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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 Life the Universe and Everything.

Subscription Services - Read the Fine Print

man at lecturnLast year my daughter needed a particular graphics program on her computer for school. She signed up for a special Students and Teachers Introductory offer for Adobe Creative Cloud Central Software. An annual agreement charged to credit card at $AUD 14.99  per month.

In January - a month before the year was up Adobe sent a notice by email saying the year was nearly up and the agreement would automatically be renewed unless she cancelled. She ignored the email.

Credit card was duly charged with the new amount, it's gone up, nearly doubled in price because no longer introductory pricing. Mum sees charge and asks daughter "do you still need this?" the answer is "No, I don't really use it any more" so daughter is instructed to cancel it, she goes online to do so and ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. She is hit with a cancellation fee for $AUD 124.95, "half the remaining contract period", and to rub salt into the wound can no longer use the software.

The trap here was that it was an ANNUAL agreement, charged monthly. If you read the fine print it is reasonably clear, but as was said many times that night, it doesn't seem fair.

It is pretty good software, and if you need it in my opinion its worth the price. But if you dont it's kinda expensive!

If you are signing up for an online subscription service, check the cancellation terms. Just because you are paying monthly don't asume that is the contract period.

If you are in any doubt type the name of the service you are considering and the word subscription into a Google search, you'll soon find out if others have had unpleasant experiences.

At the end of the day my daughter has learnt a valuable lesson quite cheaply, being a clever girl she wont make that mistake again.

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