Gift giving credit cards

Gift giving credit cards

Let me start by saying I’m not a big advocate of gift cards or credit cards. According to Needham, Mass.-based consulting-firm TowerGroup, more than 10 percent of the $58.3 billion in gift cards bought this past year won’t be used. It’s a great way for companies to add extra profit but it’s also a good way for you to waste money. Those unused pennies left on gift cards that expire add up quick when you are talking about millions of consumers.

However, I do like to concept of “gift giving credit cards”. It’s basically a gift card that can be used anywhere a debit card can be used. Some might call this a pre-paid credit card. It has several good uses including the obvious, giving as a gift, limit kids spending, tracking your own spending, etc.

Let’s face it the art of gift giving has quickly declined in our current society. People don’t have time to find the right gift so it’s much more convienent to just give a gift card. But many times we give the cards and the recepient doesn’t shop or eat at the place where you bought the card. Many times amounts are left unspent on the cards only to expire and waste your money. With a pre-paid gift credit card those worries are over. They can be used anywhere a debit or credit card can be used.

We all know it’s our responsibility as parents to teach our children about money and finances and teach them to be responsible for their spending, etc, but it’s hard in this modern age of plastic money. A pre-paid gift credit card would be a great alternative to a credit card.

Another great use for the cards would be to track your own spending. Many financial experts believe cash is the best way to track your spending, however, I find myself sometimes needing to pay for something and don’t have cash on hand. I’m not a big advocate of credit cards so this would be a great way to fix the problem. You could even have a card for each budget category and when the card was empty you are done for the month.

The only drawback I see right now with the cards is that there are sometimes expensive charges to activate the card or a fee for processing the card. Before you decide to make a purchase make sure you know the charges. It’s not really worth the extra money if you have to pay $5 for a $25 gift card…

What do you think????