It’s the Christmas season and people are out shopping. And if the traffic is any sign, this will be another record year for commerce in America.

Here’s something to be aware of this year. Because merchants have made it so convenient for you to purchase things, we live with the temptation of instant get-ification in order to try to attain instant gratification. But remember, there is no wisdom or ultimate happiness in buying things we don’t need with money we don’t have for people we don’t even like.

In an interview this morning Archie Manning was asked what his 2 million-dollar-football-quarterback sons had bought him for Christmas in the past that was most meaningful. You know what they were? Not high-priced gadgets and gizmos, but pictures and handmade objects the boys had made for him in the past.

Ask yourself, “Does what I’m giving have a little bit of me attached to it?” If not, paint a picture. Write a poem. Do something that’s meaningful and save your money.