Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to let Santa take you out to
Speaker 1: dinner this weekend. If you received any gift cards this
Speaker 1: holiday season, why not use one for some fun over
Speaker 1: the next few days. You have probably heard reports of
Speaker 1: how half of us adults have an unused gift card
Speaker 1: or store credit, often with a hundred dollars or more
Speaker 1: in value. What a missed opportunity. The gift cards were
Speaker 1: intended to bring happiness, but they can't do that when
Speaker 1: they are stuffed in a drawer or sitting as a
Speaker 1: confirmation email in your inbox. So if you have any
Speaker 1: gift cards or store credits this side that you are
Speaker 1: going to use them this weekend. If your gift card
Speaker 1: is for a restaurant or coffee shop or entertainment venue,
Speaker 1: then your path is obvious. You can make a reservation,
Speaker 1: book your movie tickets and go. If you've got a
Speaker 1: SPA gift card, this would be a great weekend for
Speaker 1: a little self care at no cost to you. But
Speaker 1: even if your gift cards are for somewhere more mundane,
Speaker 1: they can still be used to create joy and happiness
Speaker 1: this weekend. An Amazon gift card could be turned into
Speaker 1: home spa products, or it can be turned into fancy treats.
Speaker 1: For a little get together, a Target gift card could
Speaker 1: buy a board game or puzzle, or something offbeat but
Speaker 1: fun like a skateboard. Yes, for you as an adult,
Speaker 1: a grocery store gift card can let you spring for
Speaker 1: a really nice premium steak and a bottle of wine.
Speaker 1: And now you have made an in home dinner very special.
Speaker 1: After all the holidays spending on gifts and travel, you
Speaker 1: may not want to spend a lot of money on
Speaker 1: fun this weekend, but if you use a gift card,
Speaker 1: you don't need to. It's a nice idea to let
Speaker 1: the person who gave you the gift card know you
Speaker 1: used it before you and they both forget what they
Speaker 1: gave you. Snap a picture of yourself with whatever you purchased,
Speaker 1: and both of you will enjoy the moment. If your
Speaker 1: kids received gift cards, consider encouraging them to go ahead
Speaker 1: and use the cards this weekend as well. You can
Speaker 1: all get some new entertainment to ward off the winter doldrums. Yes,
Speaker 1: Santa only comes on December, but if you've got gift cards,
Speaker 1: Santa can take you out to dinner in January, which
Speaker 1: honestly is when many of us feel we need it
Speaker 1: a lot more. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
Speaker 1: that's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Yeah.