Gifts on a Budget

Gift giving is supposed to make the recipient and giver happy, but what do you do when giving them what they really want is more then your budget can handle. Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, weddings and all other gift giving occasions should be joyous occasions for all so here is a list of ideals for giving the best gifts on a budget.

- Refurbished items can make great gifts on a budget. Birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries even weddings; I have never heard of any one complaining about a gift because it was refurbished. Refurbished items typically have been cleaned, shined up and anything that may have been wrong repaired and they come with a warranty. Electrical products like cameras, cell phones and computers are perfect to buy refurbished. Some manufacturers such as Kodak and Canon let you order refurbished products directly from their website and the equipment comes with a 90 a warranty. I have purchased refurbished cell phones and digital cameras with no complaints. The refurbished products have always looked new and worked perfectly.

-Used items also make pretty good gifts on a budget, depending on the item. What is the difference between refurbished and used? Typically a refurbished product has been restored or repaired to like new working and looking condition; a used item may be in good working condition but necessarily like new. For a used item some minor things have been done but the goal is not necessarily to make the item like new. Some things are better used, like vintage clothing and antiques; it can't be an antique or vintage if it's not used. Outside of vintage clothes and antiques there are other used items that make great gifts such as Mp3 players like the IPod. Apple comes out with new versions of the existing IPod collection so often that many folks get a new one every year. Why not purchase one that was on the market just a few months ago, and has only been used for a year or so (if that long) instead of purchasing a new one for your teenager or tweens Christmas or birthday gift.

- Joint Gift giving a great way to provide an expensive gift on a budget, such as computers, trips or parties going in with some one is a great way to give the recipient what they really want with out busting the budget. Go in with grandparents for a teenager's spring break trip or new lap top for Christmas. Join in with siblings to send your parents on a second honeymoon.

- Smaller/scaled back versions of popular items are sometimes even more popular then the bigger item and can be significantly less expensive. This is a great way to give a great Christmas or birthday gift on a budget. Take the netbook for example, it may have originally been marketed as a low cost laptop for teenagers but has grown into a market all its own. You can purchase a netbook for under $300, a good one at that. You can't find a new laptop for anywhere near that amount, not even the sucky ones. If you are looking for an IPod, how about a shuffle or a nano? The Classic IPod runs $249, the Touch $199 8GB, Nano $149 and the Shuffle is $59.

-Shared gifts are another great ideal for giving the person you love what they want as a gift on a budget. In stead of buying every one in a house hold a Christmas gift how about buying one gift for the house hold. If your brother got a new Wii gaming system; how about purchasing a couple of games for the family. If all the teenagers in your house want a computer for Christmas, how about getting one for the family to share or a couple of netbooks.

-Combined gift giving is another way to give gifts on a budget, especially for expensive gifts. If your teenager wants a really special gift how about making it a combination Christmas and graduation present. This might not be the most popular option for saving money at holiday time but it can alleviate some of the money issues and still allow you to provide the gifts the your loved ones really want.

-Help make the purchase; this is great for teenagers or young adults. If they want a car let them work and earn part of it. This works for all gifts, when my teenager wanted a new Ipod Nano she paid for part of it by baby sitting. This not only eases the financial burden on you the gift giver (remember gift on a budget) but may also teach a lesson or two to the gift receiver.

There are many ways to give your loved ones what they want without busting your budget. So as you go Christmas and holiday shopping remember my list for giving gifts on a budget.