Update: This was originally posted as a list of gift ideas for the holidays, but it’s really a list of awesome products to buy at any time of year. I’ll be adding to it from time to time so anyone who’s hard-pressed for some birthday, anniversary, special occasion, etc. ideas will have a good resource.
We all have someone on our holiday shopping list who is hard to buy for.
I actually have two on my Christmas list — my dad and my wife.
I usually find a way to get them something they like, but it’s a challenge. My dad has limited interests and my wife always says she doesn’t need anything. Ugh.
Anyway, you probably have people like them in your life. Or maybe you just want a few good gift ideas. If so, you’ve come to the right place.
This post will highlight several items I personally recommend for one reason or another (explained below). I hope you will find them useful.
FYI, the links to these products are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you buy using them. That said, you will pay the same price anyone not using them and buying pays, so there’s no cost to you. And, of course, in line with my policy here, I only use links on products and services I either personally use or recommend.
With that said, let’s get started on the ideas…
Classic Money Books
These make great gifts IMO because they are the best of the best when it comes to learning about money.
I wrote about my favorites in The Only Five Money Books You’ll Ever Need, but here I’ll share a bit more about them.
My selections:
- The Richest Man in Babylon — Here’s what makes this a great gift: it’s a short book, packed full of great truths, and very inexpensive. It’s perfect for a newbie wanting a great money overview. Also good for teenagers/college students, particularly if you choose the updated, current English version.
- The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy — The book that made me financially independent. It’s best for a more-studious person IMO.
- Your Money or Your Life — So many life-challenging concepts in this one! I’d get it for someone who needs a unique/different perspective on money.
- The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing — Perfect for someone who is wondering how to invest for the best overall results.
- How Much Money Do I Need to Retire? — Still my favorite book addressing the “can I retire now?” question.
New Money Books
Let’s face it, most new books on money are not that great. They are wastes of time at best and downright harmful at worst.
These books are different. They are new and yet very relevant/useful.
Here are my recommendations:
- The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life — If someone said they bought this book instead of the Boglehead’s book, I’d be ok with that. It’s that good. Great investing book.
- Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School — I have a review on this coming up, but the summary is: keep your spending as low as possible and you’ll likely become wealthy. Good message for a financial newbie to hear.
- Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days — You know what I think about the importance of side hustles. The author is the king of side hustles and the book is full of great tips. This is something EVERYONE should read if they do not yet have a side hustle or if they want to start a new one. I bought three copies — one for a friend, one for my son, and one for me.
- You Must Write a Book: Boost Your Brand, Get More Business, and Become the Go-To Expert — The author makes a compelling case for why you need to write a book (which will help advance your career). Then she gives tips and tricks for how to do it and making the most of the effort.
- The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM) — 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.
Non-Money Books
I love to read and not just about money.
Here are some of my favorites from this year:
- Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers — Want your life to be better in a ton of different areas? Read this book with gazillions of tips from people who have been successful in many areas of life. It’s a hefty read at almost 700 pages, but well worth it.
- 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.
- Camino Island: A Novel — I love me some John Grisham, and this book did not disappoint.
- 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.
Books I Want to Read
Here are a couple of books I have on my potential list for 2018:
- The Rooster Bar — Another John Grisham book! Yea!!!!
- Grant — From the guy who wrote Washington, Hamilton, etc. I’m sure it will be awesome.
Travel
As you know from my post on packing, I’m getting into travel.
I’m still working on what I think my best travel set-up is, but here are some things I really like so far from all the things I’ve tried:
- 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 — 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.
Working Out
You all know that I’ve made some big physical changes the past couple years.
Here are some items that helped me do that:
- Scosche RHYTHM+ Heart Rate Monitor — 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 just bought this as a replacement for Under Armour Storm Undeniable II Duffle. 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.
Video Games
One of my guilty pleasures in retirement is video games.
That said, there has been a lack of the type of games I like to play in the past year or so.
I’m not fast enough to play many of the shooting games. I prefer using a combination of strategy, sneaking about, and surprise attacks when I play my games. I also like to be the hero. 😉
Given those criteria, here are three games I really love:
- Horizon Zero Dawn – PlayStation 4 — Awesome game all the way around. They have an expansion out now and I definitely plan to get it.
- Assassin’s Creed Origins – PlayStation 4 Standard Edition — I have played all the AC games and will play them all until the franchise dies. Love them!
- Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War – PlayStation 4 — I was a big fan of the first one in this series (playing it through twice) and this second one didn’t disappoint.
BTW, if any videogame companies are out there listening, will someone please bring back the old Batman Arkham-like video games? The new Telltale ones are junk IMO.
Best Amazon Purchases
I order from Amazon quite a bit. I looked through my orders from the past two years and came up with three items I really like but that can’t be put into one category:
- Monopoly Deal Card Game — I had heard this game was awesome so I sent one to my daughter at college. She loves it! And for $5, what’s there to lose?
- Seagate Expansion 4TB Portable External Hard Drive — I added this on to my PlayStation 4 and my storage went up something like a million times. It was SO EASY to install as well — even for a non-techie like me.
- Proctor Silex 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.
Give Money
Of course if all else fails, you can give money this holiday season.
