The Power of the Ten Dollar Present

Ten dollars doesn’t buy much these days - except a new lease on the life of your relationship!

I know it sounds too good to be true, but I just wanted to share my personal experience of the power of ten dollars.

Money, Money, Money

I have been married for six years next month and my husband and I know only too well that money matters.

A refugee from Eastern Europe, my husband grew up appreciating the important things, like life itself. But he also knew the power of the dollar.

In much of Eastern Europe the dollar is still a powerful symbol as well as a means to escaping poverty and hardship.

(I think that anyone who believes “money doesn’t matter” probably hasn’t been denied the basic human expectations of freedom, food and family.)

We also spent five years involved in Immigration to get him into Australia and I racked up more Frequent Flyer points than a Qantas pilot. Debt visited my home for the first time and decided it wanted permanent residency too!

And then a few years ago I was complaining about how money ruled our live. We were sitting in our nice home in Australia, having just been to the beach and heading off soon to a BBQ at friends.

But we were both in jobs that gave us little satisfaction, we still sent large amounts of money home to support his family, I was holding off having kids until we were more secure and we were slaves to a crushing mortgage. Your average financial nightmare.

But my husband looked at me as if I was crazy. Without saying a word to contradict me, he picked up the car keys and disappeared.

When he returned he gave me my first 10 Dollar Present.

Ten Dollars of Magic

The rules are simple:

1. To be given once a week
2. Must cost ten dollars or less
3. No wasted wrapping paper or cards
4. Can’t be a household necessity disguised as a present

Of course these rules have inspired some healthy competition, but the game-maker is the undefeated champion at remembering to go to the shops and at finding something in the price range.

I have proven to be both a cheat and liar, regularly pretending a twenty dollar item was in the half-price bin…

Here are some of the Ten Dollar Presents that I have recently received:

• A picture book on cats that made me slap him because it was so cute
• A rubber duck - a comment on all the baths I take
• A bookmark - again a comment I think on one of my obsessions
• A dog, a turtle and a shark - all stuffed toys of course
• Beads, hair-bands and nail polish - points for thought, if not colour-selection
• Handmade soap and candles, again encouraging more bath-taking
• A pen, a notebook and fridge magnet - sensible, but already in use

While I don’t doubt the power of ten million dollars, I think that more people should start by investing in just ten.

It is burdened by far fewer zeros, won’t keep you awake at night, doesn’t require a suitcase that is cuffed to your wrist and can be put to good use at any corner store.

Let’s face it, every time I think about one of his presents, or pick something up in the shop that’s only $9.99 I can’t help but smile.

To me that’s the power of the Ten Dollar Present.

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