I want to wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas, a Wondrous Holiday, and a Happy New Year. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I adore this time of year: it’s the perfect time to get closer with family and friends, to celebrate the year gone by … and to take inventory of your life at large.
But I’d be a liar if I said I loved everything about the holidays…
There is plenty about Christmas that I totally loathe: the cash grab, the orgy of commerce masquerading as “good will towards men”, and by and large the biggest waste of money that most households undertake throughout the year.
At the risk of sounding like a heartless Scrooge, allow me to tell you the three things I hate most about Christmas…
Gaudy Decorations
Trees, lights, and creepy inflatable Santa Clauses cost Americans a record $6 billion in 2011. In typical American fashion, we spent $800 million on real trees and $2.6 BILLION on fake ones.
All told, the U.S. spent $3 trillion last year on Christmas.
Now, I’m all for sporting a Christmas tree and some lights, but I’m not about to Clark Griswold this thing and get hit with a $600 electric bill for my troubles…
Christmas Music
Every single artist you can think of has ham fisted their way through a painful Christmas tune. They are unavoidable: from Mariah Carey to Paul McCartney to David Hasselhoff, everyone I can think of has released a Christmas song. It’s not because they are enamored with the season, it’s because it makes them big bucks…
If you account for TV and movie licenses, a big-time Christmas hit can bring in $400,000 to $800,000 — every single year! In fact Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas”, sung by Bing Crosby, is the best selling single of all time, moving 50 million copies worldwide. So every artist out there is buying themselves a Christmas “lottery ticket” and hoping they record a tune that pays them every year for the rest of their lives.
We’ve fallen far since “Silent Night”…and the money is primarily to blame.
Editor’s note: John Denver’s “Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas)” is perhaps the one tune that actually makes a statement and does not in any way shoot for the big payoff.
Gift Cards
While it may seem like a gift card is the easiest and most efficient way to bestow a gift on someone that you know they’ll enjoy, gift cards are one of the greatest scams known to man. Since 2008, Americans have left $44 billion in gift cards unspent. 80% of shoppers bought a gift card last year, and spent $118 billion doing so.
That’s a hell of a Christmas gift to give to big retailers, but not so much for the recipient, who is more than likely to let the card waste away in a drawer somewhere…
So what do you do? Give in to the hedonistic buying spree, or really give a gift that will pass the test of time?
The single biggest pet peeve I have about the holidays is the obligation to burn hard earned money on gifts — not just any gifts — but typically children’s gifts that may get used a couple times over the week, but are then cast into the bottomless pit of toys that so many of us have in our homes.
Before I get any hate mail, let me explain that I have two young kids and a slew of nieces and nephews to buy for as well. I don’t say this lightly: it’s fun to spoil children for that fleeting joy that spreads across their face Christmas morning.
But what if you could spread that joy out until they were a teenager? Or hell, even a full-fledged adult? What if instead of that short-term exuberance, you could multiply it over the years?
Instead of being thanked for a mere moment on Christmas, you were able to give a gift that compounded over the years instead of being tossed on the trash heap of Christmas’ Past?
Instead of getting your children or grandchildren the latest “Frozen” doll, or a motorized space craft that tortures parents with the sounds of an invading alien army, why not get them something that actually increased in value, instead of collecting dust on the shelf?
I have the perfect gift for you right here…
The single best thing anyone can do for themselves is to invest at a young age. Time is on your side…
That’s why I am giving my kids and relatives an investment in an IRM(72) program.
Why is it called an IRM(72)?
Well, the “Rule of 72” says that in order to find the number of years it takes to you double your investment at a given rate, just divide the yield into 72. For example, if you are earning a 9% dividend on your investment, it only takes eight years to double your money… and roughly 13 years to triple it.
This compounding effect arises when dividend yield is added to the principal, so from that moment on, the interest begins to earn interest on itself.
Over time, that process can add up to a small fortune — even with very modest investments.
So let’s say you have a brand-spakin’-new grandchild this year. If you were to invest say — $4,000 — when they are born, and never even touch that investment again, that would grow into an astounding $2 million by the time that grandchild is around your age — let’s assume 65.
That is the best gift you could possibly give…
I’ll show you exactly how to open up an IRM(72) account for your loved ones today. Even if you are late buying gifts, you can set this account up today and the kiddos can reap the benefits when they actually need a gift.
Yours could cash theirs in when they need college money, a new computer, or even a down payment on their first house.
In fact, my own grandmother did it for me as a kid, and it helped me buy my first car. And I’ll remember that forever — more than I would any toy or video game.
So this year, give your loved ones the chance at a prosperous future. Give them a gift that will keep on giving — even after you’re gone. Give them the power of compounding interest!
Trust me, they’ll thank you when they’re older…
Happy holidays!
