Comments on: Handling Small Cash Gifts

By: PiFreak

PiFreak — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 02:11:23 +0000

I enjoy cash gifts, because I’m saving for college. However, I do this soooo often that I rarely have “real gifts”, so my uncle gave me $30, and told me to go out and spend it on something immediately. I did, and it was one of the best experiences. I would suggest saying that a tenth of your gift you should spend, and then invest the rest. That way, even if you only get a candy bar, it’s guilt-free, because you didn’t spend any money in a way, and then the majority can go to a big ticket item.

By: MoneyFwd

MoneyFwd — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 15:17:45 +0000

I’ve been thinking about this also since we currently have a tight budget and no need for more material things. I think taking at least a portion of it and saving it is the best way to go, unless you’ve been eyeing something that you really want/need. For us, it’s all going into savings so we can afford all of our necessary bills (i.e. tuition and books) next year.

By: dimes

dimes — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 20:22:38 +0000

:-) I hate cash gifts. Usually when we get one we stick it in our checking account and forget about it. There’s no requirement that on a thankyou note you itemize where the gift went, as it’s really not the giver’s business. Probably for you the hardest part of the whole thing will be agreeing with your wife what you want to do with it. I like the idea of saving for a trip when your kid(s) are older, and plan on encouraging the grandparents not to buy stuff for our kids, putting money into 529s or something instead.