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“Nothing Bad Ever Came From A Tiffany Blue Box”

February 23, 2011 · 77 comments

in Personal Finance

I have to tell you, I am the perfect wife.

Well, actually, I am not perfect in about a million different ways.  However, I do have one very redeeming quality.

I am low-maintenance.  Maybe not emotionally, but financially, I am very low-maintenance.

For example, traditional presents are lost on me.  I am allergic to flowers.  I get a rash from certain metals so most jewelry is out of the question.  In addition,  I am not a collector of shoes, and my wardrobe does not require a lot of closet space.  I am a dream girl!

So what made me sit and think about how great I am?

I was watching TV!  I believe I was watching the show ‘Bang For Your Buck’ on HGTV.  It is a home show where three different home renovations are evaluated, and the hosts then determine which home renovation will get the largest return on investment.

Well, on this show, the home owners that did the renovations are always incredibly defensive, and they get really bitter if one of the hosts does not like every aspect of their renovation.  One of the bathrooms being evaluated featured something that was blue and one of the hosts said it reminded him of Tiffany’s (or something like that).  The owner of the home then said “you know, nothing bad ever came from a Tiffany Blue Box”.

I laughed when I heard that statement because for one thing, I didn’t know blue was associated with Tiffany’s.  (Pathetic, I am sure.)   I then pictured my husband coming home and presenting me with a Tiffany Blue Box, with a nice bow on top.  In my mind, I open the box, and see some incredibly over-priced jewelry, and then I lose my mind.  When I say I lose my mind, it is not in a good way either. I would just be thinking of all the things that could be bought with that money instead.  I would ruin all the fun!   I guess it is because all it takes to make me happy is to give me some chocolate or a book.  Sure, I accept jewelry too, but it doesn’t have to be presented in a Tiffany Blue Box.  In my mind, when you buying something from Tiffany, you are paying for the name as much as anything.  Who can really tell if the earrings you are wearing were from Tiffany’s or Macy’s?  I know I can’t, but then again, I am not a sophisticate.

What do you think of extravagant gifts?  Do you accept them readily?  Or, does it depend on who it is from?  (For instance, you know if it came from your spouse, you essentially paid for half of it.)  Now that I think about it, if any readers want to send me extravagant gifts, that would be ok…

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{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }

Yakezie February 23, 2011 at 5:27 am

Nobody ever gives me anything, at least nothing extravagant, so I wouldn’t know at all! lol. I would feel very awkward if anybody gave me anything extravagant.

I would ask them to return it, and let’s just go out for a meal or something.

The Beta Class Member posts are live now btw. Come by and say hello!

Cheers, Sam

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Kris February 23, 2011 at 10:27 am

Sam, I am betting you don’t need anything! I really can’t imagine how I would react if someone did give me something extravagant. It would be better if it just arrived in the mail. 🙂

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101 Centavos February 23, 2011 at 6:18 am

Receiving extravagant gifts from outside the family finances is completely OK w/ me. As for Tiffany, I didn’t know they had a blue box either.

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Kris February 23, 2011 at 10:26 am

I would love to receive an extravagant gift from outside the family, it just hasn’t happened yet! If it shows up in a blue box, I will immediately Ebay it! 🙂

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Moneycone February 23, 2011 at 6:44 am

Tiffany has this one item – a tag made of silver which has Tiffany’s name and address and some thing like ‘if found return to’ engraved.

I always wondered who in their right mind would buy that! It isn’t jewelry… so you are not going to wear it. You wouldn’t tag a valuable item with it since the tag itself is made of silver!

If Tiffany’s making this, someone’s buying this! One whacky world!

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Kris February 23, 2011 at 10:25 am

MC- I couldn’t agree more, what a total waste. But as you said, there must be a market for it somehow.

How did you come across it?

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Nicole February 23, 2011 at 7:36 am

Back when we were 16 and celebrating our first Christmas as a couple, I was so excited to find out what future-DH was going to get for me. I figured whatever he got would demonstrate how well he knew me as a person and it would be a thoughtful, adorable, (and inexpensive) gift.

