Economists Give Each Other Wet Blankets For Christmas

Don't be this guy

Even though I’m no economist, my brain is definitely wired that way. But sometimes the drab, dry, robotic formula-crunching path to every decision about every choice you have to make is a real buzzkill.

Take the Christmas holiday, and the associated tradition of gift giving for example. This week, three like-minded stories came into view, all very interesting, and each picking apart the economics of gift-giving to the extent that a sympathetic ear would be ready to just give up and quit.

Bah. Humbug!

Here’s a link to and description of each piece  from the “boo-hiss” crowd:

  1. Ric Edelman – Teaches you how to keep your Christmas shopping budget under control. I love Ric, and it’s his job to teach consumers to be smarter about their money. I get it.  But people need to have a little fun too. While he’s charismatic for a money & numbers guy, he’s admittedly not where you go to get advice on fun ways to burn through cash. Fine. But … brrr you wouldn’t have a more frigid Christmas if you ran out of firewood last week.
  2. WePay infographic on Mashable.com I don’t know WePay. I gather they’re an outfit that aims to teach you how to be smart with your money. Cool, fine. I really like this view of the gift “Missgivings” – they really do hit on several aspects of the holiday gift frenzy that generally get people to that Scroogy disposition. Very economic. Looking at opportunity costs, and beyond. There’s a lot of waste – your time, your money, the crowds at the stores, and the odds that you find a gift for somebody who would pay the same amount for that item – slim to none, right? Fine. But BORING!
  3. Joel Waldfogel & the Planet Money team on NPR – devise a very clever experiment to address the situation the WePay infographic illustrates so well. It’s actually quite amazing what happens. You should listen. Waldfogel is author of Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn’t Buy Presents For The Holidays. I have not read it, but it does sound pretty interesting (it’s that econ brain wiring, sorry). Bottom line, go ahead it if you’re looking to make excuses for not giving loved ones gifts. Booo!

The problem is, as much as I get the logic, I hate it. Gift giving is a sport I enjoy, and as much as I love to receive gifts (email me for my address, ha!) I truly prefer to give them (In this regard, I fancy myself a lot more Jack Donaghy than Liz Lemon). But only when there’s a good reason, and a good gift to match the person. Not a forced, have-to-dont-really-wanna-but-its-a-holiday thing. That’s weak.

My recipe for success with gift-giving:

  1. Do your Christmas shopping all year. Keep mindful of people you care about, and you’ll stumble into great things that will be fun to give as gifts. Or, the reverse: Stumble into something you think is cool, and think about who would appreciate it the most.
  2. Buy it, or bookmark it. A true economist would never pay early for something they didn’t need until later (see time value of money). And a true miser would scour the internet for every possible discount or free shipping code (takes one to know one).  Whatever floats your boat. But this way you’re not left scratching your head, elevating your heart rate, or worse – not giving gifts to people on Christmas.
  3. That whole crowded mall in mid-December thing takes on a whole different appeal if you can go and just walk around with a big wool jacket and a hot peppermint mocha. No shopping, just soaking it in, watching people ice skate, listening to the Vince Guaraldi tunes leaking out from the department stores, or playing in the square, whatever whatever. This is how you consume the season. Trust me.

This way, you don’t waste, you don’t give crappy gifts, and you don’t freak out at the malls and ruin the spirit of the season. Plus, if you actually pay for gifts a little here and a little there, you’re not going to have a credit card hangover in January…

… wishing you a merry Christmas