Financially Savvy Holiday Gift Guide

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Presents with red ribbon against a red background, the 2019 gift guide for the financially savvy giver.

If you’re anything like me, you find yourself well into November and still haven’t purchased any gifts for the holidays. If procrastination was a talent, it just might be my superpower. But even if you are late to the holiday game, you can still find some great gifts for everyone on your list and not break the budget.

Here’s a Holiday Gift Guide with a list of gift ideas that not only don’t break the bank for you, they help save money or provide financial support for the recipient. Or, for those that don’t need the support, you can give the gift of a special and memorable experience that is worth the splurge.

Contents and Quick Links

1 Give the gift of peace of mind
2 Master your money super bundle
3 Books
4 Journal & Planners
5 Experiences
6 Hand make something special
7 Dinner at a local restaurant
8 Membership & Subscriptions
9 Movie Tickets
10 Pay a bill for someone
11 For the person that already has it all
12 When all else fails, give a gift card
13 Related reading

Give the gift of peace of mind

While it might not sound like an exciting gift to unwrap, providing peace-of-mind is priceless. And this is what the Smart Money Mamas In Case of Emergency Binder provides.

In my post Why You Need a Family Emergency Binder, I told my story of exactly why a product like this would have changed my life. My husband passed away when our son was just 3 years old. I had been a stay-at-home-mom, so I was left with no job, no career prospects, and no money. He had told me he was going to set up a life insurance policy, but it turned out he never got around to it.

The best gift you can give is that of peace-of-mind. Get this for your own family, or one close to you. It’s easy to go through the work pages, fill-in-the-blanks and follow the prompts to become protected in the event of an emergency.

Check out the product page to learn more and purchase a printable pdf workbook.

In case of emergency binder - what your loved ones need to know

Master your money super bundle

Give the gift of financial security this year with a bundle package of personal finance products at a steep discount. Products cover areas of budgeting, family finance, debt payoff, saving and money mindset. There is a special promotion during the holidays, then it is offered again throughout the year at a higher price. If you don’t see the product page, simply add your name and email to receive notice as soon as it is available at the end of November.

Books

I love me a good book. And the thing is, there are so many books out there that without a personal recommendation from someone you trust, it’s challenging and oftentimes overwhelming to pick the “right” one to invest in and read.

Which is where you, the financially savvy gift giver, comes in. Whether your friend or loved one can benefit from money management to personal development, I’ve got you covered. These are my trusty, vetted many times over, personal library favorites.

Personal finance

Wealth Building

Personal Development

Check out the Barnes & Noble Gift Guide for more ideas

Journal & Planners

Even though we live in the age of smart phones and Alexa, it’s still sometimes more effective to use a personal planner and write in a journal. Personally, if I don’t hand write something, I likely won’t remember it. So I like to keep a personal day planner for important notes and dates, as well as a goal planner to help me prioritize my time and remind myself of what is most important.

And, since many of these planners are beautiful and fun to use, they make great gifts!

My favorite goal planner is this one, however, it is geared specifically towards the real estate investor:

Journals

Planners

Productivity Planners

Goal accountability planner

Another great productivity and success planner is from Dailygreatness. I love their success planner, but they offer a planner for just about everyone.

Dailygreatness Yearly Success Planner

Experiences

Local events/excursions at a discount using Groupon

For an additional 20% any Groupon purchase, use this link.

Local classes (cooking, art, hobby, etc.)

I absolutely love the idea of giving a certificate for a local cooking class. This is a great idea for couples, too! There are often local cooking, baking and wine pairing classes available through Groupon or local stores, community colleges or centers.

Hand make something special

Homemade cookies for the holiday
Host a holiday cookie exchange party for more variety
Print a photo and gift with a nice frame
Create a photo book
Homemade jam
Make your own limoncello (highly requested in my family since I made it a few years ago!)

Dinner at a local restaurant

Always a huge hit, purchase a gift certificate for a nearby restaurant.

Membership & Subscriptions

Give the gift of prime

Amazon music

Amazon Kindle Unlimited

Membership or credit for classes at a local gym

National Geographic Kids Magazine subscription

Streaming subscriptions

Hulu
Netflix
Disney+ (currently can’t give as a gift but you can offer to pay for the service)
Amazon Prime
HBO NOW
SiriusXM

Audible membership or credits

Annual family membership to a local zoo, aquarium, tech museum, theatre or other attraction

Movie Tickets

I almost never go out to see a movie anymore. By the time you purchase the tickets and buy your snacks your down at least $50. And that’s just for 2 people on date night! Forget going out to the movies as a family.

If there is a movie I really want to see, I’ll plan to go to a matinee to save money. And I certainly won’t purchase any concessions while I’m there.

But, I do love the whole movie night experience. Which is why I love getting movie tickets as a gift. Especially if they include extra money for a drink and popcorn.

One great way to purchase movie gift cards is from Costco. You save money overall (the gift card is worth more than the purchase price) and if I’m shopping for my own teen/tween family members, I’m likely to spend money on sending them to the movies throughout the year anyway. At least this way I save a little money.

Another option is to purchase a gift card online. Fandango has a nice holiday promotion that includes concession spending as well.

Pay a bill for someone

Back in the particularly bleak days of single motherhood, a very thoughtful family member offered to pay my bills for me one month as a gift.

This was seriously the very best gift I could have received.

Having my bills paid meant I didn’t have to stress about how I was going to put gas in my car or feed myself and my young son.

If you know someone that is having a hard time making ends meet, do them the favor of easing their burden just a bit. It may seem like an awkward or unexciting gift, but it’s welcome all the same.

For the person that already has it all

If you just can’t think of the perfect gift for the person that just goes out and already buys what they want, give the gift of charity. Make a donation to a favorite charity in the gift recipients name. Not only is it a very thoughtful gesture that extends to those in real need, it also acts as a tax write off for you.

The Financially Savvy Giver: 2019 Holiday Gift Guide

Give the gift of peace of mind

Master your money super bundle