Raksha bandhan gifts

Its a great time for families, with Raksha Bandhan  being tomorrow. The festival is the celebration of brother sister relationship in Hindu families.

A day when the brother promises to protect the sister all his life while the sister wishes for his long life.

Nowdays both children pass on gifts to each other and its no longer restricted to the brother giving gifts for the sister  ( we have started that in our family ).

 

While we always give gifts that can be consumed now, it is time for us to evaluate some gifts which are financial in nature, which provide the brother or sister to build financial independence as the years go by.

 

Here are some ideas that can be used .

 

Gold

Getting your sister some gold jewelry is always useful from two aspects, it can be used now and it can be sold off later if required to buy new jewelry for her marriage. These days gold is declining in value , but still one never buys gold for short term. If it is for actual usage, it is a great gift because it solves for both financial as well as consummation value! Hence go to a Tanishk, or other jewelers and buy her a nice necklace or earrings ( maybe take her along - so she can choose! )

 

 

Health Insurance

If your sibling is not working as of now and is not covered by anyones health insurance, it is a great gift. It also forces her to think about carrying the insurance forward . Of course do consult her/him before to ensure you are not duplicating the health insurance.

 

Mutual funds

An awesome way to protect future. Take a slice out of your gift and put it into a mutual fund in his/ her name, with the promise taken from them to not remove it for the next 10 yrs! Even better if you invest in their name in an ELSS if it enables them to save more tax!

 

An Educational course

Investing in yourself is critical for your personal and professional growth. A gift of a course can be thrilling to the sibling making them more employable or even the ability for them to become an entrepreneur.  

 

 

These are all great ways to show affection towards our siblings and help plan for their future. A heady mix of consumerism and financial prudence- now that's simplefinancialsense!