It is the gift-giving season and many of us will be giving money in one form or another. So which way is better or are they all the same?

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Ma

The way I see it, there are three ways to give someone money as a gift on the holidays and yes I am skipping Venmo, PayPal, or any other form of an electronic money gift. I am talking tangible money as in a gift card, check, or good old cash.

I couldn't find any statistics online on whether people prefer cash over checks or a gift card. I did find some information compiled by Fortunly.com that broke down what people buy and how much they spend on Christmas gifts.

"Last year, holiday retail sales surpassed the trillion-dollar mark (yes, 12 zeros), with U.S. households spending an average of $1,536 during the season. To gain a better understanding of how much Americans spend and why, we’ve compiled a list of more than 20 important Christmas spending statistics." (via Fortunly.com)

But what about just giving people the opportunity to buy their own gift? I realize it may come off like you didn't plan or put any forethought into the gift, but the reality is people who give money at Christmas and other holidays have probably overthought your gift. So that being said, if you have decided to give money, what form should it be in card check or cash?

Benefits to Giving Money via Gift Card

Gift Card isolated on white background. 3D render
Nerthuz
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Giving a gift card allows you to select a theme. You could just buy a Visa gift card or you could get much more adventurous and give your holiday cash in the form of many gift cards to various Hudson Valley businesses that sell gift cards. Make it a Hudson Valley-themed Christmas with cards to local gift shops and restaurants.

Benefits to Giving Money via Personal Check

Checks are the way to go if your cash gift is for someone out of town that you might not see over the holidays. Mailing a check may be old school, but getting a card in the mail with a check is a nice surprise. Plus, if you are going to give money but the gift has to be mailed, a check is the safest form to send. Gift cards and Christmas cash are too easy to steal.

Benefits to Giving Money via Cash

Cash Santa
Tony Link Design
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So all that's left is cash. I have gotten plenty of cash presents over the years. The best way to give cash is to go to the bank and get the crisp new bills. The best reason to give cash is the excitement of seeing actual money. The instant gratification meter is extremely high on this form of money gifting.

What will it be cash or one of these gifts instead?

 

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