Personal Finance Challenge #38: Learn To Give & Receive

Gift giving is what most people would call a time honored tradition. It is a great way to show our good will to our fellow man.

One of the best lessons I learned in life was to not be so modest in receiving gifts…

It is hard for many of us to accept gifts. To accept generosity. To accept a hand out. It is hard for some of us to accept anything we didn’t earn.

But we do the giver a great disservice if we do not receive a gift joyfully. They have gone out of their way to give you something that they feel you would enjoy. And they sacrificed something to do it, even if it was just their time.

On the other hand, many people grab a gift and take it without so much as a thank you. This also does the giver a disservice. Anything less then a sincere thanks, a big smile, and a show of gratitude just won’t cut it when receiving gifts.

As far as being the gift giver yourself… Well, that take’s practice.

Lately I have been giving out pens with smiley faces on them when I have been doing my sales runs. I am taking up a person’s time by simply being there, even if it is a small fraction, and I hope to give them a gift in exchange for that time. Because time really is precious.

Gifts go a long way. I make it a little show when I give people my pens, and for the most part, people give me a big smile back, and are grateful. I think a lot of people find it a nice touch to doing business.

Also a pen is something very usable. It isn’t exactly a gift they would just throw away. Even if it is not much, it is still worth something.

Give a little, get a little. That’s how the world goes round.

So try it out!

Try to find some small gifts you can give to people you appreciate having in your life.

And the next time someone gives you something, try and go above and beyond what you normally do in showing your appreciation.

This is just one more thing that will help you in your personal finance journey.

This is our 38th challenge in The Personal Finance Challenge Series…