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Shopping doesn’t have to include shipping — and that’s a blessing in 2021. Inflation has driven up the cost of just about everything for most of the year, and a lot of that has to do with to the skyrocketing costs of getting things from here to there. Thanks to congested ports, labor shortages, soaring fuel prices, and the global supply chain crisis, shipping packages is much more expensive today than it was in the past. same time last year – and the high-pressure holiday season hasn’t even arrived yet.
Good to know: The Ultimate Gift Guide to Holiday Etiquette
Check: Your Complete Guide to Getting Ahead and Saving on Holiday Shopping
The good news is that you don’t have to take part.
An internet connection is all you need to give a world-class gift that will be as welcome as anything that arrived in a truck. There’s a digital gift for every budget and taste, but you might be out of ideas. This is where GOBankingRates comes in.
Looking for a great digital gift that gets you on the go with UPS, FedEx, and the USPS? Here are some ideas to get you started.
To be aware: How much should you spend on gifts for your acquaintances?
Online music or art lessons
One thing that should never be boxed, padded with bubble wrap, and placed in the back of a truck for delivery is personal enrichment – and what better gift to give? For the music lover in your life, sites like School of Rock offer private lessons in guitar, bass, vocals, drums, keyboard/piano, and songwriting. Most range from $150 to $300 per month.
If painting, drawing, or other physical art is more your favorite thing, companies like The Art Studio NY offer group and private lessons for children and adults. Right now, classes are $25 off.
See: 11 gifts you should buy for Christmas now – before they sell out
Academic or language courses
Sites like Udemy, Thinkific, and Teachable offer online courses on just about any subject you can think of, all without the college-level prices. Udemy, for example, currently offers a $90 graphic design course for $14.99. A $95 data science course costs $16.99.
For those who would rather learn a language than a subject, sites like Babbel, Mondly, and FluentU take you on a journey of discovery with language lessons. For $83.40 – just $6.95 a month – you can teach a full year of language lessons.
To find: The best party toys, gadgets and more to buy now – and what they’ll cost you
A subscription
The loved one in your life might be one of the holdouts who still doesn’t have a subscription to one of the big music, streaming, or shopping sites because they’re not convinced it’s all right. it’s worth it. You could help them make that decision with a year of membership – or whatever you can afford – with your compliments. Consider the following memberships a gift:
- Spotify: $9.99 per month
- Netflix: $8.99 to $17.99 per month
- Amazon Prime: $12.99 per month or $119 per year
Tips: 5 reasons why you need a Cash-Back card in your wallet
Electronic books
Books have always made great gifts, and today you can follow that tradition without paying to ship a rectangle of thick paper across the country. You can give eBooks directly to recipients as gifts through Google Play, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble Nook and, perhaps most popular of all, Amazon Kindle – remember that Jeff Bezos started out as an online bookseller. The process is similar in all formats. Find a book you like and look for an option that says something like “buy for others” or “give as a gift.” Giving on a budget? Good news: e-books are almost always cheaper than hardbacks and even paperbacks.
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Last update: October 27, 2021
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