Money: The universal gift

The holiday season which just passed has reminded me of another issue which affects our lives. During Christmas, birthdays and other times, it is common to give gifts to people. On the other hand, for the Lunar New Year, at least in Chinese culture, it is common to give red pockets filled with money.

Sometimes the gifts received during birthdays and at Christmas time, while given warmheartedly, are not used by the recipient. On the other hand, if the recipient received money to the market value of the gifts, then they could go and buy something else that they really want. In this way, practically, money is usually the best "materialistic" gift. People would either be indifferent to receiving money over something which they were going to buy anyway (apart from the time and effort spent to buy it), but they would prefer money over something they would not have bought normally at the current prices. This is something I learned formally in Intermediate Microeconomics, although it's not something you need to study to know.

Of course, there are some exceptions. For instance, if the recipient of the gift does want something which the buyer has better access to, for instance being a member of an exclusive club or if they already go on an overseas trip to some country which has a particular gift at a cheaper price (or if it's the only place they sell something), then the gift itself would be better than the money used to buy it. But for most things, this is not the case.

It's funny how in birthday or Christmas celebrations it is sometimes seen as being lazy or unthoughtful to just give money. But practically, it can often be the best gift.