5 Great Money Gift Ideas in 2023

Gifts of the season tend to fall into two groups: the fun or the practical. This list skews toward the latter. These are the gifts Morningstar’s researchers are giving this year, or the ones they received or wished to receive, especially when they were younger. These are also gifts of hope, potential, and personal growth.

Investing-related gifts aren’t always the most exciting to receive or easiest to understand. We’ve tried to make it easier by including customizable gift presentation certificates that provide a more tangible item, plus a short gift explanation.

A Gift of Education

529 Savings Account Contribution

The cost to attend college can seem prohibitively expensive for students and their families, yet the benefits are real, with college graduates commanding an average 25% wage premium over nongraduates. Help a student get a head start with a contribution to a 529 college savings plan and potentially get tax savings for yourself.

Whatever the amount you give, research has shown that the very existence of a college savings account correlates with higher rates of enrollment and graduation. Funds earmarked for school tell students of their family’s belief and also expectation that they’re going to college. Increasingly, they also tell of a community’s belief in a child. States that offer 529 seed money and matching grants for their youngest residents with no income restrictions include Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. Those with income parameters are California, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, North Dakota, and Tennessee. Free money counts as a gift, too.

A Gift That Keeps Giving

Low-Cost, Dividend-Paying ETF or Fund

Benjamin Franklin memorably described the power of compounding this way: “Money makes money. And the money that money makes, makes more money.” Compounding returns can seem abstract if one cannot literally see cash flows being reinvested and yielding additional gains and dividends for investors.

Owning a dividend-paying fund won’t win any bragging rights or make good cocktail party fodder, but it should confer useful lessons about what creates wealth—namely, a compounding process that’s allowed to run without interruption. Make sure to have dividends set to reinvest, ideally in a tax-deferred account.

A Gift of Wisdom

A Notebook

Few people keep good notes about their investments, leading to poor future decisions, especially when markets are volatile. A notebook to record the reasons behind investment decisions will help keep you honest—helpful for both when an investment rises and when it falls. Self-understanding and self-examination are essential to becoming a wiser and better self, not to mention a better investor.

A Gift of Luck

Charging Bull Statue

When it comes to investing, in addition to time and patience, a little luck never hurts, either. The Charging Bull in Manhattan’s financial district is a symbol of investing optimism and success. On a desk or a bookshelf, it can serve as a talisman for, or a reminder of, the pervasive relationship between skill and luck when it comes to investing success.

A Gift of Numbers

TI-BA II or HP 12C Calculator

Breaking into the investment industry can appear mysterious and daunting to outsiders. One of the more accessible gateways into the world is via the CFA Institute’s chartered financial analyst exam, taken by more than 100,000 people around the world each year.

Almost all of them have one of these calculators, the only ones approved for use on the test. They’re useful to quickly calculate present values, mortgage payments, and remaining balances on student loans. Give one to the aspiring financial analyst in your life, or anyone wanting to become more financially literate.

A Bonus Gift: Subscription to Morningstar Investor. We’re still working on gifting options for Morningstar Investor, our site where you can put together portfolios and read through research reports, among many other tools. In the meantime, new users can always sign up for free trials or use the service for free through a large network of public libraries and education institutions located around the world.

Thanks to Morningstar researchers Dan Culloton, Jeff Ptak, Dan Kemp, Harsh Jain, and David Carey for contributing to this year’s list.