Last year I posted several holiday gift ideas and the post went over quite well.
It seems we all have those hard-to-buy-for people and a few extra suggestions were welcome.
So like last year, I went into my Amazon order history and picked out some ideas based on what I liked.
I also threw in some oldies but goodies that I have loved over the years.
And I’ve arranged them by category just to help.
Let’s get to it! Here goes:
Books
I think you all know I’m a big reader/listener. Here are some great books I 100% recommend — some money-related and some not…
- Of course there is my list of the only five personal finance books anyone needs to read, so if you haven’t read those, start here.
- If you’re looking for something new about money I highly recommend The Next Millionaire Next Door. It’s a current-day version of the great original and well worth the read. It’s so good that it may make it into my top five…
- I also recommend The Simple Path to Wealth for those interested in investing. I reviewed it here.
- Rich Habits – The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals is also a winner. It’s a short read (I read most of it on a plane flight) but packed with great info!
- If you want a great real estate book, I enjoyed Building Wealth One House at a Time. Wish I had written that one myself.
- My parents simply loved Motorhome and RV Retirement Living: The Most Enjoyable and Least Expensive Way to Retire, a book we got them as a gift.
- Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days is a great book if you’re looking at developing a side business to make some extra money in the New Year.
- If you’re looking for something to help you improve your life in a big way, check out The Miracle Morning — I wish I had found this book years ago — my life would have been so much better earlier. I’ve told you how getting up early can make you wealthy and this book will help.
- Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future — I was in a Tesla showroom in Denver when I ran into another customer who couldn’t stop gushing about this book, so I HAD to read it. I’m glad I did! It was so informative and interesting. Whether you love or hate Musk, you can’t deny that he ranks among the great entrepreneurs and inventors of our time. His story is even made more compelling by the fact that he could have sailed off into the sunset with millions after selling other businesses, but instead risked it ALL for his businesses today.
- Washington: A Life — One of the best books I’ve read in my life. I visited Mt. Vernon shortly before I read this book and now want to go again. It really made Washington come to life. I’m going to listen to Grant next.
- If you want something a bit more relaxing, I recommend Sailing For Dummies. I’m interested in sailing (know nothing about it), wanted a good overview, and this has done quite nicely. I have enjoyed it. And I might take a sailing class next year if we get to the Caribbean. 馃檪
- For fiction reading, I can recommend The Rooster Bar. I’ve been a Grisham fan from day one and this one is GREAT! On my list for myself this year is his new one, The Reckoning. I’m sure it will be good too.
- If you prefer to listen, I can highly recommend a membership to Audible. I’ve been listening for a few months now and LOVE it!
Entertainment
You have to enjoy yourself in early retirement, right? Here are a few products that have helped me enjoy some of my free time…
- We got Days of Wonder Ticket To Ride this year and love it (though my daughter wins every game.) But then we got Ticket To Ride – Europe and I won!!!! 馃檪
- We also like聽Pandemic and find it more fun since the players play cooperatively against the board.
- I sent Hasbro Monopoly Deal Card Game聽to my daughter at college and she loves it!
- As for video games I can recommend Marvel’s Spider-Man as well as both Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (newest) and Assassin’s Creed Origins (previous). I loved all three of these.
Travel
I hate traveling itself (especially planes), but love to be places. These are the products that make the trip a bit easier to handle…
- Eagle Creek Pack-It Specter Sac Set – 3pc Set — I recently bought these when I couldn’t find the right holder for all my electronic accessories. The small and medium sizes work great for holding my chargers, cords, etc. — everything it takes to do mobile computing.
- Pro Packing Cubes – 6 Piece Lightweight Travel Cube Set — Great combination of usefulness and good price when it comes to packing clothes. These are currently my go-to items and I’ve used them several times with great success.
- Osprey Packs Skarab 32 Hydration Pack, Carbon Grey, Medium/Large — Currently my go-to pack for a travel personal item (which could change, I’ll be looking at others) and hitting the trails in Colorado (likely will NOT change for this purpose). I love Osprey and this mid-size sort of pack as it’s a balance between storing enough stuff but not being too big.
Workout
Just a couple tried and true accessories that help with my workouts…
- Scosche RHYTHM+ Heart Rate Monitor with Armband, Black — My cardio training is by heartrate and this monitor is perfect. I used chest monitors when I did road biking many years ago and I hated them. This is much, much better.
- Speedo Large Teamster Backpack, 35-Liter — I bought this as a replacement for Under Armour Storm Undeniable II Duffle, Medium, Black/Black/White. I highly recommend both of these, but I wanted a backpack to hold my workout stuff since I walk a couple miles after my workout and carrying a duffle bag while doing it is “ok”, but not the best.
Miscellaneous
A hodge podge of great items…
- I sent 1970’s Retro Candy Gift Box-Decade Box Gift Basket to my daughter this summer and she loved it. I thought of the idea one night after my wife and I were talking about candy from our childhoods.
- The best (and most surprising) purchase of the year was a Fiskars 3 Claw Garden Weeder. It took several hours of weeding in the back of our house and reduced the time by 80%! Cheap at twice the price! (as my dad used to say)
- The Grillstone Grill Cleaning Refill, 3 Pack is the best thing I’ve found yet to clean my grill.
- Proctor Silex E167CYR Fresh Grind Coffee Grinder — I drink freshly ground coffee in single cups (I allow myself three per day) and this is my go-to grinder. Even though it has a great price, it’s a workhorse and has lasted me going on two years now.
That’s my suggested list for this year. See anything you like?
The Physician Philosopher says
A simple one that I found (feel free to put your affiliate link onto this one) for my grill is a new wireless grill brush. It doesn’t have the chance of leaving any wires on the grill that get stuck into the food you eat. The thing is amazing and still cleans the grill really well.
I love that thing. And since I love grilling, it was a great gift to myself. Only thing that would have made it better is if someone else bought it for me 馃檪
ESI says
Have you tried the grill bricks? They are awesome!
I got a grill brush for my birthday this year and didn’t really like it (it didn’t clean very well). Maybe I got the wrong one…
Xrayvsn says
Hey John great ideas for sure. So you were in a tesla showroom? Does that mean there might be a tesla in your future? As an owner of a model s I can tell you that it has been hands down the best car I have ever driven or been in. Even after 2.5 years and 70k miles it still brings a smile to my face.
If you do end up getting one let me know and I will give you my referral code (currently you will get supercharger credit and I get some tesla swag).
Elon Musk is definitely the Nikola Tesla of our time. Some people are just wired differently and the world benefits because of it
ESI says
Hahaha…probably not. I can’t see myself driving something that expensive and I’m not 100% sure they have all the kinks worked out…
Kristy says
What a great list! Thanks for sharing. There are a few books I’m interested in myself, and may be able to pass on to others for reading. The retro candy box (I had to read that name twice!) what a cool idea!
Principal F.I. says
Games are such an inexpensive reusable entertainment gift! I haven’t tried the Ticket to Ride variations. I’ll definitely have to check those out.
Pandemic is a great one to step away from competitive games for a bit. If you like the coop, have you tried the Forbidden Island / Forbidden Desert games?
Thanks for the list, ESI!
Sean @ Frugal Money Man says
I just finished reading The Next Millionaire Next Door, and I can definitely echo your advice.
The book was not exactly like the first one, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing! To me, it was less about concrete factors that the first book presented, and more about psychological reinforcement of the first book, which was backed by extreme data analysis.
All in all, it was a terrific book that will add tremendous value to any reader!