Are you finding yourself in the middle of doing #ShopFreeFebruary and wanting a treat? Brava for you, and here is a fix! I suspect that over the holidays' someone gave you a gift card or a certificate for a spa or restaurant.  NOW is the time to use it! 

According to Bankrate, 51 percent of U.S. adults have unused gift cards, with the average person leaving $116 on the table. This adds up to around $15.3 billion nationwide!  Half of these cards have lost value because they either expired, were lost, or the store went out of business — and some gift cards have fees, slowly draining them down to nothing.

But what do you do if you get a gift card for a place you don’t shop at or like? I suggest selling or trading them through one of many legitimate websites such as GiftCardGranny, Raise, or CardCASH. Through these sites, you can mail your gift cards in, and exchange them for ones you like, or get about 70% of their worth in cashback.

A good friend was given a $500 gift certificate to Red Door Spa as a farewell gift from her generous coworkers a few years ago.  She was “saving” it for a year or so, and then pandemic prevented her from using it. And now, they’re out of business! $500 down the drain!  Don’t let this happen to you⁠—your friends and family WANT you to enjoy these gifts, not let them lie dormant in a drawer.

So I challenge you:  Look through YOUR drawers, wallet, purse, and desk and SPEND or CASH IN those gift cards before the end of this month! How much “free money” can you find and use? Let us know in my FB Group “Organizing Solutions for Busy Women!”