This gift looks awfully familiar

More people say they’re regifting -- giving a gift they received to another person. Is that financially smart, or is it tacky?

That’s the debate underway at Regiftable.com, a website created by Money Management International, a nonprofit organization based in Houston that does consumer education and financial counseling.

MMI created the site because “whether or not you’re a fan or a foe, regifting has become a phenomenon,” said spokeswoman Kim McGrigg.

McGrigg noted that in a survey by the group last year, about 40% of respondents said they had regifted.

The main reasons were to save money, to save time and that they felt the recipient would like the item.

Some people writing to the site don’t approve.

One woman wrote that her sister “thinks by putting a big bow on her regifts, no one will know they have been regifted.” Last year the woman got back the Christmas gift she had given her sister a year earlier.

“I am thinking of wrapping it up again and giving it back to her this Christmas,” the woman wrote.

McGrigg -- who admits to being a regifter herself -- said it should be done tactfully. Tips:

* Rewrap the gift and, of course, change the gift tag.

* Give only items that are new and in their original packaging.

* Know who gave you the item so that you don’t regift it to that person.