Allow me to relieve you of some of the stress by reminding you that the best gifts in life often cost nothing (and don’t even require wrapping). I am not going to repeat what you have probably heard many others say: that time is the most precious gift you can give your children (although that is certainly true).
My suggestion for a great gift for your children is that you take care of your own future. Setting yourself up for a decent retirement will mean that your children will be among the few of their generation who do not have the burden of looking after their parents.
With fewer than 10% of South Africans on course to retire comfortably, perhaps spending your precious money on bicycles or smartwatches for you children is not the best idea for you … or for them. Rather give them the freedom that your independence will allow them.
Not having to support you when they are starting their own family will really take a load off them, especially as they see many others supporting multi-generational households. Not having to worry about you or see you struggle to make ends meet will also mean a lot of course.
If you think the few hundred rand you would spend on presents at Christmas and birthdays (let’s be honest, quite a few hundred rand) will go further on gifts than it would on your retirement, you would be wrong. Any extra contributions you put into your retirement savings fund will add up and the growth will compound over the years until you find that you are in a very different position.
You will also be putting yourself in line for a tax refund because retirement saving is tax-deductible. Perhaps you would like to spend the tax refund on gifts and treats for the children.
If you have got your own retirement sorted and still have some cash to burn you could do a lot worse than starting a unit trust fund account for your child. Not only will they have some cash of their own, they will also learn a lot of important lessons about money and investing, patience and saving as they watch it grow.
As the Christmas shopping season gets into full swing, it might be difficult to not succumb to the pressure to blow all your cash on the latest toys and crazes, but you will be giving your children something so much more meaningful.
Back to the subject of the gift of time. There really is nothing like it. And you don’t even have to wrap it up.
Do something that really counts for your children this Christmas
Christmas is such a busy and expensive time of the year, especially for parents. Between planning, cooking and serving the perfect Christmas lunch and ensuring that you have bought and wrapped all the presents, the holiday season can be so stressful. And let’s not even mention hosting all those relatives.
