I hope everyone enjoys their jelly of the month club membership.  It’s the gift that keeps on giving all year round.

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With US gift card market size of $86 billion it is no wonder there is significant competition for gift card market share.  The convenience of gift cards is perfect for holiday giving.  Just identify which store your favored recipient shops at and then purchase a card.  Keeping in mind how much they spent on you last year, of course…

All kidding aside, with card issuers like Visa, MasterCard and American Express now actively in the mix for selling and promoting gift cards you don’t even need to know which shops your friend, relative or loved one will want to shop at to be a success.  You can purchase a gift card from these major card issuers that they can use at any store where credit cards are accepted.  There are, however, some traps that buyers should beware of concerning gift cards.

Gift Card Prices

Gift card denominations vary between $25, $50 $100 and for that special someone $250 and up.  Where retail store cards have no fees, gift cards issued by the usual credit card companies require a purchase fee and will also require service, dormancy and replacement fees, in some cases.

With purchase price fees range from $3.95 to $6.95 but that’s not where the charges end for these type of gift cards.  Cardholders are required to pay maintenance fees of $1.50 to $ 2.50 per month before the card balance becomes nil.  Be sure to use up the entire value on the card because if there is a nominal amount left on it when it expires, usually in five years, it will be lost.  And the Royal Bank, if that is your card holder, will generously donate unused expired card values to charity.

New kid on the block Amex Gift Card is available at merchants such as Shoppers Drug Mart stores.  It’s available for the usual nominal fee and has no monthly fees or charges.

Lost Cards

A lost card will cost you between $10 and $20 to get replaced.  This may seem redundant if you have a $25 gift card.  Sites are available to check your balance.  Just enter your card number, for a small fee, seventy five cents per inquiry, this service is not cheap.

Too Impersonal – Not Any More!

Some people think gift cards are too impersonal, that require little thought and even less effort.  Giftcard.com has changed that and developed a site where you can purchase personalized gift cards.  Books, apparel, electronics or online flowers gift cards can be purchased from major retail merchants.  With denominations between $25 and $500 you will surely find something suitable.

Most cards offer no expiration dates and no fees.  Fashion Bug’s gift card offer does have a nominal $1 per month dormancy fee for cards over 24 months old.  Some cards are sent free of charge and some companies charge a nominal fee to send the card via surface mail.  Barnes & Noble Gift Cards, for example, will ship gift cards for $0.95 regular mail or Expedited Air Service to be received 1-2 business days for $11.95.

If that isn’t enough, you can personalize a Visa gift card with your own photograph at giftcards.com.  With denominations of $20 – $500 and you can even create prepaid cards with embossed text or you can choose one of several provided by giftcards.com.  Messages such as ‘BEST WISHES’, ‘BON VOYAGE’ or even ‘FELIZ CINCO DE MAYO’ can be added to the card.

When you need gifts for employees you can purchase Vanilla Visa Gift Cards.  The catch here is you have to buy 10 or more cards.  With amounts of $25, $50 or $100 this prepaid card can be used online, or in any location Visa debit cards are accepted. The Vanilla cards, unlike other Visa gift cards ha

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The global recession we are going through affected many people. In fact, it is stated as one of the worst recessions to hit the world since the Great Depression. Now I’m not sure about you, but I definitely don’t want to witness, let alone be a part of the next great depression. What’s done is already done, but I’m not going to contribute to the next downturn. Here are a few of the lessons we need to remind ourselves so we don’t help create the next recession.

1. Don’t buy that Porsche 911 Turbo if you make $35,000 a year.
   Seems a little bit obvious, but living beyond their means is a major issue for many people. So many use their credit cards without thinking about the consequences, spending lavishly and unwisely. The U.S. alone has $962 billion in credit card debt. Spend less than you earn and put some away in a savings account. You never k

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Every year, Morningstar makes a big deal about announcing its pick for Morningstar Manager Of The Year, which honors whomever Morningstar feels best navigated the markets.  The winners are invariably well-respected stock pickers with solid track records.  It is no doubt an honor to win the award.

The 2009 nominees for domestic-stock manager and fixed-income manager of the year were announced on Morningstar.com last week (sign up for a free Morningstar account):

Fixed-Income Manager Of The Year Nominees

Phil Condon and Rebecca Flinn, DWS Strategic High Yield Tax Free (SHYTX)
Farnham, Kane, Landmann, Nucci, Metropolitan West High Yield Bond (MWHYX)
Dan Fuss, Kathleen Gaffney, Matthew Eagan, Elaine Stokes, Loomis Sayles Bond (LSBRX)
Jeffrey Gundlach and Philip Barach, TCW Total Return Bond (TGLMX)
Mark Notkin, Fidelity Capital & Income (FAGIX)

Domestic-Stock Manager Of The Year Nominees

Bruce Berkowitz, Fairholme (FAIRX)
Staley Cates and Mason Hawkins, Longleaf Partners (LLPFX)
Jeff Cardon, Wasatch Small Cap Growth (WAAEX)
Dennis Delafield and Vincent Sellecchia, Delafield Fund (DEFIX)
Bill Nygren, Oakmark Select (OAKLX) and Oakmark (OAKMX)

Why You Shouldn’t Care

Shouldn’t you be paying attention to who the best fund managers are?  After all, don’t you want to be in the best-performing funds?  Of course you do.  Thing is, you want to buy the best-performing fund before it tops the charts, not afterwards.  You’ve heard it a thousand times, but it bears repeating:  past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Case in point:  consider the recent performance of the 2008 manager of the year winners…

Charlie Dreifus of Royce Special Equity (RYSEX) has been outperformed by 44% of his peers this year.

Bob Rodriguez and Thomas H. Atteberry