It's the holiday season, which means it's time to give gifts. That wonderful time of year where you stress for an entire month trying to find the perfect gifts. You spend all of your money. You may even take on debt. And for what? 10 minutes of joy followed by buyers remorse.
Ah, consumerism at its finest.
But what if I told you I had a better gift idea. A better use of your money. A gift that keeps on giving. Would you be interested?
I thought you would be. The title of this blog should have given it away, but if not here's my idea:
Let's gift stocks this year. Let's normalize giving someone an appreciating asset rather than something that loses value as soon as it is unboxed.
Let's be real. Your family member doesn't need that new gadget - which this year seems to be an air fryer. They can cook their food in an oven like a normal person.
What they need is financial education and a lifestyle change. So send them to our Instagram and give them some stock. Let's make a change!
Here's 9 stocks we would be gifting this year.
Invest in what you consume
Apple
Personally, all of our electronics are Apple products. Our cell phones, our desktop, our laptops and our tablets are i-somethings so for us owning Apple stock makes a ton of sense.
If you have a family member who owns only Apple products this could be a great gift. Investing in what you consume is a great strategy. Plus Apple is the largest company in the world. So why not gift them an iStock?
That's a joke - its just called shares of Apple stock. I should make that clear.
Amazon
Do you have a family member who only buys products from Amazon Prime? Someone who's porch is packed with Amazon packages almost every day? Then this is a great stock to gift.
Amazon is one of the largest companies in the world. They have multiple revenue streams and have their hand in nearly every sector imaginable. A great company to invest in.
One share is quite expensive at ~$3,300 but luckily there's an ability to purchase fractions of a share. I know what you're thinking - it's not the same as a whole share. That's wrong.
The idea of a whole share vs a fraction of a share is psychology based. At the end of the day, the percentage gain will affect your holdings the same way. So forget the idea that you need a whole share and buy good stocks.
I don't know about you but much of the content we consume every day is thanks to Google. We have YouTube TV and we watch podcasts and vlogs on YouTube every night. Netflix barely gets turned on in our house lately.
Do you know someone who is similar? Get them Google stock.
And like Amazon, Google has their hand in everything not just media. Electric vehicles, cloud, AI. We explained why we like Google in this blog.
Also like Amazon, shares are expensive so a fraction of share may be the best idea.
Home Depot
Is your someone in your family handy? Do they spend most of their time going back and forth to Home Depot because the keep forgetting something? No, just me? Ok cool.
They probably have all the tools imaginable so get them shares of Home Depot stock. They'll even get a quarterly dividend from owning the stock. A gift that keeps on giving.
Procter & Gamble
We like all the stocks on this list. But for us, Procter & Gamble is one of our favorite stocks. Nearly every household product we own is a brand owned by P&G. Products we use every single day.
This is probably the case for you too. Go look at your cleaning products. Your shampoo. Your toothpaste. Your deodorant. Odds are they are owned by Procter & Gamble.
And this is most likely the case for any friend or family member. So why not gift them a great stock that has consistently raised its dividend every year for over 50 years!
Target
Does one of your family members only shop at Target. And do they pronounce it "Tar-jay"?
Then this is the stock to gift them. Target stock has a mix of growth and value. Plus they pay a dividend every quarter. What's not to like?
Our Personal Favorites
Block (formerly Square)
If you've followed us for any time you'll know that Square is our top holding and by far our favorite stock. We love everything they are doing, from small business to Cash App to crypto.
With the recent pullback from all time highs, this is a good time to be gifting this stock.
Bonus - Cash App just announced they are allowing users to gift stocks and Bitcoin via the app for free. Another reason to like this company!
Shopify
E-commerce is all around us. How much physical shopping do you do any more? For us it's almost zero. 99% of all of our purchases are done online.
What you don't realize is that many of the e-commerce platforms are built on Shopify. They are the leader in e-commerce that many haven't even heard of.
You'll probably need fractions of a share for this one as well, but it's a great gift option.
Salesforce
Bitcoin
Ok, not really a stock but definitely an asset. We've outlined why we think Bitcoin is the best asymmetric investment we have ever seen in this blog.
If you want to really give a gift that could change someone's life down the road, Bitcoin is the answer. Tell them to not touch it for 10 years and I'd be willing to bet whatever amount of Bitcoin you gift will worth some serious money.
And if we're wrong, that material object that you decided to buy instead - you know, the one that will end up in a dump, will have the same value. So why not gift something with huge potential instead?
How to Gift Stocks
Gifting stocks has never been easier and can be achieved from the comfort of your home fairly quickly. There are several options available to you. Some of the most common include:
Brokerage account transfer: Buy the stock with your brokerage account and then transfer it to the recipient, assuming they also have an account. For kids, you'll probably want to set up a custodial account, leaving you in control until they hit a certain age.
Online app: There are plenty of apps out there that specialize in gifting stock. Examples include GiveAshare, UniqueStockGift.com, and CashApp.
*Note - if the gift is worth more than $15,000 there will be a gift tax applied. Anything less than $15,000 will have no tax. When the stock is sold in the future, standard capital gains tax will be applicable for the gift recipient.
Thank you for reading!
In case you didn't know, we have a free daily Newsletter! You can sign up here. And for more free daily content, follow us on Instagram.
Partnerships
These are the companies we have partnered with this year. They make this blog possible so go check them out!
Coinbase - cryptocurrency exchange - get $10 in free Bitcoin when you buy your first $100
BlockFi - cryptocurrency exchange - get up to 8.6% interest on your crypto
Personal Capital - personal finance platform that helps users take control of their finances by blending world-class technology with human advice. Pair industry-leading financial tools with licensed advisors and full-service planning experts across all 50 states
M1 Finance - the future of finance in a sleek, modern app. Rated #1 for Sophisticated Investors by Investopedia, users can enjoy: free investing, high yield checking, low rate borrowing, automation, and optimization
TrueBill - app that helps people gain awareness about their spending habits and better manage their money. Truebill makes it easier than ever to manage subscriptions, lower your bills, and stay on top of finances & budgeting
Honey - finds you the Internet’s best discount codes and makes sure you never overpay. Shop like normal and when you're ready to checkout, we'll instantly find and apply the Internet's best codes directly to your cart. It only takes two clicks and it’s 100% free.
Canva - design software that makes design simple, convenient, and reliable. Create what you need in no time! Jam-packed with time-saving tools that make anyone look like a professional designer
Credit Karma - your credit scores should be free. And now they are. Check your scores anytime, anywhere and never pay for it. Save smart with Credit Karma.
Disclosures
I am not a licensed financial advisor or financial professional. This is not investing advice. I am simply sharing my research and opinion based on that research. It is very important that you do your own research and make investments based on your own personal circumstances, preferences, goals and risk tolerance.
This blog contains some affiliate links. If you purchase any service through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.