Gift cards are a great way to save money on purchases this is especially true if you buy merchandiser from the same stores all the time. These stores, on the other hand, while giving you savings on your purchases due to the gift card are nonetheless happy because they know that you will be spending your money with them instead of with other people. This makes gift cards sort of a win-win proposition for most people.
Then again, some people think that the disadvantage of gift cards is that they limit you to purchasing with one store. But if you really are predisposed to spending most of your money on one store, then that would not be a problem at all.
If you are looking to buy a gift card either for yourself or for others, then you need to follow a few pointers to avoid potential pitfalls to the use of gift cards. These tips will help you protect your interests and the interests of those you plan to give the gift cards to in the first place. Read more…
5 Tips To Know About Your Gift Card Limits
By Lois Center-Shabazz
I gave a retail gift card to my nephew last year. My well kept 19- year old nephew usually feels he is being financially starved no matter how much money he is given. So the worry of the gift card expiring or incurring large fees was not my concern, he rushed to the store to use it the next day. What is my concern is that many people who buy and receive gift cards, be it, retail cards or bank cards, do not understand the limitations posed by these cards. This is evident from the ever-increasing complaints to consumer bureaus.
Most people don’t understand that when you purchase a gift card they are not necessarily equal to the cash paid for them over time. This is especially true of bank or mall gift cards. Mall gift cards are bank gift cards sold by a shopping mall complex. Read more…
It’s a little early to start thinking about gift giving but I thought Debbie’s article was interesting and hey, why not?
The new year is just around the corner, and I’m thinking that it is already time to get ahead of the gift game. That sounds like a great idea, especially with all of the after-Christmas sales that stores will be running. But how do you make the good thought a reality? It all starts with a detailed list.
Start with a piece of lined notebook paper. Divide the page into two columns. On one side write Holidays, on the other Birthdays. Then get out a calendar and, starting in January, write down the Holidays that you will be buying gifts for. I start with Valentine’s Day. I know I will be buying each of my children a little gift. I write February 14, my children’s names, and beside each name I write the amount of money I want to spend. I do this for each Holiday thru Christmas. By that time, the list is pretty long, but look at how much information I have!
Then I start over with the Birthday list. Again, starting in January, I start listing the people whose Birthdays I will be buying for. My first Birthday is my mother-in-law. So I write January 31, Mom G., $10. Go thru the entire calendar making these notes.
Once you have your lists finished, start making notes on your calendar, preferably marking occasions about two weeks ahead to give yourself plenty of time. If you need to mail the gift, I suggest marking it down three weeks ahead so that you can mail it a week ahead of time. If the calendar you are using is a purse-sized calendar, just carry it with you and you can shop for any number of people at a time. This will help you take advantage of sales and save time by not making a special trip at the last minute to buy a gift. If you have some idea of what you want to buy or where you want to buy it, make those notes on your calendar as well. By doing this, you are already more than half done with your gift giving for the year! Read more…
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