With just a week to go until Christmas, and the stores teeming with last-minute shoppers, Family Money is happy to provide readers with this year's personal finance stocking stuffers. Our price list ranges from the humble £1.00 for Lotto scratchcards to the sky's the limit (just about) for an American Express Gold Card. But whatever your budget, there should be something for everyone, from the youngest to the eldest in your family.
The price of a Lotto ticket may have increased to £1.50 a game, but Lottery Scratchcards are still just £1. The top prize is still £10,000, but your chances of winning a fiver are considerably higher - about 10 to one, says the National Lottery.
Telecom Phonecards are a useful present, especially for youngsters, and older people who are less likely to be equipped - yet - with their own mobile phone. Cards cost £2, £5 and £10, depending on the number of units. Rare and unusual cards in good condition are still netting top prices and are much in demand by phonecard collectors and can be purchased through the various collectors' clubs. Rare card vendors are often found at the antique and collectable fairs that travel around Dublin and other cities on weekends.
Those of you who take a more jaundiced view of the odds of winning the big prize in the Lotto, may be more interested in buying some one close a £5 Prize Bond. Sold in blocks of two, these make good gifts since even a winning bond will remain in force forever, unless encashed for its face value. The odds against winning the £100,000 monthly prize are sky high (though not in the same league as the Lotto), but An Post insists that every £1,000 worth of bonds has a moderately good chance of winning some prize - even if it is just £100, the minimum cash prize. Ignore the hype about Prize Bonds being a good "investment", though, since not a penny interest will ever be paid. Inflation remains the Prize Bond holders' worst enemy.
Grandparents or kindly aunties and uncles who would prefer not to add to their favourite little one's Barbie or Action Man collection, may want to consider a more fiscally responsible Christmas stocking stuffer this year: a child-friendly savings account at their local bank, building society or post office. Children's accounts haven't yet been hit with any maintenance charges, and still offer a little package of goodies to regular savers. For young children these can include novelty piggy-type banks to take home, an account book and wallet, posters and a club magazine.
First Active offers the best introductory gift at the moment - a soft-toy bee for little ones and a well equipped pencil kit and wallet for older children. Adults can set up standing orders into these accounts as well.
The arrival of the euro from January - albeit for non-paper transactions only - means considerable confusion on the conversion front. The computer group ITG has come up with a handy little pocket euro converter that translates Irish pounds into euros (or euros into Irish pounds) at the touch of a button and also doubles as an ordinary calculator. The one we received came free from Compaq, but we understand that computer shops will be stocking them soon for just a few pounds.
Adolescents in the family might appreciate getting their first ATM cards - the main retail banks offer such accounts to teens, who can then access their savings whenever they wish. A withdrawal limit can be set on the account in order to keep a bit of control over spending.
While on the subject of money cards, the ultimate stocking stuffer is a "gold" credit or charge card which can be made out in a spouse's name on a joint account. Back on earth, if you have a few thousand loyalty bonus card points to spare, they might make a nice little present for an inveterate catalogue shopper. All the main supermarkets have loyalty cards in place - with some you choose an item from a catalogue in exchange for your points; others give cash vouchers or you can buy cheap two-for-one air flights. Just keep an eye on the expiry date of the cash vouchers.
Store vouchers are always a welcome gift, and will easily slip into a Christmas stocking. All the main department and book stores, especially, offer in-store vouchers ranging from as little as £5£10 upwards, complete with festive cards. Other shops will happily produce a bespoke version: one well-known jewellery shop, which did not have ready-printed vouchers, said it would happily tuck one of its business cards into a little velvet jewellery box with the spending limit discreetly typed on its back, and then gift-wrap it, if "that is what madam would like". The bigger the spending limit, the nicer the little box, needless to say. To bring everyone in the family back to reality after the spending spree - and to help answer a few other financial puzzles - your humble columnist would like to recommend a copy of the 1998-99 edition of the TAB Money Pensions & Tax Guide, which is co-authored by Sebastian Devlin, Sandra Glennon and myself, Jill Kerby. After 14 years at the top of the best-sellers' list the Taxation Advice Bureau decided the guide needed an overhaul and drafted Family Money in to give a hand.
The guide covers everything from insurance and savings, pensions and social welfare to the financial implications of working abroad and divorcing at home. Available from this week in bookshops. Price: £7.99.
For anyone planning a holiday at home this year the Irish Hotels Federation's Be Our Guest is a useful stocking filler. A 1999 guide to hotels and guesthouses, which can be picked up at any tourist information centre. It lists hundreds of hotels and guesthouses and includes a set of maps produced by the satellite imaging company, ERA Maptech. These were designed to include the names of the crossroads and townlands where many of the guesthouses are located and which are not always included in standard tourist maps.
If your family is holidaying abroad this year, and you or your spouse are also travelling away from home on business or for short weekend breaks, you may want to consider an annual family travel insurance package. These policies, which can include cover for winter sports like skiing cost about £150-£200 and are excellent value, especially if you are going to the US where expensive hospital treatment drives premium prices up. Both American International and AMEV insurance sell these standalone policies. Public transport can be difficult for an elderly or infirm relative or friend. A very practical and useful gift for such a person is to open - and pay for - a monthly taxi account.
Some taxi firms require a retainer, others will bill on a monthly basis; either way, the recipient will be given a number to quote when ordering a taxi, is given a copy of the receipt for each trip and is usually provided with the names of drivers in their home area whom they can expect to pick them up regularly.
Finally, if you really want to give a meaningful gift to your loved ones, why not set up a monthly standing order in your children's or grandchildren's name to one of the many children's charities like Barnardos, the National Children's Hospital and the ISPCC; to the St Vincent de Paul, Women's Aid, the Rape Crisis Centre, FocusPoint, Threshold, and the Refugee Trust. If you have had a close friend or family who has suffered a serious illness, you could arrange to donate a few pounds over each of the next 12 months to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland, the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Heart Foundation, ALONE. Do not forget about the overseas charities either - Concern, Trocaire, Goal and the religious orders. If you have a pet, send a few pounds to the DSPCA or the Blue Cross.
