It is time for couples to stop being so afraid of asking for cash instead of toasters and bed sheets as presents if that's what they really want. Why? Because the more afraid you are to be honest and straightforward about what you really need, the more companies like Giftsofstock.com will swoop in to make some money off of your insecurities.
I'm not a regular Wall Street Journal reader - what would you expect of someone who attended Al Gore's speech at NYU yesterday? - but when my dad mentioned an article about a company that allows couples to register for stock, I had to pick up a copy. (The WSJ is available online to subscribers only.)
Just like Greenwish.com, which I discussed in an earlier post, Giftsofstock.com seems like an easy way to ask for money, albeit with the variation of having that money go straight into the stock market. Just register, send out an email and - voila! - everyone knows you want investments.
But given today's economy, All-Clad pots might be a more solid investment than stocks. That company that looked so promising when you invested in it shortly after your engagement could be embroiled in a shareholder shakeup and worth about as much as a belly-up dot com's used office furniture by the time the honeymoon is over.
Giftsofstock.com reassures users through a spokesperson that the stocks available through their service are "good, long-term investments - companies we believe will be around in 10 to 15 years." A quick look at their list of companies (Coca Cola, 3M, Microsoft, Xerox and others) confirms that strategy, but I'm still left to wonder: how is this easier than writing a check, handing it to a couple, and having them invest it themselves? (It might seem as if I'm beating a dead horse, but I think it still bears mentioning.)
My dad has an old joke that he says anytime my family goes out for ice cream. Ineveitably, my sister and I will take a taste of whatever flavor he has chosen and his reply, no matter how much we eat, is always the same: "If I had wanted half an ice cream cone, I would have ordered half an ice cream cone."
And sure enough, Giftsofstock.com isn't in the business of giving out free ice cream. According to the WSG, it charges around $20 for purchasing stock in a couple's name. So which would you rather have, $100 in the form of a check or $100 in the form of stock? It seems to me that if your guests want to give you $120, they would give you $120.
Posted by The Groom at May 27, 2004 07:30 PMOh, you saw Al Gore speak? I read the transcript -- that was a hell of a speech. Al's becoming quite the firebrand.
Posted by: Francis at May 28, 2004 01:02 AM