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Christmas Present Tips for Guys

Christmas Shopping Tips for Guys

giftgreen1Most of us guys are useless at Christmas shopping. Here's a few tips I've picked up over the years.

Ladies, you might want to share this with the men in your family to avoid getting an undesirable and badly wrapped present this Christmas.

  1. Buying your Christmas presents at a petrol station or dairy on Christmas morning really isn't the done thing - apparently not everyone wants a funnel, box of biscuits or a car care kit. Don't do it.
  2. Get started early, no not on Christmas Eve, yesterday was already too late.
  3. First thing in the morning is the best time to Christmas shop, and I mean first thing, teenagers are still in bed.
  4. It's not the thought that counts, it's how MUCH thought that counts.
  5. Cash is a GREAT present for teenagers - and me.
  6. If you must give gift vouchers make sure they are from a shop the recipient actually shops in and try and avoid those with an expiry date.
  7. Wrapping and cards are important, you and I know it's just paper but for some reason they are important.
  8. Before you start browsing in a shop check that it does gift wrapping and accept the service - wait if necessary. If the shop doesn't do gift wrapping move on to the next. Unless you are an expert present wrapper - Yeah Right!
  9. Even if every present you buy is gift wrapped, buy plenty of wrapping paper and sellotape. You are going to need it because dairy's and petrol stations don't gift wrap and being a bloke you'll probably ignore number 1.

Guys ignore the above at your peril and have a wonderful Christmas.

Posted in Preparing for the Unexpected.

The Danger of DIY Wills

One area where professional advice usually makes a big difference is in the creation of wills.

There are simple Do-It-Yourself versions that you can buy from stores where you fill in the blanks yourself, and get no advice at all. Naturally this is a very cheap option – which is often the appeal for people (we all know that lawyers can get quite expensive!).

Before rushing off to get a DIY will and doing it all yourself, there are a few things you should consider:

  1. At best a DIY version is only good for a “simple Will”. The type of situation where it may work well is perhaps a single person with only a few beneficiaries and a fairly simple estate in terms of assets or possessions, such as some household chattels, a car and basic bank accounts. Once other assets (e.g. Kiwisaver; investments) or other people (partner; children, ex-partner) start becoming part of the picture things can get complicated fairly quickly and the DIY Will probably doesn’t cut it.
  2. There are different versions that people can buy, or perhaps just download from the internet, and questions should be asked about the quality of the explanatory information and structure of the will kit. How does the non-professional know whether the information is right?
  3. A real danger area is getting the will completed properly and legally. Once all “the blanks” have been filled in, there is the matter of getting it signed and attested properly. There have been many cases of DIY Wills that were not signed correctly, resulting in problems of beneficiaries fighting over the estate.

This is an area where we really do have to acknowledge that “we don’t know what we don’t know”, and that is where the danger lies. Without the help of a properly qualified and experienced lawyer, you may not realise what issues are not being addressed properly, or what steps haven’t been undertaken properly.

In general terms DIY Will kits are really no substitute for considered, personal and professional advice that takes into account all the variables and factors in your life – and then puts the right personalised solution in place for you.

But it has to be said that a DIY Will is better than no will.

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