Honestly the biggest part of a gift is the choice of what it is, money really isn't an object especially since you end up breaking even what you give out in the end, or someone with less money to spare gets more than their share which is both fair and awesome. Anyway, spending time is the point of buying the gift, not an unavoidable loss, just thought that needed mentioning. What I found is the best thing to do (similar to bbYolk's process) is to pool money in for a really big gift and share it, that way you both get a present that you both would have bought for yourself, but is more fun than if you bought things separately.
I got my new screen but now I have to wait to head back to school where my computer is before I get to use it