frivolous spender’s pocket.  An enthusiast will run through the balance quicker than you can say charge it.  Be very careful when giving these.

So for Christmas and birthday’s alike, here are some tips for proper money gift giving etiquette. Always consider who your recipient really is:

1. know the recipient’s spending style: spend enthusiast = store specific gift card; responsible spender = cash or Visa/Amex/MasterCard gift card
2. do your research: to personalize gift cards find out which store your spender loves BUT has been unable to shop at due to a lack in funds
3. if you’re short on time don’t fret: a lot of times even your local grocery store has a gift card rack with tons of options from Nordstrom to Home Depot
4. in a pinch give rules: if you’ve completely run out of time you can give cash, BUT specify that it’s meant to be spent at a specific store that they love

* I was faced with a #5 this Christmas by a special someone, because she told me she planned on giving me a Target gift card but ran out of time, I will gladly honor her wishes.  BUT because I know myself, I’m going to exchange the money for the actual Target gift card… you know, to avoid any temptation to waste it on something that was not intended by the giver.

written by me | filed under Lessons they don't teach in school | tagged birthdays, christmas, gift cards | leave a comment »