For so many years, the gift card has been the gift of last resort… or sometimes first when you just want an easy solution. But they have disadvantages that are present every year… and potentially more than usual this year.

Gift Card Negatives

1. Companies going under.

If a company files for bankruptcy, they may or may not have to continue honoring their gift cards. It depends on what the court says. Once they close, of course, the card is no good anyhow.

You can try to get around this by only shopping with companies that aren’t currently having going out of business sales, but it’s hard to predict who will be next. The numbers are pretty scary.

2. Some states allow them to expire.

This isn’t allowed in California and several other states, but many states allow companies to put an expiration date on their gift card. Not fair when you think about it, since the company has your money in exchange for a little piece of plastic, but it’s something to be aware of.

3. Fees.

Depending on the rules of the state the card is purchased in, there can be fees as well. Fees for using the card, checking the balance, or even for failing to use the card over a certain time period. Sometimes there’s even a fee for the purchaser in order to activate the card.

4. They can limit options.

If you give someone a gift card, be very sure they can and do enjoy shopping at that particular store. There’s nothing like finding out you have a gift card for a company that doesn’t even exist in your city and doesn’t have an online option.

Then there’s the “sure I can get there, but I hate the selection” problem. Not everyone likes every store.

5. Some people aren’t sure how to handle the balance.

When the card gets down to just a couple of dollars, a lot of people don’t know how to finish it off. It’s easy, but many aren’t comfortable with it.

All you have to do in most stores is give it to the cashier first. They apply the balance to the purchase, then you pay the rest normally. However, many companies count on customers feeling a reluctance to do so, as they get to keep any unspent balances.

6. Some card balances are easily stolen.

Sometimes gift cards on display give away too much of their information. Thieves note this down, then check balances online regularly. When one appears, they spend it online. Make sure the cards you buy hide at least part of the information needed to activate and spend the card.

Gift Card Positives

1. You know the hobby, but not what’s needed.

A gift card can be a great, personal choice if you know someone’s hobby, but not what supplies they need. If you know where they shop, you can get a gift card to that store and they’ll probably be delighted.

2. Easy to send in the mail.

No outrageous shipping fees to send a gift card across the country. On the other hand, you do have to worry about theft. But checks face the same problem in the mail.

3. No waiting for recipient to cash your check.

There’s nothing like finding out that someone took two months or more to cash their holiday gift check. It can really mess up your personal bookkeeping.

4. You can give “experience” gifts.

Very nice when you don’t want to give things. Memberships work in some cases, but if they’re too expensive or unavailable, a gift card for it can work well.

Things to Know Before Buying a Gift Card

1. What state laws apply?

Can the card expire? What about fees?

2. What are the terms and conditions?

Some of these will contradict state law because the same card is sold in many states. You’ll still want to know, so you can figure out what applies.

3. What happens when the purchase is less than the card amount?

Many stores just leave the balance on the card, but a few will give cash back.

4. What happens if the purchase is more than the card amount?

Sometimes this is harder for the store to handle than other times. Some stores will want the gift card first, while others will want it second. If it’s too confusing, the card may be difficult to use.

5. How is the card registered?

This can protect you from gift card thieves who note the information on unsold cards, then try to use them before the legitimate purchaser. If too much of the card information is freely available before purchase, you may end up giving a worthless gift.

This year there are a lot of stores shutting down. That means lots of liquidation sales and great bargains, right?

Maybe. Then again, maybe not.

My mother called me the other evening about a story she’d seen on the news on the liquidation sale at one company going out of business. It seems that they just put higher prices on over the usual prices, so the discount really wasn’t as good as it seemed. The people from the news station easily peeled back the new tags to see the old prices.

In some ways this doesn’t surprise me. I worked for a company once when it was going through a liquidation. I can’t recall offhand if they changed the price tags, perhaps they did. They would have been more subtle about it, as it was as jewelry store and the tags were small. To change the prices they would have had to recall each piece back to the main office and retag. Can’t recall now if that happened or no.

But there’s another common thing that happens, and this I do remember well. More merchandise than the store usually carries is brought in. The liquidators do this because they buy up the inventories of the stores they are liquidating. Anything that doesn’t sell in one liquidation sale can be sent to another.

Obviously, this stuff is easy to mark up.

The best thing you can do before going to a liquidation sale is to check out the prices for the same items as seen online or in other local stores. This can quickly give you a feel for if the price has been raised to make it look like you’re getting a great discount.

Sometimes you are, sometimes you aren’t.

As with any other kind of bargain hunting, it’s up to you to know exactly what is and is not a good deal for you. Don’t get sucked in by the need to shop while there’s still a decent selection. You need to be saving enough to make shopping at a store that won’t be there if there’s a problem with the merchandise worthwhile.

Goodness. I’d forgotten how miserable shopping for maternity clothes can be. Thank goodness I have a couple of skirts that will work well for me for a while yet! My jeans, on the other hand, are tight already.

Working at home means that I can just do the unbuttoned trick, or even unzipped if that’s what it takes for comfort. It’s a definite advantage since I really don’t want to spend a lot on maternity clothing. I’m quite determined that this will be the last baby.

I hit the mall this weekend, mostly because it felt nice to get out of the house alone for once. I’m sure many of you know what I mean. Sure, my husband and I got to take a trip last weekend without kids, and it was nice, but really hurried with all the househunting and quite draining.

I have to admit, the selection looks better now, but so many department stores don’t carry any maternity clothes in their stores, just online. Out of 4 department stores in the mall, only Penneys had any in stock. Add in the fact that most maternity clothes are insanely priced, and it’s no fun at all. The Penneys clearance would have been nice if I had liked any of it. Some of the tops were just $3.97!

