If you recieved a gift card What would you do with it?

**imagine** · 11-19-2009, 02:41 PM

If you relieved a gift card for a present what would you do with it?

Would you use it right away? Save it for later? Use some now and use some later?

buy something special or something needed?

Does it make difference on what type of store it was for on what you would do with it?

Do you like getting gift cards?

Any examples of what you have done with gift cards you have received in the past?

**NikoSan999** · 11-19-2009, 02:47 PM

Last year for Christmas I asked for Walmart Gift Cards from the older kids. They wanted to get Dillards or Penneys. Said no, wanted Walmart. Son wanted to know why. I replied cause at Walmart I can buy groceries if I need to. He said Mom that's depressing. I said so is not eating.

I would do the same thing this year. Only thing different is this year I have a nice stockpile. Worked very hard on it. This time I would hold onto it until either needed or close to expiring. There is really nothing material I want or need. Maybe, but not that bad.

**Kitten20** · 11-19-2009, 02:57 PM

I saved a couple of gift cards (American Express and Target) that I recieved last Christmas and they have come in handy when I haven't had enough money to stretch. I recently used the Target gift card to buy cat litter that was on sale.

I love getting gift cards! I generally use them on needed things, rather than wanted things.

I prefer more general gift cards (Wal-Mart, Target, etc.) over gift cards to "specialty stores".

**Judi Dial** · 11-19-2009, 03:31 PM

We gave gift cards to Home Depot to my SIL, BIL last year. It wasn't their only gift, but we figured no matter what, they can find something to use it on....

Judi

**piney** · 11-19-2009, 03:57 PM

Some of my children gets me gift cards for Christmas and mother day i usually just use on what ever i need,i usualy say this tine i am going spend on something i want but hardly ever do.Gift cards are nice but sometime i like to be surprised with something different.

**MaryCarney** · 11-19-2009, 04:47 PM

Depends on what the giver is giving it for. If I give a gift card, I want someone to spend it on something they want that they might pass up other wise. But that's just me!

**Jessesbride** · 11-19-2009, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by imagine

If you relieved a gift card for a present what would you do with it?

Would you use it right away? Save it for later? Use some now and use some later?

buy something special or something needed?

Does it make difference on what type of store it was for on what you would do with it?

Do you like getting gift cards?

Any examples of what you have done with gift cards you have received in the past?

I LOVE LOVE LOVE gift cards! I like getting them for restaurants, specialty stores, visa/mastercard giftcards, walmart... whatever!

Restaurants, b/c it's nice to be able to use it for a date night w/my dh & not have to spend much if anything. specialty stores when I find something I LOVE for my house (ok, yeah sometimes for me, but for my house IS for me lol) or whatever. Sometimes I can use it to help w/stockpile or for groceries or even help buying someone a nice gift that I know they would love but I might not have otherwise afforded. I know some people hate them, but not me! I SOOOOO LOVE THEM! they are versatile & really, do I really need another USELESS knicknack that I may or may not like? NOPE! It'll just end up at the salvation army! However, w/a gift card I can get EXACTLY what I want, that would be useful to me & my family & wouldn't end up being useless junk.

Usually, I just let the person in question know what I've gotten "from them" with the gift card! it's the gift that keeps on giving!!! lol!

Like, Last year, for Christmas, DH was getting his yearly "bonus" & we'd told family that we needed/wanted a new tv (our other one was in fine working condition but too huge for the little space that we had & took up about 1/2 the living room ~ seriously), so we got $$$ & visa gift cards & when all was said & done, got a new flat screen tv, a dvd/vcr player, & a stand for cheap as all were on sale & on top of that had 20% off 2nd item, 30% off 3rd item, & 40% 4th item! Did we HAVE to buy it? no, but it made our lives easier & we love it!

btw ~ his "bonus" is actually 1 week of sick leave that he still has left every yr... & every yr what they haven't spent in sick leave, they get paid!!! it's awesome!

QM · 11-19-2009, 04:59 PM

If you relieved a gift card for a present what would you do with it? Spend it!

Would you use it right away? Save it for later? Use some now and use some later? I'd save it for a time when I could use it for something I need.

buy something special or something needed? Probably needed.

Does it make difference on what type of store it was for on what you would do with it? If it was Wal-Mart I'd probably use it for my regular purchases. If it was a clothing store, I guess it'd have to be for some clothing on sale.

Do you like getting gift cards? Yes.

Any examples of what you have done with gift cards you have received in the past? I had a daycare mom who gave us a $50 gift certificate for a very fancy restaurant. Problem is that by the time DH and I had a meal each, the bill came to almost $100. (We didn't get anything overly extravagent. I wish we weren't give that gift card after that.) Moral of the story is don't give a gift card/certificate for a restaurant that will only cover half the meal for two. Had they given us a gift certificate for Swiss Chalet (instead of a fancy restaurant we never go to) we could have had about two meals for two.

**savvy_sniper** · 11-19-2009, 05:24 PM

It would depend on where the gift card was from (what store).

Home improvement store - would use it immediately.
WalMart - would use it immediately on grocery items that my regular grocery doesn't carry.
Book stores - I save them and use them when I come up with a particular book that I want to buy. I had a couple that were almost 2 years old before I used them. When I used them though, they were for books I REALLY wanted.

When purchasing gift cards make sure they don't expire or charge a monthly fee after a certain amount of time. There is a new law about this, but it doesn't go into affect until some time in 2010. Also, if a store goes out of business you are stuck with a useless gift card. These are reasons why I give CASH.

**shoiji** · 11-19-2009, 05:27 PM

I would get them for lord & taylor. I would save it for when I needed perfume, makeup, or skin care products.

I think it depends on the person and what they like or need.

**lottaLove** · 11-19-2009, 05:32 PM

Whenever I get a gift card, I use it to buy myself a gift

There's not much room in my budget to buy things that I want but don't absolutely need.
So when someone gives me a gift card, I take it and buy something I wouldn't normally indulge in. New clothes, a book, a favorite movie or game.
The only time I did not indulge like this was when I received gift cards as baby shower gifts. These I definitely used to purchase things I needed for the baby.
But as a Christmas or birthday gift, I figure why not? I'm sure the giver purchased it with the intention that I enjoy it, so I make sure I do

**imagine** · 11-19-2009, 05:45 PM

We tend to get:

Video store cards and Movie gift cards every year. We save the Movie ones for when a Movie we really want to see comes out. We use the video store card to rent movies (we use coupons to extend the life of the gift card)

We also tend to get Pizza Parlor gift card. We save this as a treat.

**sahm2boys** · 11-19-2009, 06:08 PM

OFF POST:

i left this page open and my 4 year old thanked everyone...lol

**AnW819** · 11-19-2009, 06:30 PM

I tend to save my gift cards for those times where I REALLY need something. For example...I love getting gift cards to go out to eat but I will save them for if one night DH and I are REALLY low on groceries. For clothing gift cards, I will save those to til I need clothes. I <3 gift cards!!