Money is tight, and with the holidays and needing to spend more than usual, we are here to help. In our series Making Ends Meet: Holiday Gifts, we’ve already shared affordable kitchen gift ideas. Now we’re focusing on tech gifts for every budget.
Making Ends Meet: Kitchen gifts | Coffee gifts | Thrifty gifts | Returns
Consumer Reports’ experts have tried and tested a wide range of products and have compiled a list of budget-friendly tech gifts -- with one that will cost you as little as $25.
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Instant camera
If you’re looking to spark some nostalgia or just need a cool gift for that fussy teen in your life, consider the Kodak Printomatic Instant Camera for $50. Photos can be printed in just 38 seconds and stuck anywhere or stored on an SD card.
Smartphone gimbal
If you’ve got a budding cinematographer to buy for, check out the DJI OM 5 smartphone gimbal for $159. It’s compact, lightweight, and easy to use.
“The gimbal has really taken my smartphone videography to the next level. It stabilizes my shots and it’s super easy to use,” said Jeffrey Cullen with Consumer Reports.
Headphones
For the music lover on your list, the Monoprice BT-300ANC noise-canceling headphones for $25 have excellent active noise cancellation. They fold for easy storage and have integrated controls for calls, volume and playback.
For the music aficionado, Consumer Reports suggests the wired Grado SR80x wired headphones for $125. The Grado company earns excellent scores for owner satisfaction and predicted reliability.
“Grado headphones are one of the great bargains in all of audio. You can get the sound that you’d really only get on a big expensive system,” said Consumer Reports’ Allen St. John.
Portable speaker
Give the gift of music indoors or outdoors with the JBL Charge 4 portable speaker, which is now on sale for $89 on Amazon (Orig. Price $150)
“What’s great about the JBL Charge is that you can bring your music anywhere—out on the deck, into the yard, or even out to the fire pit.”
Gaming chair
For the gamer in your life, Consumer Reports says the budget-friendly Staples Emerge Vortex gaming chair on sale for $99.99. It’s one of the more comfortable chairs it evaluated, and when you’re gaming for 12 hours a day, comfort is key!
More tech gift ideas
If you’re still unsure about the right tech gift, here are some top-tested products recommended by Consumer Reports -- all under $100:
- Amazon Echo (4th Generation) smart speaker for $59.55 at Amazon
- Canon Pixma MG3620 All-in-One Wireless Printer for $59.99 at Dell
- Fitbit Inspire 2 fitness tracker for $62 at Amazon
- Amazon Fire 7 tablet for $44.99 at Amazon
- Roku Ultra – 2020 streaming media device for $94 at Amazon
If a teen or tween is on your gift list, maybe the $38.99 JALL Wake Up Light from Amazon or a Turtle Beach Recon 50 gaming headset for $24.95 at Amazon.
Check out Consumer Reports’ full list of teen and tween gift recommendations here.
Friday on The Morning Show
We’ll also have expert advice to help you navigate those post-holiday returns, refunds and exchanges.