The lack was funny in one store where I couldn’t find a store directory. I asked an employee, and he directed me to the Junior’s department. I mean, I’ve heard that teen pregnancy can be a problem, but really!

I tried the new Secret Fit Belly jeans over at Motherhood Maternity. These aren’t badly priced, but for me they just didn’t fit right at all. Not comfortable to sit in.

I’m currently figuring on checking out what’s what at the local thrift stores… assuming I can remember to get out when they will be open. They keep short hours around here.

Target also seems to have a decent selection, at least online. I figure I can go to the store and see what fits, then checkout the online selection which is generally much larger.

I have a nice little budget for this shopping, so all I have to do now is find the clothes I want!

I’ve seen people talk sometimes about having a no-spend day. They buy nothing that day. It can be a help, certainly, if you tend to buy something every day. But if you’re like me, working at home all the time, it’s not going to change your spending habits that much.

In some sense, of course, you do spend every day. The food you eat was bought at some point, and it certainly costs you something when you consume it. There’s the cost of your housing. Any subscriptions you have, whether to a magazine, your cable television, even power and telephone bills.

However, if those little daily purchases are eating up your income, having no-spend days regularly can really help. You can have the kids bring lunch to school instead of using money to buy it. You can eat at home rather than eating out, or bring lunch if you have to go to work. Odds are these will save you over eating out, although school lunches may be pretty cheap.

The idea can be extended to the shopping you do need to do. No-spend can be no impulse purchases when you’re at the grocery store. Stick to your list instead.

Take the idea of not spending, and apply it to the various times that you do need to spend. If you have the habit of buying lots of little stuff you don’t really need, it can help more than you might expect.

That’s right, male pattern blindness. It’s the only explanation I can come up with.

Don’t get me wrong. My husband’s wonderful. But if something doesn’t particularly interest him, he just won’t see it. On the other hand he’s a wonderful husband and excellent father.

Then there are times like this morning. He decided to go to the grocery store after taking our son to speech therapy. I mentioned he’s a good husband and father, right? He wanted to get a couple things there and I told him we were out of milk.

He couldn’t find the milk I usually get, which has a discount if you buy two gallons. He’s quite certain it wasn’t there, even though I’ve shown him it before, and it’s always in the same place. But hey, he bought milk, so the complaint is minimal.

He also decided to clean the kitchen today. Well, more precisely he loaded the dishwasher. I don’t think he has wiped down the countertops ever without being asked. Honestly. Not once.

Yes, I know it can be impressive that he sees the dishes in the sink, since some don’t even do that much. My tactic is simple. I let them pile up. Eventually he will want to use the sink, realize he can’t, and voila! I have a dishwasher being loaded by my husband.

I try not to let things get that bad too often. It’s not a situation I like. Good thing I know how to ask him to help out too.

I think he does better than average in some areas. He doesn’t too often ask me where something is when it’s right where it belongs, where it always is. But then it’s generally something he wants.

If it doesn’t particularly interest him, on comes the blindness! It ensures that I do most of the shopping so I know we’ll have enough food (and that it’s healthy!) and handle most of the cleaning unless I ask otherwise or company’s coming. Dirt and clutter are all but invisible any other time.

We’re fortunate in that I’ve always been good at finding things. It probably helps that I look behind and under stuff as necessary. If neither of us can find it, well, it’s time to blame the house gnomes.

As of yet, there is no cure for male pattern blindness, but any researchers out there would have the encouragement of millions of wives.

Food prices have been hit hard by inflation of late, with the worst increases in about 20 years. Meat, milk, bread, eggs, produce all cost more than they used to. It’s getting harder and harder to feed a family healthy meals.

Fortunately, it’s not necessarily impossible, merely more challenging.

One of the simplest things you can do to help your food budget is to cut waste. Here in the United States tremendous amounts of food are wasted by most families. If you work harder on using up your leftovers you can save a significant amount of money.

For example, pack up dinner leftovers for lunch the next day. You can eat them yourself or send them with an ice pack with the kids to school if it’s something that tastes good enough cold. A thermos bottle can help with foods that should be eaten warm. Just make sure you heat the food hot enough that a good thermos will keep it over 140 degrees F.

Think also about what you’re eating. If you can cut back on the amount of meat you consume in a meal and/or have the occasional meatless meal you can save quite a bit. Beans, rice, lentils and such can be significantly cheaper than meats. Vegetarian meals can be quite tasty.

Similarly you can reconsider the cuts of meat you buy. Cheaper cuts can still taste quite good if prepared correctly. Crock pots are great at making even cheap meats tender.

With chicken, buying a whole one can have advantages. It’s enough for 1-2 meals, depending on the size of your family, and you can make soup from the leftovers for yet another cheap meal.

But much of your savings come down to how you shop for food. Start paying close attention to the flyers that come from grocery stores near to you. You won’t save if you’re driving too far, but if you’re lucky you will have at least a few stores to choose from. You may as well shop each for the items they have at good prices.

Keeping a price book can be a big help. You can do it alphabetically or by the order of the items in the store you shop most, but know what regular prices are and what standard sale prices are. This helps you to figure out if it’s an unusually good deal that you should stock up on if you can, or if you need to figure out an alternative that week.

Coupons can also be a help if, and I emphasize IF, they are items you would be buying anyhow. If you weren’t going to buy it, you can end up spending more money and ending up with things you aren’t going to use up.

Plan your meals around the coupons and deals that you find each week. By planning ahead you can buy only what you need and reduce your food waste still further. It also helps to limit your spontaneous purchases if you can tell yourself you aren’t going to use it.

For those who have the space and a sufficiently green thumb, gardening is another option. A good garden is exercise combined with a food source. It’s also great for teaching children about where their food really comes from. And of course homegrown produce simply tastes better.