Gift cards: to buy or not to buy?
Some people ask for money and gift cards and some people think they’re impersonal or just not fun. This could leave you wondering what to do or worrying that people won’t like whichever choice you made.
When?
– The better, more personal your relationship with someone, the less likely they’ll appreciate a gift card. If you’re super close to them, you probably know what they’d like and/or need.
Of course, sometimes you know the person well enough to know a gift card would make them happier than anything else.
– College students, children paying off student debts, and teens often ask for money and gift cards because they either feel no one will be able to please their tastes or they are so bogged down with lack of money that money or something that doubles as money is what they’d get the most benefit from. Anyone struggling financially could feel the same way.
– If you know the recipient is going to be taking a trip or making some other financially-taxing choice in the near future, you might give them a gift card to help pay for it or help them splurge on fun and comfort.
Where?
– Select a gift card to a place you know they love, a favorite clothing store, coffee shop, etc. If you don’t know them well enough to choose the right place for a gift card, give them one to a store that pretty much everyone shops at and sells a wide variety of items.
– Make sure the recipient will be able to use the card. Giving them a card to a store that is not in their town or one they go to frequently will not do them any good, unless they can use it online.You also want to make sure you don’t count on someone being able to use the card online if they don’t shop online.
When you receive a gift card?
– Use it to buy things you can or would never buy yourself.
– Use it to pay for things you need or regularly buy to save yourself money.
– If you don’t want them, you can sell them.
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