By Jim Schuh

With Christmas approaching, if you’re like us, we feel much better about giving gifts than receiving them.  Frankly, we’ve got enough stuff to last several lifetimes and don’t need any more things.  Others may not feel that way and enjoy being on the receiving end.  As for us, we ask people not to give us gifts, and if they insist, we ask them to make sure they’re consumable.

It used to be a bit tacky to give money as a gift for Christmas, but things have changed.  MarketWatch cites a new survey that shows about six in ten people would like to receive money as a gift.  It says recipients like the idea because it lets them spend the gift on whatever they want or need.  And donors like it because it makes things easy for them.  Merchants probably win, too because the recipient is more likely to spend the gift – although a few people might use it to pay off credit card debt.

The survey from a firm named Zelle shows about half of those in the Baby Boomer generation – those between 54 and 72-years of age – give monetary gifts of $100 or more.  Others will give gift cards from big box stores.

People in the Millennial generation may really appreciate gifts of money.  The Federal Reserve says those born between 1981 and 1997 simply have less money to spend.

If you get a money gift this Christmas, you may want to consider where to use it.

Chain Store Age produced a list of merchants it says is the “most trusted by consumers to deliver a great overall customer experience.”

The problem is that none in the top ten has stores around Central Wisconsin.  On top is the LEGO Store, followed by Trader Joe’s, Nordstrom’s, Wegman’s and Barnes & Noble.  Ace Hardware ranks 13^th.

When I grew up, I didn’t get much money for Christmas.  But I recall a great aunt and great uncle each giving me crisp $5 bills as gifts.  An inflation calculator shows the $5 gift in 1945 would be worth $70.25 today.  I guess my relatives were more generous than I thought!

Speaking of money, small change can add up.  You already know that if you save your quarters and dimes.  Before long, you have $100 and it’s almost as if you have found free money.  We’ve done that for years.

Air travelers must empty their pockets of metallic objects and put the items into a tray when passing through security.  Some don’t bother or forget to retrieve their coins – and it really adds up.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says that last year, air travelers left around $869,000 behind after passing through security.  Los Angeles International topped the list with $62,000.

What happens to all that money?  The TSA says it goes for airport security improvements.

You may wish to keep a close eye on your small change because you might need it to help with personal finances.  CNBC reports that tariffs imposed by the U. S. government will cost each of us $915 next year, or each family about $2,400.

If you plan to travel to Shanghai anytime soon and have lots of money, you may want to consider staying at the Shanghai Wonderland Hotel.  It’s also called the “Deep Pit Hotel,” because it’s built inside an abandoned quarry.

Most rooms overlook the hotel’s waterfall, but the two lowest floors are underwater.  The hotel offers a couple unusual hotel activities – rock climbing and bungee jumping.

As for rates, expect to pay between $575 and $700 a night.

One way to afford such a visit its to become a chief executive officer (CEO).  Most have a healthy income.

Wonder what it takes to obtain such a position?  It turns out that more than nine out of ten CEOs had a pet when they were kids, and nearly eight in ten attribute their business success to owning a pet as a child.  A quarter said what they learned by having a pet was more valuable than their first business internship.

It may appear far-fetched at first, but the CEOs said having a dog or at taught them responsibility, empathy, creativity and ability to build relationships – qualities that help them in the corporate world.

If it’s been a quarter or a half-century since you rode a bicycle, why is it that you can remember how to do it, even if you can’t recall where you left your keys a half-hour ago or what day it is?  An article in Scientific American has one explanation.

We have several types of memory.  One of them is called “procedural memory” – and that’s where we store the knowledge that lets us ride a bike or play a musical instrument.

Procedural memory is more resistant to loss and trauma.  Scientists think this memory is less likely to be erased because the nerve cells don’t undergo as much continuous remodeling as those in other parts of the brain.

As we age, more of our family and friends are becoming victims of dementia.  We recently learned of a friend we haven’t seen in many years now suffering with memory loss.  A month ago, we lost a friend with dementia.

We’ve learned that annual spending on research to combat one form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, stands at $1.9 billion, but that’s below the amount going into cancer and HIV/AIDS research.  Alzheimer’s researchers want funding to increase to $3 billion annually.

If you have a little extra money this holiday season, you might consider directing it toward work to combat dementia.