The Easiest Gift-giving Guide You'll Ever Read

Here's an easy set of three tips that will help you buy great gifts in any price range for any taste. There are a million guides on the Internet about buying gifts -- "Gift giving on a budget," "Five thrifty gift ideas," "Find the perfect present for a picky friend" -- and a lot of them are very useful.

This guide quickly outlines an easy, simple philosophy of gift-giving that anyone can do. It never gets old and it will always put a smile on the faces of those who receive your gifts.

1. Buy consumables. A consumable is something the recipient will use up. That way, you can give it again later, and it won't add clutter to the recipient's home. Examples include food (cheeses, candy, cookies, nuts), drink (wine, liquor, unusual beers and sodas), perfume and cologne. If you have a friend who loves electronics, buy them a variety pack of batteries. If nothing else, give them a good gift certificate.

2. Buy renewables. A renewable is something you can give again and again on a regular schedule. A good example of a renewable gift is a magazine subscription you give annually. The best magazine gifts are smaller, niche publications your friend might not have heard of. If your loved one loves baseball, they probably already subscribe to Sports Illustrated. Buy another lesser known magazine, like Elysian Fields Quarterly, to give them instead. If you buy your friend a one-year gift subscription on his or her birthday, you can just renew it and give it again each year. The best way to give this gift is to buy one issue, wrap it up and include a note about the subscription. That way, your friend can start enjoying the magazine immediately.

3. Buy entertainment. Books and DVDs are the best. There are literally millions of choices available, so you're bound to find a gift your friend doesn't have but would enjoy. There's another good advantage to this that isn't immediately obvious -- if your friend doesn't like it, he can sell it or give it to someone else without going through the embarassment of telling you they don't want it. That's a much better scenario for them than having to put up with an ugly decorative item they have to pull out of the closet every time they know you're coming over.

That's all there is to it. Between consumables, renewables and entertainment, you should never run out of gift ideas, never put too much strain on your budget and always give your friends and loved ones something they enjoy. It's an easy, simple system that works.