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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Thursday, December 18, 2003

Personal-finance gifts are useful, easy on budget

By Melissa Preddy
The Detroit News

Instead of buying the latest toy or gadget, financial experts recommend that holiday shoppers consider selecting a gift that will help friends and family get better control over their finances.

Advertiser library photo • Nov. 28, 2003

The holidays are approaching, and you can't bear the thought of giving your loved ones yet another gadget, garment, knickknack or luxury lotion. Instead, how about a present that could add to their bottom line — and peace of mind — by taking some mystery out of money matters?

• The basics. Experts say math phobia makes many a consumer shy away from the study of personal finance. In reality, you learn most of what you need to know to manage money before junior high.

A $2.99 calculator, a simple piggy bank and some coin wrappers from the dollar store are inexpensive tools that can motivate the budding saver. Meanwhile, an educational workbook on math skills may lack the glitz of the latest "Harry Potter" tome but is a practical stocking stuffer. Consider "Family Math" by Jean Kerr Stenmark for $19.95.

Customers at Amazon.com give this workbook a four-star review. "Family Math" offers explanations and fun-looking activities that help kids and adults master dozens of mathematical concepts and even related matters like how to operate a calculator.

• Learn by playing. On a lighter note, the $15 board game "Payday" makes players stretch their monthly salaries to cover bills ranging from piano lessons to braces to bridesmaid dresses. Credit accounts levy finance charges and players can earn extra money by dog-sitting, singing or selling possessions. The game is a fun pastime and perhaps even the basis of some constructive family money talks.

• Teens and money. Still on the subject of planting money-savvy seeds early, consider "The Teenage Investor: How to Start Early, Invest Often and Build Wealth" by Timothy Olsen. For about $15, this well-organized book takes the novice from basic explanations of financial markets, compound interest, mutual funds and so on through lucid discussions of market risk, asset allocation and choosing an investment adviser.

• Money magazines. Magazines are a nice solution for the giftee who eschews clutter.

In addition to the standard personal finance publications — Money, Smart Money and Kiplinger's Personal Finance — you might consider the roundabout approach.

Budget Living, with the motto "Spend Smart, Live Rich," offers an unlimited number of gift subscriptions for $5 with the purchase of one annual subscription at $14.95. Consumer Reports offers subscriptions to its ConsumerReports.org Web site for $24 while you can generally search out $30-or-less deals for its well-known print magazine.

• Home-buying tips. For the prospective homebuyer, it's hard to beat "100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask" by Ilyce R. Glink. This $18 book is a gold mine of tips and caveats from the syndicated financial writer and radio-show host.

Glink's tells how to create a "wants" list before house shopping and how to choose an agent among various other topics.

• Audio advice. For the nonreader on your list, or any time-pressed commuter, you might purchase the audio edition of popular money advice. Numerous financial titles are available on cassette or CD for around $20, including those by well-known authors such as Suze Orman ("The Laws of Money," "The Lessons of Life") and Thomas Stanley ("The Millionaire Next Door").