Got family and friends in debt? Here’s the best gift you can give them.

During the holiday season a lot of people — eager to please — toss financial common sense out the window.

They shop until they drop, racking up debt.

So, I try to get them to see the light. As I often say, it’s about your presence, not the presents. This is the message I gave to a reader recently who was struggling with the guilt of not buying gifts this year. She and her husband have $62,000 in credit card debt.

. . .

“The most precious gift anyone can give me is to take good care of themselves,” Gauthier wrote. “This includes managing their finances in a thoughtful way. I feel like the people who know and love me best want me to take care of myself and would never dream of asking me to hijack my and my children’s future by spending money I do not have.”

Her advice is a drop-the-mic moment.

Give the people you love who you know are in debt a present they can’t take back: Relieve them of the expectation that you want a gift.

Got family and friends in debt? Here’s the best gift you can give them. By Michelle Singletary