« What would you do? | Home | Effortless Saving »
Gift card or cash?
By Daphne | November 13, 2007
One in four teenagers are already bored with gift cards and think they are a “lame gift from people who have no clue what they really want,” according to a recent report from WSL Strategic Retail, a New York-based retail consulting firm.That said, gift givers find gift cards an easy and time-saving present. And, with the economic downturn taking its toll, it is a socially acceptable way to help a friend or family member pay for groceries, gas or phone service, said Mandy Putnam, vice president of TNS Retail Forward, a Columbus, Ohio-based retail research and consulting firm.“We see this whole shift toward more practical gift buying going on at the moment because people are nervous about rising gas prices and the housing market weakness,” said Putnam. “It’s not as crass as handing someone a $100 bill.”
I read this in the Chicago Tribune today and wondered… who raised these ungrateful people? I was always grateful and for what I received even if I had to find a creative way to use it. If I had received a gift card for a store rather than a pair of house shoes I would have been ecstatic. My relatives never really got it that I prefer to walk barefoot in the house or that I don’t have anything pink because… surprise, surprise: I’m a girly girl who detests pink. House shoes were either regifted or given away because they were never worn.
Money is a great gift. There’s nothing crass about giving someone money unless you are making a big show of it, but hey that’s what money cards or “gleaners” are for.
A gift card or straight out cash? Either way this would give you a definite way of spending exactly what you budgeted. Wrap the gift though. Presentation is key. Use inexpensive wrapping paper to wrap the gift card or go to the dollar store and purchase small boxes. You can buy several gift card or money gleaners for 100 pennies.
Giving cash has its benefits because then the person can spend all or part of it at the store of his/her choice. It also has the added benefit of not losing value. A fifty-dollar bill is still worth fifty dollars if you don’t use it within 18 months, there is no $2 per month service fee. I had a couple of those gift cards that lost value within a certain time because I saved them because they were not stores I frequented often.
Certain gift cards give you added pressure of having to use the card within a certain amount of time. I understand from the retailers’ point of view that they would like customers use their cards as soon as possible. I prefer to use my gift cards when I choose to. I don’t use the money that I receive as a gift right away either. I wait until there’s something I really want so I can splurge.
As far as “a socially acceptable way of helping someone”: unless you are advertising your gift from a billboard, it doesn’t make a difference if you are giving a gift that is socially acceptable or not. If the recipient accepts it, that’s all that matters.
Topics: November 2007 |
December 21st, 2007 at 10:09 am
I think giftcards are a great gift to give, especially to kids. They feel empowered because the get to have a “credit card” like their parents or older siblings. They are also better than cash because you can include a special message on the card.