A very clever quantity surveyor in Ireland has created a gift card with Mastercard that helps the lucky recipient to pay utility bills which can include gas, electricity, water, garbage removal, phone, mobile and television.

Rory McGuigan had received one pay cutback too many in 2008 when he realised that he didn’t have much cash to pay for Christmas presents - but that he would still have to stump up for utilities.

His Utilize gift card allows the gift-giver to put anything on it between 25 and 250 euros. Corporates such as Dell are using it as incentives. It’s obviously a great gift to give any new couple getting married while parents can ensure that their kids will pay their bills with it rather than trusting them with cash which can all-too-temptingly be spent on partying and clothes.

When I read about singer Katy Perry planning to give her brand-new fiancee, Russell Brand, a lilac Bentley for Valentines Day, I thought, “wooah, there, girl!”

They got engaged very romantically on the Full Moon of New Year’s Eve in India after dating since only September 2009.

Whichever way you cut it, after barely five months, they still don’t know each other very well. Yeah, yeah in THAT sense but it takes time for a person’s chart to unfold.

The strongest aspects around their chart have to do with Uranus (no jokes, please) which indicate sudden, enormous attraction, crackling electricity, independence, unconventionality, friendship, but also a definite on-off quality to their relationship.

The sign your Jupiter is in is where you find fun, joy, generosity, and optimism. Katy has hers in Capricorn. While the Mars-Jupiter conjunction that she has is renowned for being super-impulsive (compulsive, even), Capricorn is not known for being splashy with money and prefers to climb the career ladder, building a solid reputation. She also has the Sun, Moon and Mercury in Scorpio which means she is completely passionate - yet also highly strategic.

While I don’t doubt she fancies Russell’s pants off (his Mars in Aries trines her Venus in Sagittarius - lovely for a romantic, sexual attraction), she’s no fool and knows her flamboyant gesture would get publicised (which kinda ruins the surprise for him).

I’m not convinced that these guys can make it last the distance however. Russell has his Moon, Mars and Jupiter in Aries which means he feels, acts and has fun spontaneously. Plus he’s a Gemini and boy, are they hard to tie down! Katy’s more of a planner so his impulsive proposal may come unstuck as transiting Jupiter and Uranus in Aries (mid-year), Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn in Libra hit their charts over the next couple of years.

Better keep the receipt for the Bentley!!!

Too many people complain that manners have gone out the window but one crafty (and seemingly thoughtful) way to get them to send you (and others) a thank you card for their anniversary, birthday, christening, Christmas, engagement, housewarming, new baby or wedding gift is creating personalised stamps with their faces on them! 

Get a sweet shot of their littlest member to join the family, of the couple looking super glamorous or maybe it’s your favourite one of yourself that was taken years ago when you weighed less and had more hair. Who cares!

You can order them from Royal Mail in the UK from just GBP7.58 for 10 stamps, from Australia Post for $AUD24.00 for 20 stamps and from Zazzle for the United States Postal Services from $US18.95 for 20 stamps.

You can now even put your logo in there so a sheet of these could be a great gift idea for a friend or family member who’s just begun their own company!

Thinking of giving money to a charity? You might be better off donating directly.

The sheer cost of administering a gift card program means very few charities produce their own specific gift card. Many of them do have an online facility for you to donate straight to their website and even produce  an electronic receipt and thank you message that you can enclose in your birthday Christmas/ engagement/ wedding card for whomever you’re buying it.

America’s largest non-profit organisation, United Way sells gift cards, while Goodwill has stores across the states, but no national gift card program.

There are four major organisations in the US which let you pick your own charity - Charity Choice, JustGive.org, Network for Good and Tisbest. If you decide to use one of these Big Four, keep in mind that:

* some of your donation gets chipped away in administration and transaction fees

* not all organisations transfer the monies to their charities right away; some pay quarterly

* they don’t last indefinitely: Network for Good’s gift cards expire within 6 months.

* only you, as the gift-card-giver, get the tax break - not the recipient who actually selects the charity

Gift card prices range from $1.49 for Tisbest to $5 for the three others. Charity Choice has 100 charities while Network for Good lists an astonishing 1.8 million charities (who knew there were that many?). Network for Good includes its handling fee within its $5 purchase fee but admin costs range from 3% for card-processing for JustGive to Charity Choice’s $1.85 transaction fee per card, 5% admin fee and 3% credit card transaction fee.

Everyone knows someone who’s a bit of maverick, who tries to fit in but cannot be anything other than different. Take a bow, Aquarius!

Aquarians are unusual. You’ll notice them at first glance (these guys are more likely than any other sign to be the first of a subculture: they were probably the first in their class to be one of the shocking bodgies, widgies, hippies, New Romantics, punks, goths, emos… you get the picture or at least they love dressing up as one as often as they can). Or if they seem normal, your conversation will soon reveal you’re dealing with a very different kettle of fish. Even if they dress normally and behave in socially appropriate ways, they will have a strange, rare or alternative hobby.

