Low-Tech Holiday Gifts the Grandkids Will Remember

Nov. 4, 2013 - PRLog -- Kids get their first cell phone by age 12, and more than a third of them now have smart phones. 97 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds play video games and more than half the U.S. have a fairly new video game console.

“It’s great that kids have access to technology, but I meet with a lot of grandparents who tell me they simply don’t enjoy giving their grandkids more tech gifts during Holiday Season,” says Ted Bernstein, founder of Life Insurance Concepts, Inc. (www.lifeinsuranceconcepts.com). “They want to give something to be remembered for a long time, something really special.”

That has become more challenging as kids have come to rely more and more on technology for everything.

Coming from a four-generation family of life insurance specialists, Bernstein has a special interest in family legacies and a long history of innovation. He offers these suggestions for holiday gifts for grandkids that create lasting memories.

·         Their own clunker – which you’ll restore together. If you have a grandchild who’s still a few years from driving age, buy an old classic or a pickup truck that you can restore together. You’ll have years to complete the project, which guarantees not only lots of one-on-one time together, but also the opportunity to teach valuable skills that will benefit him or her for a lifetime. “Plan it right, and when your grandchild gets a driver’s license, he or she will also have wheels,” Bernstein says. “And after spending so much time working on that vehicle, they’re more likely to care for it and drive it carefully!

·         A helping hand for years after you’ve gone. Imagine being able to send your grandchild a Holiday gift of $20,000 every year for 20, 30 or 40 years – with a note from you attached. You can do it with the Installment Life Option, a life insurance policy option that pays beneficiaries in guaranteed, predetermined amounts, which you choose, for up to 40 years. The premiums are up to 50 percent lower because of the Installment Option. And your grandchild is reminded of your love throughout his life, particularly during the financially stressful milestones: college tuition, wedding, paying off student loans, down payment for first home, and first child.

“There is no doubt that the bond between grandparents and grandchildren is something special. Many grandparents who buy this policy love the fact that they continue to help their grandchild long after they’re gone,” Bernstein says. “They also like the fact that they can choose what date the money is disbursed, whether it’s a holiday, a birthday, or a special date significant to the grandparents and grandchild. And they can add a personal note, which can be sent according to the policy holder’s instructions.

·         The gift of compassion. Sponsor an impoverished child in another country in your grandchild’s name. “I like the organizations that allow you to personally connect with the child you sponsor, so your grandchild can write to and receive letters from them, and trade photographs. You can learn about the country together, and pick out gifts for birthday or Holiday Season,” Bernstein says. A grandparent might pay the whole cost of sponsorship or allow the grandchild to pick up a small portion, he adds.

One organization highly rated by the independent charity evaluator Charity Navigator is Compassion International. The 61-year-old non-profit facilitates 1.2 million sponsorships, providing the children with food, medical care, educational opportunities and more for $38 per month. Sponsors are invited to exchange letters and develop a relationship with the child.  Another great choice is your local YMCA.

About Ted Bernstein

Ted Bernstein is a third-generation life insurance specialist with decades of speaking out and advocating for changes on behalf of consumers. He was the first to introduce “no-load” life insurance in the mid-1980s and recently developed the Installment Life Option. Bernstein is a nationally recognized expert in alternative distribution strategies and life insurance product development. Life Insurance Concepts and Ted can be reached at 561-988-8984.