Gifts Mrspennington

Itunes cards are a popular gift right now, I am always receiving itunes cards as rewards at work, for filling out surveys, even my grandma gave me a itunes card for my birthday. Everyone thinks its the perfect gift and for some people it is, after all who does not like music, movies and television? While everyone would agree that they at least love some form of media not everyone is into the digital format itunes delivers media in and of course not everyone is into the whole concept of paying for their music, movies and television shows. After all there is plenty of indie music out there for free, streaming websites also offer a good deal of free music from popular bands not to mention that thing called the radio. For television you can always watch shows for free, with a dvr that is nearly standard on cable boxes these days you can even record your favorite shows to watch later. While movies are not free there are services like Netflix that provide them for a very low cost. Some people reading this article may now be thinking that I am ignorant of the thousands of bit torrent and file sharing sites out there. Of course this is another reason, possibly the biggest reason why people may choose to sell their itunes gift cards. Why use their itunes card at all when they get their media for free? Most people dont and the itunes cards just sit around gathering dust for years. Thats why I have come up with some alternative uses for your itunes cards.

The first alternative use and most lucrative is to simply go online and sell the card. There is a website that will let you sell itunes gift cards, they will give you cash for your unwanted itunes credits. It is the easiest way to sell your itunes cards and it takes only about 5 minutes to turn your card into cash. It is important to note that in order to sell your card it must not have been previously loaded onto your itunes account. If you load the card on your account the balance will be stuck on your account forever. We still have a number of alternative uses for the card if you have already put it on your account so be sure to read on.

If your balance is already stuck on your account and you own an iphone, ipad or mac computer you can always use your credits to purchase software apps. There are literally millions of apps available so you should be able to find something you like. Even if you can not find an app you like consider investing in a productivity app or purchase a issues of a magazine you like. Still not convinced this is a good use of cash? Then read on for our final suggestion of alternative uses for itunes cards.

Consider donating the balance on your itunes account if you do not want to cash in or use it on some media or an app. How can you donate your itunes balance? Just look for an app or song that is donating all proceeds to a charitable cause. There are always lots of options available as developers and musicians aim to promote their music by attaching their product to a worthy cause. Also you can try to think of any friends or family members who may have developed an app or put their bands single on itunes. Why not help them climb the charts and put a little bit of money in their pocket? Of course Apple takes its cut on every transaction but this does not detract from the good created by your charitable donation.

Many people leave their gift cards sitting around for years, some get lost, some even get thrown out. If you are not using the card do something with it! Look at your itunes card as an asset that is wasted capital if its just sitting there unused. Sell your gift cards, buy something nice, invest the money, and donate to a worthy cause. Dont let that asset sit ideally by, do something with your itunes credit today.

Giving gifts to family and charity while you’re alive can be a boon to them – and your estate.

Estate planning isn’t just about how you want your assets distributed after you die. It’s about deciding how much you want to give away while you’re still alive. If you plan carefully – so you don’t outlive your assets – giving allows you to reduce your taxable estate and provide advance help to your beneficiaries.

There are two easy ways to give gifts without incurring the gift tax:

You may pay an unlimited amount in medical or educational expenses for another person, if you give the money directly to the institutions where the expenses were incurred. You may give up to $13,000 a year in cash or assets to as many people as you like.

Anytime you give more than $13,000 annually to any one person you must file a gift-tax return and the excess amount will be applied toward your lifetime gift-tax exclusion of $1 million.

If at any point your gifts exceed that exclusion, you will have to pay gift tax on the excess amount. There is some good news in that regard. The top tax rate on gifts is gradually declining and will fall to 35 percent by 2010.

Keep in mind, too, that gifts you give within three years of your death that exceed the lifetime gift-tax exclusion will reduce the amount of money you may leave to your heirs free of federal estate taxes, according to certified public accountant P. Jeffrey Christakos of First Union Securities in Westfield, N.J. For example, if you give away $100,000 more than your lifetime exclusion within three years of your death, your estate-tax exemption will be reduced by $100,000.

If you want to invest in a 529 college savings plan for a beneficiary, contributions are treated as gifts. You may put in as much as $65,000 in one year ($130,000 with your spouse), but that contribution will be treated as if it were being made in $13,000 installments over five years.

That means you can’t give any more money to that beneficiary tax-free during that five-year period. Should you die before the five years are up, part of the money you gave will be included in your taxable estate, specifically the $65,000 minus $13,000 for each year you were alive.

The tax consequence of making large gifts can get complicated. So if you have a large estate, consult with your financial or tax planner to see how much giving you can do without triggering a big tax bill. Charitable donations are another way to reduce your estate. By investing in charitable gift funds and community foundations, those donations can stretch beyond your death.

Charitable gift funds, which are offered by Fidelity, Vanguard and others, permit you to make a tax-deductible donation, grow your investment tax-free, and then direct a contribution – in your name – to nonprofits of your choosing whenever you like.

Community foundations are regionally based charities that take donations of as little as $5,000 in cash, stock or property. The foundations invest that money, pool the gains, and allocate grants, usually to local nonprofits. In most cases, you may either have the foundation give money to organizations you choose or ask the foundation to locate a worthy recipient for a cause you like.

You also can set up what’s known as a charitable lead trust, from which a charity receives the income and your heirs the principal; or a charitable remainder trust, in which your heirs get the income and the charity gets the principal.

Have you started shopping for gifts? Not yet. Hurry, Christmas has almost arrived. Rush of people around the gift stores is a common scenario during festive seasons. However, Christmas is one of the most awaited festivals for not only the children, but for adults as well. Presenting and receiving gifts is one of the traditions that are being followed on the day of Christmas since a very long time. Thus, Christmas brings confusion for everyone as far as choosing a proper gift for the recipients is concerned. The process of making an apt selection becomes more complex, when the recipient is a female, To choose an ideal gift for her, you can look for it online or even at general local gift stores. To mark the specialty of the occasion, however, unique and unusual Christmas gifts are mostly preferred. Some of the unusual Christmas gifts that you can choose for a female recipient are as follows:

To make your present, a best one, you should try to offer something personalized to the recipient. If you have crafty talents, you can utilize your creativity to make something that she would surely like to receive. If she is crazy about using unique purses, sew her an attractive purse that she could use on a daily basis. Knitting her a scarf or crocheting an afghan for her can also be the most unusual Christmas gifts for the lady. In making these handiworks more appealing, you can use her favorite colors to adorn the overall product, making it a memento for the occasion.

If you don’t possess crafty talents, don’t be disappointed, several artists are available to help you prepare a handmade item that you can present to the female recipient as a perfect gift for her. Various websites are there where you will find numerous artists who can offer you their handicraft services. The only thing that you need to do is to give a detailed description about the kind of product you want them to make. Be clear on payment related issues as well as the date of delivery. This will be a great alternative if you genuinely want to present unusual Christmas gifts to the lady.

If you know the female recipient well, you might have an idea about the fragrances that she likes. If she is fond of strong scents or softer ones, based on her preference you can opt for customized perfume as an ideal gift for her. Various websites are available that give you an opportunity to mix three fragrances together in order to produce a customized soap, lotion, body spray or perfumes for the females. These unusual Christmas gifts get delivered to the gift givers in a well-packaged and wrapped gift box to be presented to the female recipients.

You can present an accessory to the females containing the names of her family members, which can also be counted as an exclusive gift for her. This will, however, be a best alternative for those who have really strong family bonds.

Based on the nature of the female recipient, you can choose any one from the above-mentioned unusual Christmas gifts for her.