Many of them are wildly popular; a stack of them are on the geeky side. Anything that’s cutting-edge technology should thrill them just fine. While it’s a enormous generalisation, if you can think of most urban DJs/geeks/computer hackers as Aquarian you’ll be on the right track. They are typically a citified lot, umbilically linked to the iPhone, iPod, Skype - you get the picture.

They love nonconformity, unpredictability and a scorn for convention. They can be quite outrageous at work, and they just love teasing family, friends and neighbours with no sense of humour. Sometimes they’ll remind you of Dr Spock (curiously unemotional - in fact they rather like items to do with him, and that other guy, Darth and his mates) and at other times their ideas will be so antiquated you’ll wonder if they’ve time-travelled from the 19th century. Both sexes are surprisingly ageless; children love them because they treat them as adults or maybe it’s because most Aquarians never really grow up.

While they sound anti-social, they’re actually groupies when it comes to friends (more is better) who spread themselves thin catching up with everyone.  Anything that can help them to entertain great swathes of acquaintances is one suggestion.

As you can guess, these are not the guys to buy chintz doona sets for. Kitsch things like egg chairs, lava lamps or those fluttering fibre optic lamps (or basically anything that decorated Dr Evil’s 1960s pad in Austen Powers) are usually a hit. Many of them are humanitarians who want to make the world a better place. Some of them have a strange attitude towards money; many of them give it away (Paul Newman was a sexy Aquarius). These are the sort you could happily regift something and they’d be happy you weren’t wasting the planet’s resources.

Aquarians can be extremists (they’re very stubborn about their point-of-view) and are either soooo politically correct or a bigoted throwback to the past. They do have a good sense of humour though so you can tease them about their controversial, even unpopular causes.

Many of them are into astronomy, astrology, science and metaphysics. A telescope, a star named after them or just for fun, an acre of the moon could appeal to them.

Only 6% of people will fail to use their plastic pre-charged gift cards this year - down from 10% in 2009.

The recession, as well as people getting used gift cards, means more people are taking advantage of cash pre-charged into a gift card.

But some are still letting their gift become useless…

Here’s 8 clever ways to make sure you get the full use of your gift cards:

1. Keep them together. If you don’t have enough room in your wallet (or envisage it becoming like George’s engorged wallet on one episode of Seinfeld), keep them in an envelope stuck on the inside of your Lever Arch file for bills so you see them regularly (what? you don’t have a filing system for your invoices?!) - it may be too tempting for someone else if you sticky-taped them to your fridge door.

2. Register them. Websites such as LeverageCard or PlasticJungle let you register your PINs and track balances and expiry dates.

3. Read the fine print. If Aunt Jessica bought yours online on eBay, it’s possible you have less time left on it than you think. If you received pre-charged Visa gift card, that little sucker will ebb away the total with nasty little fees every month until you use it or it’s used up - whichever comes first.

4. Schedule it. Why not use it up to buy gifts for Valentine’s Day? For your father’s birthday? Or around your next payday if you want to add a little extra to the amount? Or the next time you’ll be passing by that mall/shop/restaurant?

5. Trade it. No sense being stuck with a gift card for a store you don’t like. GiftCardRescue.com, SwapAGift.com and PlasticJungle.com could be handy if you get an unsuitable gift card.

6. Give low-value cards. Just as people hate breaking a $100 bill, but have no problem frittering away 5 x $20 bills, buy a number of the same gift card in low denominations. Many people like to save them and “dole” them out per purchase. And plus, some establishments don’t give change…

7. Take the time to give specific store cards for stuff they like. Not only does this show you took at least a little time in finding a store that they like, but it gets around the awkward pre-charged Visa cards that drop in value as time goes on as the fees erode the total amount.

8. Donate the leftovers. If you really don’t think you can bear the embarrassment of cashing in the say, remaining $2.17 left on your gift card (good heavens, they might think you were a cheapskate!) you can always donate it. GiftCardGiver.com stockpiles gift cards with tiny amounts into higher value cards that are then donated to the needy.

Last year, one of my customers bought a LoveStars report for her Australian soldier boyfriend in Iraq - and she said one of the reasons she bought it was because it was all about them as a couple and it was light to mail to him.

So it got me thinking about this Valentines Day. If your partner is in the armed forces in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere in the Middle East, you’ll be wanting to send him or her something that’s suitable (ie pornography of any kind is banned) and also lightweight so it doesn’t cost you a fortune shipping it there! And also something that can make it in time.

There are a number of websites that specialise in presents for those in the military, but here’s 30 gift ideas which could make ideal Valentines Day gifts for your solider boy (or girl)…

Practical Valentines Day gifts
Everyone needs new clothes from time to time and these Bad Booty Wear underpants will hopefully encourage your man not to keep his antique, holey jocks! Cool meat-tray packaging too. Since it’s winter there, some cosy thermal underwear could go down a treat while some men might appreciate military-themed cufflinks. If they get the time for a swim, female officers might like the modest swimwear by HydroChic. Since the war ain’t for sissies, you might find some cool items in the Black Helmet Apparel’s (just the name sounds like tough-guy clothing) website, for them to wear on their days off. Some men might like the new Remington personal groomer with all the attachments for pesky poking-out hair, while the ladies could appreciate the world’s first collagen-infused skin moisturiser (disguised as a candle) which warms the room and softens their skin.

