• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision

2

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons

3

Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says

1

Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision

2

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons

3

Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says
Finance

4 Financially Smart Gifts to Give Yourself and Others This Year

By
Ben Carlson
Ben Carlson
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Ben Carlson
Ben Carlson
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 29, 2019, 10:00 AM ET

With the holiday shopping season about to swing into full gear, it’s time to consider what gifts you will give to friends, co-workers, loved ones—and even yourself.

No one wants to think about their finances when faced with the irresistible prospect of Baby Yoda merchandise from The Mandalorian, but I’m here to offer some potential gifts that add to financial well-being.

529 contributions

Since 1980, college tuition has risen 5 times faster than the overall U.S. rate of inflation. This massive cost increase, combined with the fact that more people are now going to college, has led to nearly $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. More education combined with more debt out of school has also made it more difficult for young people to buy homes so by the time millennials settle down to have kids their finances can often be a mess.

Add this all up and it becomes nearly impossible for young parents these days to save for their own children’s higher education. According to the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), less than 3% of families have money saved in either a 529 or Coverdell education savings account.

I know grandparents love to spoil their grandchildren but the little ones will thank you down the line if you mix in some 529 contributions with the usual toys at Christmas time. Relatives can gift up to $15,000 a year without incurring gift taxes.

A book about personal finance

The holidays are a joyous time for giving and gratitude but they can also wreak havoc on your finances if you didn’t plan ahead. Personal finance isn’t mandatory in our school systems so most people are on their own when it comes to understanding their household budget, spending patterns, and saving strategies.

Ramit Sethi’s book I Will Teach You to Be Rich is the perfect how-to for personal finance novices and those who need to take their finances to the next level. Sethi covers the psychology behind our financial decisions and why it’s so easy to screw things up when we don’t have the correct systems in place to guide our actions. Most personal finance books work better as sleep aids than helpful guides but Sethi keeps things funny, interesting and provides actionable advice people can actually implement to see results.

Some interest on your savings

The holiday season revolves around the spirit of giving but you need to save money to give back to others and far too many people aren’t earning enough on their savings.

Following a series of interest rate hikes that began in 2015, the Federal Reserve reversed course and has cut their short-term benchmark, the Fed Funds Rate, three times in 2019. That rate now sits in a range of 1.50% to 1.75%. That’s not enough to move to the beach and live off the interest for the rest of your life but it’s better than things were a few years ago when rates were effectively zero.

Unfortunately, the banks haven’t followed suit by raising rates on their savings accounts. The average interest rate being paid out on bank savings accounts at the moment is just 0.09%.

So while the Fed Funds Rate is off the mat, your savings account rate at the brick and mortar banks is not. And there is more than $8 trillion in these accounts:

The reason these banks have kept rates so low is because they earn a spread on your money by paying you a lower amount than they loan it out to someone else. But there are better rates available. Online savings accounts don’t have to pay for the same overhead since they don’t have physical locations so they have the ability to offer higher rates.

Ally Bank currently offers 1.7% on its online savings account. Marcus by Goldman Sachs is also at 1.7% while Capital One 360 comes in at 1.8%. Again, these are not life-altering yields but they are better than the minuscule yields currently being offered at the large banks. Just be aware that these yields will rise and fall with the Fed Funds Rate so expect them to fall further if the Fed decides to cut rates yet again.

Think of interest on your savings as a gift to yourself this holiday season.

Experiences that make memories

Happiness researchers Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton have found spending money on material possessions isn’t going to make you happier in the long run. While we may get a quick shot of dopamine from buying new stuff, we tend to adapt to our surroundings so the satisfaction eventually wears off. The same region of the brain that responds in anticipation of receiving something loses interest once we’ve gotten it so all we’re left with is a bunch of stuff we quickly grow tired of.

Research shows spending money on experiences provides the opposite effect. Our satisfaction with experiential purchases increases over time because experiences leave you with fond memories, offer a social connection, give you memorable stories you can tell for years to come and help avoid comparisons with others in a material sense.

