Gift Cards, the gift that keeps on giving

I've been thinking a lot about gift cards lately (yes that's how exciting my life is), and I had three thoughts I wanted to share. They aren't necessarily connected, but I didn't want to overshare by putting them into three separate posts.

Gift Cards as a Budgeting Tool
Occasionally we get random money from random sources. A bonus check, a tax return, birthday money, etc (many of you may have just received a stimulus check). These are funds outside our normal budget, so they can be hard to utilize effectively. One way I like to make sure extra money lasts is through gift cards.
If I'm thinking practical, that $1200 Corona cash could be gas money for a year for one of our cars. So I could take that money and buy 12 gift cards from the gas station at $100 each, then each month I pull out the gift card and know that I've got gas covered. The same could be done for groceries, haircuts, or any regular expenses that are bought repeatedly at the same place.
If I'm thinking more fun, I might buy restaurant gift cards. I know we're going to want to eat out on special occasions. If I have the extra money now, I can buy a I gift card and be confident that we'll be able to pay for the restaurant when we need it. Another great benefit is that restaurants will often offer deals on gift cards where a free gift card may be given with the purchase of another, so you get more bang for your buck.

Gift Cards to Support Local Businesses
A lot of us are concerned about supporting community businesses, especially when so many have been closed lately. Gift cards are a great way to help put money into a small business when you may not immediately be able to use their services. These could be gift cards for your own future use, or gift cards to give to others throughout the year. Imagine if every birthday party you sent your kid to over the next few months (heck, even a birthday party on zoom), you could just give them a gift certificate to a local salon or movie theater! Wouldn't that simplify life?

Re-Gifting Gift Cards
In the course of cleaning out my house, I have found a LOT of gift cards. I mean literally hundreds of dollars in gift cards to all kinds of businesses. Some of these have been a blessing to my family allowing us to make purchases that might not have been in the budget. But several of them have been re-gifted to others. I may be in the minority here, but I think there's nothing wrong with re-gifting gift cards. If you're comfortable with your twelve year old buying a DQ gift card for a friend, you ought to be equally happy giving a gift card that you already had on hand. Now when I'm cleaning and I find a gift card it goes one of two places. If I think I will use it soon, I put it strait into my wallet. If I don't have an immediate need for it, it goes in the "birthday box" to bless someone else at some future time.