Chances are pretty good that you got or gave at least one gift card this holiday season. That is because this year it was one of the most popular gifts. According to the National Retailers Federation, though, a good chunk of those cards will go to waste. That is because about 10 percent of all gift cards are never redeemed.
This is one of the reasons that retail stores love gift cards. They are paid for up front, but not always exchanged for goods. This is like giving money to the stores for free. You won’t throw money away, would you? It makes sense to use your gift cards as soon as you can.
Carry Them With You
One way to make sure that you use your gift cards is to keep them with you. This way, if the opportunity arises to shop at a particular store, then you have the gift card handy. You are going to shop at that store anyway, so why not use those cards. If you don’t want to carry them around in your wallet all of the time, consider putting them in an envelope and keeping the gift cards in your car’s glove compartment.
Keep a List
If you have a lot of gift cards on hand, it might be wise to keep a list of all of them. A list will allow to to review what you have and strategize how you can use them up. The next time that you have something to buy, you can go down the list and target the stores for which you already have gift cards.
Exchange with Friends
First exchange unwanted gift cards with friends. Of course, this can get a little tricky if some of those cards were given to you by those same friends. Get together and serve some refreshments. Then exchange cards of the same value with each other. A friend may love getting a card from a particular store that you never shop at and vice versa.
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