So consider giving the gift of experience through a weekend getaway, a sporting event, movie tickets, dinners, or even a gym membership.

As a wise man named Cousin Eddie once said, “It’s the gift that keeps on giving the whole year.”

Ben Carlson, CFA is the Director of Institutional Asset Management at Ritholtz Wealth Management.

More on holiday shopping from Fortune:

—Give these world-class experiences as gifts this holiday season
—Tiny tech gadgets great for stocking stuffers
—Travel must-haves to give your favorite globe-trotters
—The best books to gift people you know well—and people you don’t
—Must-have luxury items for everyone in your life
Get up to speed on your morning commute with Fortune’s CEO Daily newsletter.

Subscribe to Well Adjusted, our newsletter full of simple strategies to work smarter and live better, from the Fortune Well team. Sign up today.
About the Author
By Ben Carlson
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

retirement
CommentaryRetirement
Retiring at 62 costs the average American $250,000. Here’s the math (and the neuroscience) that explain why
By Jon SabesJune 7, 2026
30 minutes ago
Pastel colored sky casting shadows over the colorful houses and behind Sutro Tower.
Real EstateHousing
This realtor is betting big on the AI IPO boom, but buying a house with stock will have to go through the OpenAI’s and Anthropic’s boards first
By Jacqueline MunisJune 7, 2026
1 hour ago
The Strait of Hormuz is more open than previously thought as the U.S. shoots down Iranian drones threatening ships and provides ‘naval overwatch’
EnergyIran
The Strait of Hormuz is more open than previously thought as the U.S. shoots down Iranian drones threatening ships and provides ‘naval overwatch’
By Jason MaJune 6, 2026
8 hours ago
Here’s where U.S. debt may become unsustainable with interest payments triggering a default crisis that even steep tax hikes can’t fix
EconomyDebt
Here’s where U.S. debt may become unsustainable with interest payments triggering a default crisis that even steep tax hikes can’t fix
By Jason MaJune 6, 2026
11 hours ago
Oil drilling rises in longest U.S. streak since 2022 on price bump
EnergyOil
Oil drilling rises in longest U.S. streak since 2022 on price bump
By Emma Sanchez and BloombergJune 6, 2026
14 hours ago
SpaceX and other mega IPOs may wait years to join the S&P 500
InvestingS&P 500
SpaceX and other mega IPOs may wait years to join the S&P 500
By Bailey Lipschultz, Vildana Hajric and BloombergJune 6, 2026
14 hours ago

Most Popular

Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision
Real Estate
Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg used mortgages to buy multimillion-dollar mansions. Here’s why that’s a savvy financial decision
By Sydney LakeJune 6, 2026
24 hours ago
AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
AI
AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 5, 2026
2 days ago
Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says
Economy
Social Security faces a 24% cut in 2032—that's a $345 billion hit to retirees nationwide, watchdog says
By Nick LichtenbergJune 5, 2026
2 days ago
The Strait of Hormuz is more open than previously thought as the U.S. shoots down Iranian drones threatening ships and provides 'naval overwatch'
Energy
The Strait of Hormuz is more open than previously thought as the U.S. shoots down Iranian drones threatening ships and provides 'naval overwatch'
By Jason MaJune 6, 2026
8 hours ago
Here's where U.S. debt may become unsustainable with interest payments triggering a default crisis that even steep tax hikes can't fix
Economy
Here's where U.S. debt may become unsustainable with interest payments triggering a default crisis that even steep tax hikes can't fix
By Jason MaJune 6, 2026
11 hours ago
Trump says 'situation with Iran seems to be going quite well' while U.S. shoots down more missiles and drones near Strait of Hormuz
Politics
Trump says 'situation with Iran seems to be going quite well' while U.S. shoots down more missiles and drones near Strait of Hormuz
By Michelle L. Price, Samy Magdy and The Associated PressJune 6, 2026
20 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.