Abraham Lincoln found himself at the head of a government that was divided amongst itself on how to proceed, given that the southern half of the country was teetering on the edge of secession.
I've noticed that employees don't contribute much when the envelope makes its rounds. I'd say their contributions average $3 per person, tops. I don't want to appear cheap to our boss presenting him with a departmental retirement gift of less than $200 (there is 60 people in the department). I want to ask the staff to increase their contribution to $30 per person, so we can give my boss an $1800 gift.
The National Retail Federation estimates that the average family will shell out roughly $462 on gifts for family members this year. Add to that the $132 that the typical person will spend on gifts for friends, co-workers, babysitters, and teachers, and youâre looking at a nearly $600 gift budget. But if you donât have that kind of disposable income, it can make following general gifting guidelines nearly impossible to follow.