You can do it the old-fashioned way (cash) or the new-fashioned way (gift cards). I buy the latter at my grocery store and save tons on gas prices as a result (my store gives 10 cents per gallon back for every $100 spent in a given month).
If you want to give money but be a little creative about it, let me suggest American Eagle Silver coins. They are fun, unique, affordable, and a new way to give a gift someone (especially kids) will treasure for a long time.
So, those are my recommendations. Any products you’d like to suggest?
Herb says
Great list. I must admit I never heard of a baby boomer who plays video games. Thanks for posting.
ESI says
Haha! If it helps, I’m right on the cusp of being a Baby Boomer — just made it in by a hair. 😉
Indio says
I’m giving gifts of solar back up battery chargers to all those people that are hard to find gifts for. After all, who can’t use more backup power?
ESI says
My daughter has a solar charger she takes camping and loves it.
FL/GA gal says
Ditto. Being in FL…especially during and after Hurricane Irma….I have phone chargers and lanterns on my giving list this year. Amazed how many family and friends weren’t very prepared.
Mike H says
Ron Chernow (who authored Washington and Grant) is quite the author on biographies. I read the tome, Titan, authored by him and it was extremely well researched book. Plus I learned many new words in the process. A worthwhile read.
Some of the new financial books (Miracle Morning, You Must Write a Book) are on Kindle Unlimited, so I’ll be consuming those very shortly 🙂
-Mike
ESI says
Appreciate that recommendation — I want to read Titan as well.
Apex says
I finished Titan a few months ago. It’s fascinating but long. Rockefeller is a mixed man. Ruthless & genius. Interesting seeing how his past made him who was. The take away is if you want to make it big, own your market. Examples today are Facebook, Google, Amazon. Competition sucks. Wanna win? Drive it out. That’s why the Justice Department and Anti-trust is important (Anti-trust was started mostly because of Rockefeller).
Mrs. Adventure Rich says
You just gave me a whole new reading list 🙂
On the fitness side, I have gained great value from having a GPS Watch (Garmin in my case). It is a pricey item but there are good deals on the refurbished market.
We also like to gift Mr. AR’s home roasted coffee to coffee drinkers. The coffee + a plate of cookies is perfect for a quick holiday treat!
ESI says
Uh, do you need my address for the coffee? 😉
Jason says
Good list….I, of course, would recommend also any of the books I have written, but they are mostly for academics. And I love the George Washington book. One of my favorite biographies of him. I am currently reading a book on his Farewell Address, which is helping me frame a new research project. Good list….and a good post, wish I had thought of it.
Mohamad khairuzy says
Malaysia
Coopersmith says
The best present happened today where my youngest son received a job offer in his field of college study in Material Science engineering.He will be accepting the offer.
The next best thing is my oldest son is buy a condo and will be moving out around Christmas.
I don’t want anything for Christmas other than my family to be successful, independent and happy. You can’t ask for much more.
It will also be nice knowing that my sons will not be living in my basement, with a boat load of debt, unable to move out because they can’t find a high enough paying job to pay off that debt.
Early retirement is looking closer than ever before.
ESI says
You know I’m going to want you to write out your story when you eventually retire, right? 😉
Dwayne says
I would like to endorse the The Simple Path to Wealth book.
For those who might be hesitant…it’s not a deep dive investing how-to. In fact, it’s quite the opposite…refreshingly straightforward and simple.
I convinced my son (26) to read it and he’s now a believer….saving up a storm!
It is a very good book for millennials and it’s funny in parts which makes it compelling as well. I love Jim Collins’ writing style in both this book and on his blog.
Ben says
My 15 year old son was quite impressed that someone like his Dad plays video games. I still don’t get them, but he just bought a used X-Box from a pawn shop (great place to get consoles and games at a great price) and so now maybe I will give it another look.
ESI says
See if you can find an old copy of Ultimate Alliance 2. The graphics are probably not up to par with what they are these days (it’s an older game) but you and your son could play together as super heroes. We had a blast with it years ago — all four of us played against the bad guys. 🙂
SMM says
Thanks for these book recommendations! I usually check to see what financial audio books are at the library since I listen while commuting. I’ll see if I can find any of these (fingers crossed) 🙂
Freedom 40 Plan says
Some great gift suggestions here. Great call on the MOnopoly Deal game. We discovered that one several years ago and everyone we’ve introduced it to has been a big fan. It’s a great game with as few as 2 or as many as 10!
Mrs. Need2Save says
Uh, so which gifts are for the wife and dad?
Here is a third vote for the Monopoly Deal card game. It’s all the fun of the original, but in 1/10th the time. Games can be over in as little as 20 minutes depending on how the cards play out but can also last up to an hour. None of those 4 hour marathon games though when some just tries to lose so the game can be be over. Great stocking stuffer for all ages and a cheap price.
We also have become converts to the packing cubes idea for travel. I have to say for short trips though of one or two nights, we don’t bother with them. But they have been ideal on two week vacations and International travel. Everything has a place and as long as you keep up with putting things back where they were packed originally, you’ll stay oraganized for your whole journey.
Great book ideas!
ESI says
Probably none of them.
This isn’t my list for those two, this is my list of products I’ve liked that others might want to get for their hard-to-buy-for friends and family.