The majority of the gifts which we commonly give fulfill our customary needs, such as participating in marriage, housewarming ceremonies, and celebrating the birthdays of family and friends. While these gifts are important, the act of giving here may not provide eternal joy.
I often think about giving gifts that can give us long lasting happiness, and upon contemplating, I found plenty of opportunities around us to grab, e.g. consider
- Your brother-in-law (BIL) stays in a Tier 3 city and hardly appreciates the importance of having Term Life Insurance since there is no return on the investment. Is there an opportunity for you to encourage him to purchase a Term Life Insurance policy and pay for his first 1-2 years of premiums to get him started? The contribution is manageable, and hopefully, it will help your BIL change his perspective toward this essential commitment which should not be overlooked.
- You have recently lost your elder brother due to a health condition, and your Sister-in-Law is survived by a son. Unfortunately, their family did not have health insurance leading to significant financial depletion. While they are trying to come to terms with this reality, you offered to purchase a family floater health insurance policy for their family and pay for the premiums until they can afford of their own.
- Your domestic help has two young daughters. While he can manage their schooling expenses, arranging funds for their higher education and marriage could be a stretch. In this situation, you open Sukanaya Sammriddhi accounts in the name of his daughters and contribute whatever amount you can afford.
My wife, when she was in the second year of her undergraduate studies at JNU, taught three children of workers employed at the hostel mess in her college at no cost. I am sure the decision to teach was instantaneous and came right from her heart. She is my inspiration. There is no better gift than offering one’s time. The more time you give, the more time you realize you can spare.
Let me take this opportunity to introduce my friend, colleague, and fellow Adviser, Mr. Melvin Joseph, who runs a program called KEY (Kids Education & You) (https://freefincal.com/kids-education-and-you/). This program connects donors with families in need of financial support for their children’s school education. It requires a monthly direct transfer of ₹2,000 into the mother’s account until the child completes 12th grade. So far, Melvin has successfully assisted over 555 children through this initiative. I admire his passion.
“The best gifts are the ones that come from the heart.”
The writer is a SEBI Registered Adviser and Founder of FinMyn (https://finmyn.com). He provides Fee-Only Financial Planning and Investment Advisory services.
He has advised many clients in India, the US, Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia, and Australia.
He occasionally writes blogs about topics that are closer to his heart but may not be directly related to Personal Finance.
To know more about him, click on https://finmyn.com/about/.