The holiday shopping season is official upon us. Consumerism is one reason why Americans aren’t as rich as we really should be – people spend all their time upgrading their stuff and not enough time getting financially secure.
So, instead of getting stuff for the holidays, consider gifting real financial assets for your friends and relatives:
Here are some low cost options for doing this:
1) Savings bonds: Cost $25 to $50. The beauty of doing savings bonds is their low minimums. The minimum price for US bonds is $25 for series EE and $50 for Series I. Buying bonds is super easy, you just need to go into any bank and ask for a form. You’ll need the recipients social security number and address. Bonds usually take about six weeks to process, depending on the bank.
2) Single shares of stock: Cost $50 to $150. There are several companies online that will sell you one share of stock. The standard package is you buy a single share in paper form, as well as a frame and shipping and handling. Usually they charge you the base price of the stock, plus $30 to $40 dollars for the frame and $15 or so for miscellaneous. Check out oneshare.com or giveashare.com. For this you’ll need, the recipients social security number and the address.
3) Silver or gold: Cost $22 to $75. If you wanted to pick up a bit of precious metal as a gift, you could consider an ounce of silver or a gram of gold. There are two primary ways to buy these, from a coin dealer or via the internet. In either case a quick google search should tell you where to go. Before going shopping be sure to check ebay to get a sense of market for this type of asset. At current prices you’re looking at $20 bucks for an ounce of silver or $50 to $70 for a gram of gold. Both make nice gifts for younger brothers or cousins.
Readers: If you’ve got other tips to share, please feel free to leave us a comment.
Happy Holidays,
James
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