Frugal and practical gift

My husband ’s birthday was last week. Since we are slowly embracing a frugal lifestyle, I struggled for months about what to get him. Six months ago I was thinking about Nintendo Wii. I scrapped the idea after I realized that $300+ for a gift should be the last thing on my mind if I really want to achieve my goal.

Eventually, I decided to buy him $75 dollars worth of stocks. While the market is still down, I thought the best thing to do is simply not buy a toy that might end up gathering dust in the basement, but get something that might actually make profit.
I told my in-laws about my idea and they loved it so much that they copied me and gave him a $100 specially to invest in stocks. My husband loved his gift! He has already bought his stocks and is enjoying watching the market seesaw.
The fascinating and most satisfying thing for me is that I would have never thought of this idea last year. I would have bought that Wii and charged it on my credit card. Long gone the days of irresponsibility.