Thoughtful Valentines Day gifts
If they love taking photos and videos, give them the X Shot camera extender so they can finally be in the shot with their buddies! Combat Ready Balm soothes dried-out skin at the end of a tough day. The Porta Pocket lets them carry around their MP3 player or mobile on their days off. If you’d like to give them to chance to buy what they want, give them a gift card to Gift Card Mall which gives them the choice of more than 350 gift cards. I love the frangipani-print portable speakers by Sonoma Living Green which plug into any Mp3 player. Chocolate could melt on the way there but a Tortuga rum cake (with only 0.05% rum content) in that cool pirate-y packaging could make their day. Pewter heart-shaped charms are sweet and light to send. Heart-shaped cookies are a yummy thought. Motomail makes it easy for friends and family members of Marines to write a letter that is downloaded, printed and delivered within 24 hours.

Personalised Valentines Day gifts
If you’re quick, you may be able to order a pretty customised nightgown for your lady. If you want them to “see” you last thing at night, send them a photo night light with a favourite 3×5 photo already it. When they switch it on it illuminates with their image. If your man loves the idea of custom-made shirts, why not get something made for him at Shirts My Way, and send it to him with your love? And if “it’s in your kiss”, send him a cute Kiss Kanvas printed with your own lip-shaped kiss. Who doesn’t love all the amazing flavours at Jelly Belly? If you know his or her favourite flavour (I love watermelon), you can customise a tin just for them, even adding your photo of you two on the lid. Keep everyone close in their thoughts with a customised cover photo book. Or give them a rechargeable USB drive keyring that holds 60 digital photos. Get a dialogue going with fascinating conversation-starters in the Between Me and You relationship keepsake journals. And send ‘em a Valentines Day card with your photo printed on it.

Entertaining Valentines Day gifts
An iTunes card will let them download their favourite songs of course while these cute heart-shaped ear-buds for their iPod are adorable! Does she get time to bake cakes? She might love this super-inexpensive diamond ring-shaped cake tin if you’re engaged. but if they like reading, there are so many books to choose from - Reporting for Doodie (a fun story of a grandmother looking after her grandson while her daughter and son-in-law went off to fight), The Commuter Marriage: Keep Your Relationship Close While You’re Far Apart (which says it all, really), and You’re My Guy Because (which is full of witty reasons you love him).

What Valentines Day gifts are you going to send?

A post-Christmas spending survey confirms what most of us already know by looking at our credit card balances: we overspent on Christmas gifts.

The US Consumer Reports survey found that consumers planned to spend an average $699 on Christmas gifts but this was blown out to $811, with about one in five spending over $1,000 on gifts.

Almost half (47%) of the consumers were very naughty, using their credit cards to buy some or all of their gifts. And since credit cards feel like magic money(!), they spent more, too, with an average Christmas gift expenditure of $896. Those who lived in households earning over $100K spent a whopping $1,570 on their credit cards.

While 40% plan to settle their Christmas gift credit card debt by the end of January, one in five won’t pay it off until March with 9% expecting to pay it off in full by June.

As you can probably guess, I didn’t spend $1,000 on gifts - probably closer to about $350 - but then I like buying Christmas and birthday gifts all year long as it’s fun AND it lessens the expense in December.

If you plan to spend $1,000 on Christmas (and/or birthday) gifts this year, remember that you need to put away about $83.33 a month every month until December (or buy gifts to that value every month when you see something great on sale).

A survey by eBillMe of over 1,200 consumers has found that 57% are looking for something more original than the old Valentines Day gift standbys of flowers and chocolate and they plan to spend an astonishing average of $236 (that can’t be right, can it?! If it is, I’ve been dating the wrong man).

Nearly a quarter (23%) plan to buy it online but with Valentines Day only a couple of weeks away, they’d better get their skates on if they want it delivered in time (ie by Friday 12 February)!

Half the men are unsure what to get their ladies for Valentines Day while a surprisingly high 45% of women don’t know what to get their men. All this dithering around of course means more than a few of them will resort to roses and chocolate…

Here’s some fun Valentines Day gift ideas by Sun sign in case you’re stuck!

If you’re one of the 19% of consumers who received a dud Christmas present (and you’ve managed to get hold of the receipt), you’d better get cracking if you want to return them for a refund!

While some stores will allow refunds up to a year later, many will refund goods brought in their original packaging (hmmm - how often does that happen!?) and tags up to the end of January.

Other stores won’t give you a refund at all but merely an exchange or credit for something else in their store. According to the US National Retail Federation, American retailers took back an estimated $17 billion of unwanted gifts. What’s more, 17% of retailers have tightened their return policies.

If you can’t get cash and you really don’t like the item nor feel you could regift it to another, think carefully how you could use the credit note to “purchase” another gift which will save you spending your own money. You could always select one of the items there for Valentines Day, your anniversary, birthday, Mothers Day or even for Christmas 2010.