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The Day After Christmas

...was spent shopping but not because we wanted to but because we had to! Had to you you say? One of our Christmas presents was a gift certificate to a mall and since we don't live nearby we just had to get out there and spend it. Some of you might say well why don't you save it? Well, apparently these days if you get a gift card it can expire or they can access fees to the gift card so that it pretty much eliminates the sum given if you wait too long to spend it. The card we received was a $30 gift card and according to the rules it deductions $2.50 per quarter. Well at 4 quarters that is $10 a year! Isn't that crazy? I thought it was illegal in California for Gift Certificates to expire but apparently if the gift certificate is linked to a VISA, AMEX or MASTERCARD those companies can deduct maintenance fees whenever they want! Hubby's mom mentioned she had a gift card from the same mall from a few years ago and when she went to check the balance it said $0. After 3 years the maintenance fees deducted the whole $30. Can you say bummer? This is why I spend my gift cards immediately. Those puppies rarely sit in my purse more than a few months if I can try.

On this particular day we tried to spend the $30 at a variety of stores but couldn't find anything we needed that is until we ran into a Bath and Body Shop. That is one sure fire place you can spend $$. Girls and a lot of guys I know like to smell good so you can always be assured a girl wants some lotion, soap or something else that smells good. Well, I happened to find a gift basket with a ton of products in it! It's regular price was $110.00 and with the 75% off after Christmas sale I got that basket for $29.83! Best bargin this year (for me - hubby's best deal was a terabyte of hard drive space for $25, regularly a $150)! Anyhow, I turned around to the next person in line and gave them my remaining card with .17 cents. She smiled, I smiled and it was smiling on the way out of the store!

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