I Found Over $1000 In Gift Cards: Now What?

elaYou guys, I did a little cleaning last night and ended up finding a ton of gift cards in my kitchen. I’m talking about a boatload of cards. Over $1000 worth! This pretty much means that I don’t have a good system in place. Truth be told – gift cards overwhelm me. I usually turn to my husband and ask him to deal with them. I never remember to bring them to the store and always manage to screw up payment when I do.

This is why we have over $1000 laying around in our kitchen. But it’s all completely random. $7 for McDonald’s and $40 for Best Buy.

I need advice! What system do you have in place to manage your gift cards? Do you just use them as soon as they come into your house? Do you carry them with you in your wallet wherever you go? Do you use them online only? What do you DO? Would love to do because WE ARE FAILING OVER HERE!

As you know, gift cards charge a fee after a certain amount of time. If you don’t use your balance after several months, SOME cards begin to deduct FEES and I fear that the majority of the cards I showed in the above film have LOST THEIR VALUE because of my neglect. THAT KILLS ME.

Last night, I used several of the cards but I really forced the situation. I bought things we didn’t need which also seems pretty wasteful in the end. So basically, it doesn’t feel right to let them sit and it doesn’t feel right to use them on things we don’t really need.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

Related: Trade in unwanted gift cards