Aside from Christmas, Valentine’s Day may just be the biggest gift-giving holiday of the year. Women in particular look forward to receiving big bouquets of flowers at their office, boxes of candy and maybe even a diamond bracelet (or two).
But is buying an expensive Valentines gift financially responsible? Despite mounting pressure from your significant other to buy a great gift as the holiday looms, it may be better that you get her a few unique gifts that teach her financial responsibility (even if it results in the silent treatment for a few days).
Get Her a Savings Account
What better gift to give your sweetie on Valentine’s Day than a high-yield savings account? Her money would be FDIC insured up to $250,000, she have access to her liquid funds and she would be able to watch her money grow.
And if you’re not sure how she would feel about a savings account, you could opt for purchasing her some CDs, open a money market account for her, or even go with a reward checking account.
If you’re worried that she may be angry that you’re not getting her a tangible gift, you could always deposit some money in her account to get her savings started for her.
Send Her a Credit Report and Score
Another cool idea would be to get your loved one access to her credit report from all three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian) and her score.
Nowadays it’s extremely important to know just what’s showing up on your credit report. Incorrect information could be listed on the report that could have a negative effect on your score. Also, if you’ve had problems with debt in the past, you can see just how many records are showing up on the report.
Go Free Credit is currently offering a free 3-in-1 credit report and score by signing up for their trial membership. In the trial period, you get to take advantage of the following:
- 7 free days of credit monitoring from all three credit bureaus
- A detailed analysis of your credit history
- Details on who has viewed your credit report
- Unlimited online access to your credit report for 60 days
After the trial period, you will be billed $14.95 per month. Don’t you think this is worth it to make sure your sweetie is able to access her report and update her score anytime she wants? What a gift!
Sign Her Up for Identity Protection
Did you know that identity theft affected almost 10 million people in 2008? There are now so many types of identity theft (credit card, utilities, bank, employment, loan, government and social networking) that it’s hard to keep up with how someone could take advantage of your personal information. (See our infographic on phishing)
You don’t want your lovely lady to suffer through the trauma caused by identity theft, do you? If not, then a great Valentines gift would be to get her some form of identity protection.
For instance, you could sign her up for an account with Go Identity Protect. You would be able to take advantage of a 30-day free trial period that offers:
- ID alerts: This detects important changes to your credit report that might indicate fraud
- Free credit report: You would help her gain access to her free Experian credit report
- $1 million in protection: She would receive a $1 million product guarantee to cover losses associated with stolen or misused credit or debit or credit cards
After the trial period ends, you would pay $9.95 a month to keep her membership going. You must admit, it’s a lot cheaper than a diamond bracelet!
OK, you may think we’re joking here, but flowers and candy are great gifts for your sweetheart only in theory. What can she do with them after they’ve died and gotten old? However, investing in ways to save, manage credit and protect her identity are gifts that can stick with her for years to come. So why not take the unconventional route this year by investing in your love’s bottom line?
