When choosing gifts you give from your heart, but unfortunately it’s the piggy bank which bears the cost. Making lavish gifts can leave you with regret when your credit card statement applies. As well as the actual gifts there are other extra costs to consider, but with a bit of imaginative thinking it is possible to keep on top of most of them.
One unavoidable cost really is batteries if you are choosing a gift which requires them. There can be little more annoying than receiving a gift which requires batteries, and having none to hand. This should be particularly borne in mind if making a gift to a child who will be devastated if the latest action gadget remains uselessly unpowered. Factor the cost of any batteries into the purchase you’ve budgeted for the gift itself. Obviously the simple way to avoid this additional expense is not to buy anything which requires them. They are environmentally unfriendly after all.
Many people waste a lot of money wrapping presents up in gift wrap, using bows and selotape. Not only is this an extra expensive cost it is totally wasteful, unless you saved and wrapped the wrapping paper from your own previous gifts. It’s far more hip to be green and wrap up your gift in old and recyclable newspaper, which the gift recipient can in turn reuse to clean their windows or provide garden mulch. Tie it up with some string with plenty of knots for a finishing touch.
Often a gift is purchased for friends or family who live in a distant state, requiring the necessary expense of postage or shipping. This cost can be totally avoided by choosing a gift online which comes with free shipping, and ordering it to be sent directly to the recipient. If you can’t find free shipping you could invite the recipient to visit, and collect their gift, but then you’ll have the additional expense of feeding them to consider.
Another alternative for saving on the expense of sending gifts is to send a gift card, or even better arrange a free direct transfer directly into their bank account, thus saving the price of a stamp. Most people appreciate money rather than someone else’s taste in gifts.
Trailing round the mall looking for the perfect gift no doubt involves the expense of getting there. Instead of going into an actual shop, shop online, to save on the costs of gas and shoe leather. It’s easy to snap up some good bargains on the internet, and any savings you make can be kept in reserve for the next gift you wish to buy.
Often the largest and most unconsidered extra expense of buying gifts is the price of the plastic. Unless you pay for the gift as soon as your statement date calls for it, you’ll be paying far more than you intended in the additional interest costs. This can be easily avoided by saving up for the gifts before you buy them, or even putting them on reserve in a layaway store if it would help you keep to a budget.
These extra costs should either be factored into the overall amount you intend to spend on your gift, or avoided as outlined above. It’s the thought which really counts when you give a gift, and its certain the recipient wouldn’t want to think you broke the bank on pointless extras.