WEBVTT - Second Cup: Use up those gift cards

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to make a plan for using those gift

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<v Speaker 1>cards that you and family members may have received over

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<v Speaker 1>the holidays. I'm writing this tip as much for me

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<v Speaker 1>as anyone else. Each year, my older kids in particular,

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<v Speaker 1>wind up receiving gift cards from far flung friends and

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<v Speaker 1>family members. We note who has received what so we

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<v Speaker 1>can send thank you notes, but that thank you writing

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<v Speaker 1>process tends to happen prior to the gift cards being used.

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<v Speaker 1>Over the next week or so after Christmas, the piles

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<v Speaker 1>of presents get moved up to people's bedrooms, my kids

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<v Speaker 1>get absorbed in other things like traveling to see relatives

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<v Speaker 1>and then starting up school again. In the course of this,

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<v Speaker 1>gift cards can wind up lost or forgotten, and this

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<v Speaker 1>seems like a waste. I mean, I love Amazon, Target,

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<v Speaker 1>Dick's Sporting Goods, and other retailers as much as anyone,

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<v Speaker 1>but I don't really think they need the free money.

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<v Speaker 1>So this year, I'm resolving that all gift cards are

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<v Speaker 1>going to go in an envelope with the recipient's name

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<v Speaker 1>on it. As soon as we've made a note for

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<v Speaker 1>thanking purposes. And then each person who has a gift

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<v Speaker 1>card envelope is going to get a designated day for

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<v Speaker 1>using them. I plan my weeks on Friday afternoons and

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<v Speaker 1>so on. A handful of Fridays in January and February,

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<v Speaker 1>I will set a day in the upcoming week to

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<v Speaker 1>feature one envelope. I might decide that my twelve year

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<v Speaker 1>old will get the following Sunday. I'll tell him a

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<v Speaker 1>few days ahead of time that this is his official

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<v Speaker 1>gift card day. We'll discuss what he might want, and

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<v Speaker 1>he can do some research and think about it. Then

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<v Speaker 1>on the official gift card day, we'll make our online

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<v Speaker 1>purchases and visit any retailers that we'd prefer to visit

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<v Speaker 1>in person. By making this an official priority for the

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<v Speaker 1>week I think it's far more likely to happen now.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, there are other ways to make sure gift

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<v Speaker 1>cards get used too. For instance, they are very easy

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<v Speaker 1>to regift. If you receive more than you know what

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<v Speaker 1>to do with, you could hang on to a feud

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<v Speaker 1>to give to other people for birthdays or bar mitzvahs

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<v Speaker 1>or the like. And if you get a card to

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<v Speaker 1>a retailer that you're pretty sure you won't use. There

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<v Speaker 1>are sites such as card pool or card cash that

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<v Speaker 1>will take your gift card for somewhere between seventy to

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<v Speaker 1>eighty cents on the dollar usually, and you could sell

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<v Speaker 1>them off at rays and also buy discounted cards for

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<v Speaker 1>somewhere that you would like to use. But for most

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<v Speaker 1>of us, I think it's as much about making the

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<v Speaker 1>time as finding something that we'd want. By designating official

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<v Speaker 1>gift card using days in January and February, we can

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<v Speaker 1>make sure that we don't leave money on the table.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have a good system for making sure you

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<v Speaker 1>and your family use your gift cards, please let me

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<v Speaker 1>know about it. You can email me at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>Podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast Pod. You can also shoot me an email at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

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