10 Places to Bargain Shop, #9

Today is day nine. One more day after this and then I can show of a couple of my projects I've been working on. Don't get too excited - they aren't anything big or spectacular. Just a couple of little, simple sewing projects. I'm waiting until I get to stay home until I start working on anything major.

9.) Gift Cards: I know, I know - not a place, right? Bear with me here. Do any of you ever get gift cards that you can't really do a whole lot with? Or those annoying store credit cards when you return something? I do. And it's always to stores I don't care for our I don't live close to.

For instance, my grandmother loves Kmart and always gives us gift cards for this store during the holidays. However, I can never find anything there that tickles my fancy. At least not in our local store. So what do I do with it? Sell it online for cheaper than it's worth? I don't think so. I, also, have a cards with in-store credit for Macy's on it from when I returned some merchandise. Only problem? The closest Macy's store is hours away. So... I shop clearance online. And I get to watch for sales or use coupons. Then I get the option of paying to have the items shipped to my home or free in-store pick up (not all stores offer this though). And if you just DON'T want the card, you can sell it online, but you won't get the full amount it's worth. Also, you can buy gift cards online for more than what you pay if you look in the right places, therefore saving you money.

See? Gift cards can be quite useful if you use them the right way! I used to find them annoying and pointless, but now I LOVE them and even buy them on eBay for Christmas gifts. Thanks for reading; look forward to day ten tomorrow!