Money as a Gift
Paper or plastic? This is one of those questions that has plagued grocery shoppers for years. Now, it seems, it has crossed the threshold into gift monies as well.
If you are one of those people that has chosen to cast off the shackles of traditional gifts in favor of letting the recipients shop for themselves, you may be wondering which form to choose – traditional paper checks or plastic check cards. This article will help you decide which route to choose.
Many of us can remember opening a birthday card from grandma and bouncing with glee when the familiar paper check with kittens would fall out and land on our lap. I can remember, as a child, feeling so very adult when my mother would take me to the bank to cash these checks for 5, 10, or 20 dollars. I find that as an adult, I don’t get that same happiness when I get handed a pre-paid check card. They feel impersonal. But impersonal or not, plastic check cards are generally more practical in many ways.
For starters, if the person you’re giving this gift to isn’t someone that you know very well, you can rest assured that they have the ability to use the check card, as they work just like a credit card. Some people don’t have checking accounts. Sure they can go to the bank listed on the check, but this is not convenient at all and sometimes impossible if you’re doing a gift exchange with your family out of state and happen to have an account at a small bank. That’s not a very thoughtful gift, and certainly won’t be appreciated. If, however, this person happens to be a dreaded brother-in-law that ran over your cat when he came to visit last year, you might actually prefer to cause your gift recipient this headache. How naughty of you!
Assuming that the person receiving the money did NOT squish a household pet and that you want them to be able to use this gift, you need to also take into account their financial status. If they have bills piling up and you give them a check to deposit, it is quite likely that the money will be spent on – you guessed it – bills. There’s nothing wrong with that. Your gift, in essence, is helping to take a little financial strain off of the individual. In cases like this, checks are ideal.
If, however, you want to ensure that the person is spending the money on themselves – that sweater they’ve had their eye on, but could never afford – then check cards are the way to go.
My personal preference, and that of most people, is to give check cards instead of paper checks. This is the new millennium and paper checks are becoming a thing of the past. The choice is ultimately yours, however.
