Give Savings - The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Want to give loved ones something that can truly benefit them and their futures?
Tired of getting gifts that end up in the trash or taking up storage space?
Sick of facing shopping, checkouts, and crowds buying gifts for family & friends?
Family worried this holiday season about inflation and rising mortgage rates?

These are all great reasons to participate in the #GiveSavings Campaign!

The #GiveSavings Campaign is an innovative and thoughtful approach to gift-giving, focusing on long-term benefits and sustainability.

This initiative aims to encourage people to give savings gifts that contribute to the future well-being of their loved ones, such as:

savings bonds
investments
contributions to savings accounts for that ‘special’ something they’re saving for, a trip, a car, a house, a honeymoon
contribution to education funds

By doing so, you can address common issues with traditional gift-giving, like unwanted or short-lived presents, while also avoiding the hassles of shopping in crowded places! Everybody’s happy – including Mother Earth. 🌎

Common Issues with Traditional Gift Giving

Accumulation Induced Guilt & Stress

‘Tis the Season for Accumulation! Over the next several weeks, new possessions will enter homes at an alarming rate. They’ll arrive in stockings, bags, boxes and envelopes. In America alone, over $600 billion dollars will be spent on retail goods during the holiday shopping season.

Ask yourself, is the gift you’re considering satisfying a NEED, a WANT or worse yet, merely an OBLIGATION.

A recent report noted Americans will spend $9 Billion (yes, that’s billion!) dollars on unwanted gifts this year. I tend to stick to a rule of “if you can’t eat it, I don’t gift it”. But the report shows, even food and drink make the list of misfit gifts!

How’s this for cosmic intuition…as I write this paragraph my husband has just informed me that our annual gift from relatives (whom we love and appreciate, don’t get me wrong) has just arrived. We roll our eyes as we stick the Swiss Colony sausage logs and blocks of cheddar cheese in assorted colors into the fridge. Each year we have the added stress of who we’ll feed this to as we don’t eat orange cheese.

Many readers will say, “but my family loves the gifts I give every year”. But do they really? We made the mistake that many do and thanked our family members for the generous gift and said how we had enjoyed it the first time we received it. We were polite and grateful they had thought of us. And now we’re in an annual tradition of feeling guilty when it arrives and stressed about how not to let it go to waste. Meanwhile, many go hungry in this country.

When the gift opening is done, new toys and clothes will clutter our rooms and closets. Then, the weariness will begin to set in. It always does.

Possessions bring about that effect on us. They clutter our physical space and steal our mental energy. They take time to clean and manage and organize. But worst of all…they cost us financial opportunity.

Opportunity Cost

The opportunity cost of giving someone an unnecessary gift today is that they’re left with less money for what they need in the future. Saving builds wealth, enabling your loved ones to buy goods and services in the future—perhaps a car, a college education, a house, a vacation.

Win-Win!

The GIVE SAVINGS approach to holiday gift giving has a positive impact on both gift-givers and recipients, fostering a culture of thoughtful and meaningful giving. It also promotes financial literacy and planning, which are essential skills in today’s world. It puts your loved ones on step closer to financial wellness.

This could be a great way to celebrate special occasions, helping loved ones build a more secure and prosperous future.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

We will spend $600 billion dollars during this holiday season. But in the end, we will be no happier than we were before. We will only be more tired, more burdened, and more distracted from the very things that do bring us joy.

It is time to shift our thinking on this issue. The accumulation of retail goods has not brought contentment or joy to our loved ones. It has not delivered on its promise. When wants are satisfied today, we’re often left wanting more.