Comments on: Tracking holiday gift cards

By: Always Read the Return Policy & Primetime Quickhits | Prime Time Money

Always Read the Return Policy & Primetime Quickhits | Prime Time Money — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 06:42:20 +0000

[...] Little By Little tracks his holiday gift cards. Cool idea if you got a few of [...]

By: uppervalleymom @ Kids Meal Crowd

uppervalleymom @ Kids Meal Crowd — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:02:53 +0000

I usually have a handful of gift cards to track at any given time, and what I tend to do is either use a small sticky note on the card itself and keep it in my wallet, or if there are more than 2 I will put them into a recycled envelope and write the name of store and amount left on the envelope. I’d then keep the card envelope in my purse or tote. Thanks for sharing your spreadsheet!

By: 4 Giveaway Roundup

4 Giveaway Roundup — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 12:01:35 +0000

[...] I’m a little fixated on gift cards. If you’ve got a lot, you might enjoy this tracking sheet put together by GLBL. I hate looking at a gift card and thinking “Do I have $3 on this or [...]

By: Clare

Clare — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 06:14:28 +0000

I love gift cards, thats quite a collection there santqa must have been very busy :)

By: Craig

Craig — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:49:37 +0000

I’ve never heard of the excel sheet to tracking gift cards before, that’s new to me. I can see it’s purpose, but most people don’t get that many gift cards to really set a system in place. I try to spend it all at once for that reason, not always the best strategy, but if there’s something I want them, I don’t have it lying around after. That’s my only issue with Visa cards. I like company cards better because if you are under, you usually get the cash back, extra pocket money then.

By: Mrs. Accountability

Mrs. Accountability — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 02:50:19 +0000

I have a couple of cards with a dollar or two left on them – nice reminder to figure out what’s left on them and use them! I love gift cards, too but don’t usually have too many. I think we actually have four gift cards right now that we need to remember to use. Thanks for following me on Twitter! :-)

By: Pamela @ Frugal Vet Tech

Pamela @ Frugal Vet Tech — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 02:36:14 +0000

I didn’t know you liked model railroading. That’s a hobby of my husband’s and as such, I’ve tagged along (been dragged along?) to a few train shows. I could even make sense of the train-related jargon in the comments!

Part of the fun of gift cards is being able to buy something you wouldn’t spend your own money on. Maybe you wouldn’t have bought the headset if you had to pay for it out of pocket, but since you used the gift card you got the thing you needed plus the thing you wanted for $1.98 – not a bad deal at all.

Overall, I’m really not a fan of giving gift cards – they seem so impersonal to me. I do realize they can be useful though.

By: glblguy

glblguy — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:15:30 +0000

@MoneyGrubbingLawyer – Hey! I know what both Kadee couplers and a GP40-2 are…Although I tend to be more fond of GE units than EMD…I do like SD40-2′s though :-)

By: Lorri

Lorri — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:24:24 +0000

I love gift cards and so do my children. I had read on the internet what a lame gift it was. But I completely disagree. When you recieve a giftcard, and use it after the holidays, you actually get a better deal than if the gift was bought before the holidays. There is no stress involved in buying them, all we do is add a thoughful card and it is done.

By: MoneyGrubbingLawyer

MoneyGrubbingLawyer — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:21:02 +0000

I’m generally quite happy to get gift cards because I tend to be particular about some of the things I buy. Your point about “niche” interests is right on the money- I’m big into model railroading as well, and it’s usually infinitely easier for someone to either give me a Visa gift car or cash with a note saying “buy one of your silly toys”, or even a gift card for my local hobby shop. I appreciate the thought, and the gift giver gets to avoid having to figure out what “kadee couplers” are, or what a “GP40-2″ is…