One in three Americans planned to return at least one of the holiday gifts they received last year. In fact, the National Retail Federation estimates that consumers return as much as $95 billion worth of holiday purchases.
But this year, you can guarantee that your gift wouldn't be among those returned. Here are seven gift ideas that not only work for a range of recipients, but also pay dividends long after the new year rolls in.
1. Stocks
Instead of giving an iPad or a luxury handbag to your loved ones this holiday season, try a gift that could pay off even more: stock in the companies behind those popular products. You can send gifts online of investing to everyone on your list this year (as long as their employer has no restrictions around owning individual stocks) through a company called Stockpile.
Stockpile allows you to buy gift cards that recipients can redeem for fractional shares of stock in over 1,000 companies and ETFs. Buying a Stockpile gift card costs $2.99 for the first stock and 99 cents for each additional stock. The company also charges a 3% fee for using credit and debit cards. There’s no charge for your recipient to redeem the stock or switch to another stock, but trades do cost 99 cents.
Of course, investing is not risk-free and there’s no guarantee that you’ll see any returns. Typically, investors see some years where they earn double-digit returns from the stock market and other years where they experience a loss.
SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images
2. Job skills
Help your friends and family sharpen their skills or expand their knowledge base this holiday season. You never know, it could lead to a promotion or a better paying job in the new year. You can gift an online course through Udemy, which has over 130,000 classes on topics including data science, leadership and content marketing. Courses on the site typically range from $20 to $200.
If you’re interested in boosting your own skill set, you can give yourself a gift by signing up for LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda) or Coursera. A subscription to LinkedIn’s catalogue of online courses is $29.99 a month after a free 30-day trial. Or you can learn a specific specialization through Coursera for $39 a month.
20/20: college students on campus 1
Twenty20
3. College savings
If you have younger children on your list this year, but you still want to give the gift of education, look into opening a 529 plan or contributing to an existing account. These are tax-advantaged accounts specifically designed to help families save for education costs.
About 30 states offer tax deductions for those contributing to a 529 plan. Plus, investments made in these accounts grow tax-free. Every state has a plan for residents and several states
source - https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/15/6-gifts-that-actually-pay-off-after-the-holidays-are-over.html
But this year, you can guarantee that your gift wouldn't be among those returned. Here are seven gift ideas that not only work for a range of recipients, but also pay dividends long after the new year rolls in.
1. Stocks
Instead of giving an iPad or a luxury handbag to your loved ones this holiday season, try a gift that could pay off even more: stock in the companies behind those popular products. You can send gifts online of investing to everyone on your list this year (as long as their employer has no restrictions around owning individual stocks) through a company called Stockpile.
Stockpile allows you to buy gift cards that recipients can redeem for fractional shares of stock in over 1,000 companies and ETFs. Buying a Stockpile gift card costs $2.99 for the first stock and 99 cents for each additional stock. The company also charges a 3% fee for using credit and debit cards. There’s no charge for your recipient to redeem the stock or switch to another stock, but trades do cost 99 cents.
Of course, investing is not risk-free and there’s no guarantee that you’ll see any returns. Typically, investors see some years where they earn double-digit returns from the stock market and other years where they experience a loss.
SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images
2. Job skills
Help your friends and family sharpen their skills or expand their knowledge base this holiday season. You never know, it could lead to a promotion or a better paying job in the new year. You can gift an online course through Udemy, which has over 130,000 classes on topics including data science, leadership and content marketing. Courses on the site typically range from $20 to $200.
If you’re interested in boosting your own skill set, you can give yourself a gift by signing up for LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda) or Coursera. A subscription to LinkedIn’s catalogue of online courses is $29.99 a month after a free 30-day trial. Or you can learn a specific specialization through Coursera for $39 a month.
20/20: college students on campus 1
Twenty20
3. College savings
If you have younger children on your list this year, but you still want to give the gift of education, look into opening a 529 plan or contributing to an existing account. These are tax-advantaged accounts specifically designed to help families save for education costs.
About 30 states offer tax deductions for those contributing to a 529 plan. Plus, investments made in these accounts grow tax-free. Every state has a plan for residents and several states
source - https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/15/6-gifts-that-actually-pay-off-after-the-holidays-are-over.html
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