He got me jewelry. A heart necklace that his mother (excited, I guess, about her oldest son’s first girlfriend…) picked out and paid for. It was also expensive, which I know because he accidentally left the receipt in there.

I was SO upset. Anyone can buy stupid expensive jewelry and the whole point of a gift is not to give something that your MOTHER picks out. Not the first gift anyway. (On top of that, it was way overpriced, which he should have known would bug the bejeezus out of me.) (After that, his mom really did not accept us as a couple until we got married, and even then not really until his little brother got married to another interloper.) And I never wear jewelry. (I also hate cut flowers and indoor flowers.)

Of course, I messed up too… I had tried to decide between a Paranoia book and a card game that tells fairy tales, and picked the card game. Which was apparently the wrong choice. Of course, years later I got him the Paranoia book and he no longer wanted it (though he got himself a newer edition). And the fairy tale card game is great for playing with our preschooler so it gets a lot more use. I actually had a series of buying him exactly the wrong thing… Bloodbowl when he wanted Warhammer 30K etc. So now I just give him money since all the fun for him is shopping anyway.

He made up for his Christmas gift on Easter with an adorable Easter basket filled with crafts and plastic eggs with candy and sweet notes and things. And he hand carved my engagement ring from a dowel rod. Future jewelry purchases (there have been two, not counting the wedding ring) were much more thoughtful– an adorable cat ring and another cheap Walmart ring that had its own personal significance.

I’m generally better about accepting gifts from him now, and I’m glad he has his own allowance to buy things with.

Wow, that’s like a post in itself!

Moneycone– is it a luggage tag?

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Kris February 23, 2011 at 10:24 am

Niccole- of course a 16 year old boy get help from his mom for a Christmas present! I understand your disappointment, but I must say I am not surprised. He probably didn’t trust his own instincts and asked his mom instead. I am surprised his mom held such a grudge though!

I think you should write your own post on this topic. Share more!

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Nicole February 23, 2011 at 10:54 am

He didn’t actually ask for help… she just took over. She did that a lot, basically until he was a junior in college, but he turned out ok anyway.

There were some other reasons she didn’t like me.

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The Biz of Life February 23, 2011 at 8:24 am

I’m at the stage of life where I pretty much have everything that I want and need. I’m not an extravagant person so my needs are pretty simple. I prefer not to get gifts because if I don’t already have it, I don’t need it.

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Kris February 23, 2011 at 10:21 am

Biz, most the adults I know are in the same boat you are. It makes Christmas quite difficult!

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The Biz of Life February 23, 2011 at 12:49 pm

Cash always works or gift cards to a favorite store.

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retirebyforty February 23, 2011 at 12:09 pm

Wow, you are low maintenance. 😉
Mrs. RB40 does not like jewelry. She does like shoes and purses, but she saves up her allowance for them.
The present she likes most is cash money. heh heh…

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Kris February 23, 2011 at 4:34 pm

I think one of my favorite gifts might be a gift card to Barnes and Noble. I just love bookstores.

I can see why your wife likes cash. She can though go buy the shoes or purse she likes!

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Money Reasons February 23, 2011 at 12:21 pm

You sound a lot like my wife 🙂

She doesn’t have allergies, but certain metals do make her have a rash. She loves books!

I think it’s best to save up the money for a great vacation 😉

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Kris February 23, 2011 at 4:32 pm

MR, my gosh a vacation sounds great right now….

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krantcents February 23, 2011 at 12:40 pm

The only extravagant gift I ever gave was an engagement ring to my wife! I am not very good at accepting compliments never mind gifts. So anything is extravagant to me! My wife and I may spend on extravagant things but we make the decision together so it is not a gift.

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Kris February 23, 2011 at 4:31 pm

Krantcents, I am awful at accepting compliments too. It can be hard to accept gifts, especially when you don’t have something to give in return!

