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5 Ways in 5 Days To Save BIG On Your Holiday Shopping- Day 5: Ways To Save With/On Gift Cards

5 Ways in 5 Days To Save BIG On Your

Welcome to Day 5 of my 5 Ways in 5 Days To Save BIG On Your Holiday Shopping [1] series.   By now you should have your budget, your list and your strategies for shopping both on-line and in the store.  Your last step is to try to save some money on those gift cards- you know we all buy them!

Here are my suggestions for saving on gift cards:

1. Raise.com [2]– This is a new website I was introduced to by a blogger friend (although it’s not the only one like it).  With this site you can buy gift cards at a discount (or actually sell them if you have them lying around the house and aren’t going to use them).  For example you can get a $111.81 home depot gift card for $102.19.  Generally it’s about an 8% discount.  They can also deliver most of them via e-mail so you don’t have to wait for the cards to arrive.  This means you can use them right away.  If you are already planning on shopping in a store you might as well save a little bit more.

2.  Buy cards with bonuses: During the holidays many stores will give you bonus cards with your purchase.  For example if you buy a $100 gift card to a restaurant they give you a FREE $25 gift card to use yourself.  The best of these deals tend to happen in December- in this case early shopping doesn’t often pay off.

3.  Check for fuel points– some stores (in my area Kroger is an example) gives fuel points whenever you buy gift cards at their store.

I know there are tons of ways to get discounts on gift cards but these few tips can help make a big difference in your bottom line!