A few weeks ago I published my post called “75 Frugal Gifts You Can Give For Christmas“. The post was an extensive list of frugal gift ideas, gifts that people could buy or make for their loved ones, but not break the bank. One of my favorite gift ideas from the list was one that in my opinion is good for more than just one year, it is the gift that keeps on giving. What was it? The gift of stock.
When I wrote the post I was thinking of somehow buying a single share of stock or giving them a check to open a brokerage account or something along those lines. In the end the idea lacked something because it wasn’t very easy to implement, and it didn’t allow for the type of investing that I would prefer to do, via index funds.
A couple of weeks ago I found the answer to how you can give someone the gift of stock, but a bit easier. And it came from one of my favorite brokerage companies, ING ShareBuilder (review) . They also have one of my favorite bank accounts, ING Direct Online Savings (review)!
ShareBuilder Gift Of Stock
ShareBuilder released something this year actually called the “Gift of Stock“. Basically it’s everything you need to start investing included in the package. Who would this be a good gift for? A friend or family member that might need that boost to start investing, or it can be a great teaching tool to help your kids get interested in saving for the future.
Here are the contents of the package from ING:
- $50 ShareBuilder Gift Card. Help friends and family start their own stock portfolio at ShareBuilder or become an investor yourself. The gift card is redeemable when opening a new ShareBuilder Individual, Joint or Custodial account, giving you or the gift recipient the chance to start off with $50 in their account. ShareBuilder has no account minimums.
- Five Free Automatic Investment Plan Credits. Free trade credits allow you, friends or family to start building wealth. ShareBuilder’s Automatic Investment Plan allows investors to set up recurring investments with a dollar amount they can afford.
- Five-part video series from The Motley Fool. Picking stocks can be easier than you think. The Motley Fool’s How to Buy the Right Stocks for Your Portfolio video series can help you develop the right financial portfolio for your financial goals.
It’s really that easy. When they get the package they can setup a new account at ING ShareBuilder, redeem their gift cards for $50 of stock and 5 free automatic investment plan credits, and start investing!
Gift Of Stock Price Drop!
Originally this gift of stock was retailing for $45 on the ING store, but as of this week the price has dropped to only $25. So get in on this hot deal now! You could even buy it for yourself to get started investing you want to! You’ll get a return for your money right out of the box since you get $50 in ShareBuilder credit for only $25!
Here’s my unboxing video of my own “Gift of Stock” package. Click to watch and see everything that’s included inside.
Want to open your own ShareBuilder account? Open your account here.
(Get a $50 account bonus with promo code: 50ws10)
This is definitely an interesting gift idea to introduce and educate someone to the world of stocks. Thank you for the information!
Interesting Christmas idea. Definitely a good conversation starter for young investors. At what age do you think it’s appropriate to start giving stock?
The earlier the better is what i say – but make sure to use it as a teaching tool to help explain the power of compound interest, investing for the long term and so forth. of course if they’re REALLY young, you may want to get them a teddy bear as well. ;)
I read all your articles Peter. I use Sharebuilder and also Scottrade. I always say, get started investing early and invest each and every month. Scottrade has a referral code: IXFV9382 that will give you 3 free trades when you open any type of account if any of your current readers need a nudge to open an Scottrade account. Keep up the good work Peter..
Scottrade referral code: IXFV9382 will get you 3 free trades any time in 2011 and 2012 year.
Dave
I recently gave my children 5 shares of stock in the local power company, with an eye towards creating a dialog for better financial planning and becoming producers rather than consumers.