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Linda February 23, 2011 at 1:53 pm

I don’t like stuff; I’d rather have the gift of time, like a fun afternoon together or a vacation, like Money Reasons says. I rarely wear jewlery, anyway. It’s too much hassle to put on and take off every day.

For the first few years of marriage, my ex-husband would give me jewelry at Christmas and other big holidays. But the jewelery he bought wasn’t very well made and caused more problems. There was a gold bracelet I got one year and the clasp kept breaking. After having to pay to fix it more than once, I finally lost it one day (in the street? in a cab? who knows?). Then I asked him to just stop buying me jewelery.

I must say that I made a nice bit of cash last year selling some of that gold stuff that I never wore anyway. I still have my diamond solitaire engagement ring and gold wedding ring, though. One of these days maybe I’ll have a new ring made out of them.

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Kris February 23, 2011 at 4:29 pm

Selling the gold is a great idea. I have a couple broken necklaces, I should look into that.

I agree, time and experiences are the best gifts.

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Lola February 23, 2011 at 3:26 pm

I do know about the Tiffany blue box! Beginning in the early 90’s, the hubs traveled to the Far East on business trips at least 4x a year for about 10 years. Delta was the most convenient airlines for this, and the big D rewarded him most handsomely for choosing his (very expensive) business class flights with them. Not only did he get all sorts of FF perks, but after so many miles or legs or whatever, he was sent a gift – from Tiffany’s! We must have gotten about 10 different items in all – vases, silver bowls, crystal dishes, etc. I re-gifted most of them (I kept a couple of vases – they are beautifully made, I must say). I’ll never forget how my sister-in-law’s mother gasped and jumped up at the wedding shower when my soon-to-be SIL unwrapped the package to reveal the Tiffany’s box – very fun. It was a crystal plate for cookies or whatever – made a very nice tone when you pinged it. The SIL has used it a bunch.

Free extravagance is absolutely priceless!

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Kris February 23, 2011 at 4:27 pm

Lola, free Tiffany gifts would be perfect! I am sure you made many people happy by regifting those items!

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Squirrelers February 23, 2011 at 6:32 pm

I don’t want extravagant gifts, nor do I want to give them these days – though I have in the past. Really, the most important things to me are not directly money related. To me, it truly is the thought and kindness that counts overall, even with the practical side of me always lurking.

Also, it’s just not comfortable accepting material things for me. If it’s nice words and genuine praise…sure! But material things, no – not really.

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Kris February 23, 2011 at 10:45 pm

Squirrel- Yeah, I guess I am not much for wanting to give anything extravagant right now either!

I will take a nice card any day!

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Roshawn @ Watson Inc February 23, 2011 at 9:38 pm

I don’t mind an extravagant gift but certainly wouldn’t want it from my wife. In general, I am very easy to please. I’m not into pricey for the sake of pricey; however, there are a few things on my wish list that are extravagant although I hope that I like them because they “special” for some reason other than their namesake.

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Kris February 23, 2011 at 10:45 pm

Shawn, you are right, some things just cost a lot of money, and rightfully so. However, when something costs a lot because of a name, then that is just nonsense. (Unless of course you are truly paying for high quality or some other aspect from that brand.)

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Crystal @ BFS February 23, 2011 at 10:11 pm

I like some extravagant things but not all of them. Diamonds are out but opals an blue topaz are just too sparkly to turn down. Do I buy them? Nope. Do I happily accept them? Heck yes!!!

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Kris February 23, 2011 at 10:43 pm

I like opals and blue topaz too. As a matter of fact, my favorite earrings are blue topaz now that I think about it!

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Lindy Mint February 23, 2011 at 11:45 pm

My husband gave me a big gift for Christmas this year. I haven’t even talked about it because I am afraid I will be shamed in the PF world. He warned me that he was getting me something big, and I had a good guess at what it was. But when Christmas morning arrived and I had to face the item, I was pretty upset. It was something I wanted, but had put out of the realm of me ever owning. So it took a while to adjust to the idea that A) I owned it, and B) he spent so much money on it, when I really would have loved to make a large payment to the credit card.

