Feel Gift Money Good Guilty Store Spending Wanted

What makes a good gift?

You may think that the best gifts cost a lot of money or are fancy and of high quality. You may thing that the best gifts involve the good "intentions" (motives; the reasons for something) of the "giver" (the person giving something).

However, the answer may be one that many people would agree with: "A good gift is something that you really want but feel guilty about buying for yourself." "To feel guilty" means to feel like you did something wrong, to feel responsible for a bad action.

For example, you really want a new television, but the price seems too high. You would feel guilty spending that much money on yourself. Then your wife or boyfriend gives you that "exact" (same) television for Christmas. Are you happy? Of course you are! You now have the gift you wanted without having to feel guilty about spending the money on it.

This is probably why gift cards have become so popular in the U.S. A "gift card" is money in the form of a plastic card, like a credit card, that you must use at a "particular" (specific) store. "Assuming" (if it is true) it is a store you like, you can now buy those things you would not have bought for yourself but really wanted to. Many Americans like this freedom to buy what they want, without feeling like they've been "self-indulgent" (doing what one wants, usually without caring about the consequences or its effect on other people).