Use Those Gift Cards So The Gift Givers Didn't Just Throw Their Money Straight Down the Toilet

Filed in archive Buying Stuff on January 2, 2007

The holidays are over and, if you're like most of us, somewhere along the way you got a gift card or two. It's nice to get gift cards. You get to buy whatever you want, and you don't have to pretend you like a Christmas sweater that makes you look like a doofus. It's all good.

Except that you're going to forget about that gift card, aren't you? Everyone's doing it. In fact, about 10% of the value on gift cards is never used. Not such a big deal if you're forgetting about $5 from a $50 gift card, but do that every time and it adds up. In fact, it adds up for those retailers that got cash money from the people that you care about and never had to give anything up for it.

Of course the people that bought you the gift cards won't know whether you used them or not, just like they won't know if you ever wear that ugly sweater they bought you last year.

But you'll know. And if they were considerate enough to let you choose how to spend the money instead of taking unfortunate guesses at what you might want to wear, don't you owe it to them to use that gift card and get something for all their trouble?