Then I had to realize I was being silly, because it is a functional gift, and he used his hard earned money for it, and he was trying to make my life better with it. Who can be mad at that? But yeah, if it was jewelry, I probably would still be angry. I have to remind him never to buy me expensive jewelry.

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Revanche February 26, 2011 at 12:08 pm

I really don’t like the idea that you have to hide something like a thoughtful gift from your own husband specifically because you’re worried about being shamed by the PF world. I mean, are we/they really so petty as all that?

There are some nasty trolls out there, true, but I should hope that within the community itself, we wouldn’t be so mean-spirited. I’m not just saying that because I’m curious and would like to know what he got you, I’m just sayin, you should be able to blog freely enough if you wish to share.

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First Gen American February 24, 2011 at 9:59 am

I hate clutter so I actually don’t like presents for the most part. I love consumable gifts like food or flowers or events. Like Linda, the best gift is one of time. That is the one item that is most precious to me right now, so I will always cherish those. (Babysitting, or a day out somewhere..love those).

I would react like you I think on the tiffany thing. I’m also allergic to most jewelry. I haven’t worn earrings since high school back when fashion was more important than itchy and red ears.

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Revanche February 26, 2011 at 12:13 pm

PiC has surprised me with two pieces of Tiffany’s jewelry over the past six years and while he selected very tasteful and not terribly pricey pieces because A) I would never buy myself nice jewelry and he wanted to treat me to something I’d not get for myself, B) he wanted to really surprise me, I made him promise not to get anymore after that.

It’s not to say I don’t appreciate his thoughtfulness and consideration, that was the motivation for buying what he picked, it’s just that one nice pair of earrings and one nice necklace is enough for me and he doesn’t need to spend his hard earned money on more. And now I have a ridiculously nice ring on top of that (not Tiffany’s, thank goodness). Far more jewelry than I ever thought to own.

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Deidre February 26, 2011 at 7:54 pm

Yes, I found out about the Tiffany’s box several years ago and really love it but not for the things inside…I just really love the color! 🙂

When I was single I used to buy myself 2 trips a year and travel for my birthday and for Christmas and that would be my extravagance for the year. Now that I am in a serious relationship we do buy each other nice gifts.

My birthday gift for him this last year was a set of nice new shiny (and loud) pipes for the Harley Davidson 😉 He was deliriously happy and would never have bought them for himself.

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Kay Lynn @ Bucksome Boomer February 27, 2011 at 1:01 pm

I didn’t know the color of Tiffany boxes either. However, I’m not as low maintenance as you. I love flowers and shoes. Most gifts from my husband are hand-picked by me — I really am picky!

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Heather March 3, 2011 at 2:47 pm

I have never received an extravagant gift … and I’m pretty grateful (though there are some pieces of technology that I wouldn’t be opposed to receiving…). I don’t like expensive jewelry – I’m afraid I’m going to lose it. And all of our finances are combined, and if he spent that much money on a gift, I wouldn’t be pleased about it.

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Kris March 3, 2011 at 9:33 pm

Heather, I am afraid of losing jewelry too!

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keisha November 30, 2011 at 9:57 am

Hi. I love your article! Well, this Christmas I have bought three Tiffany Blue Ceramic trinket boxes off Ebay for great prices, and they will be Christmas gifts..they will each hold a peice of jewelery,(but the jewelry is going to be from Macy’s or some other store that sells pretty things) but definately not Tiffany’s, so that they will get a little surprise on Christmas Day. My mom and my daughter are definatley not that familiar with high-end things ( they do know what Tiffany & Co is thou LOL), as we are a middle class family at the best of times, but I do know that these Tiffany boxes will make them happy. I am always elated when I can find the best at reasonable prices.

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Kris November 30, 2011 at 10:48 am

That sounds like a lot of fun. I am so clueless I didn’t even know you could just buy the boxes. How much do they cost?

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