The Gift Giving Dilemma

Mr. Avocado likes it when I attempt to get excited about finances, so I subscribe to My Money Blog because I can send him links and impress him with my dedication to reading the posts. A few weeks ago the author wrote a post about how much a wedding gift should cost.

Image via flickr.

He suggested three factors to consider when buying your gift:

1. How close are you to the couple?

2. How fancy is the wedding?

3. What is your financial situation?

Mr. Avocado would say that #3 is the most important one, and he would be right. Yes, there are some couples who get a little bit greedy when it comes to gifts, but I think most couples are just genuinely pleased to see their loved ones show their support by coming to the wedding itself. Take what you can afford, and invest it in something off of their registry that you think will last.

If you are really stressed about what to get, talk to some of the women in your life who have been married for a long time now. Ask them what wedding gifts they are still using because there are definitely some things that last longer than others.

My personal plan of attack when it comes to gift giving is to buy something fun off the registry, and then take as many pictures as possible at the wedding. The photos won't be as pretty as what the photographer captures, but I don't think there was ever a couple that complained about walking away with too many photos of their wedding.

How do you decide what to give?