Never throw your gift cards away until...

Never throw your gift cards away until you check the balances.  I know most of you don't.  But sometimes we think we used up the cards, especially if we have stuck them in a drawer for a while, purse, wallet, etc.  I know in times past...when I've checked balances I might find that I have a few cents, and sometimes I will luck out and still have a couple of dollars left on the card that I forgot I had.

Well today...I was going through an old wallet and found $20 bucks and some change and an old Walmart gift card.  I remember the card, because it was given to me by my friend Claire who sends me one for Christmas and/or for my birthday on a regular basis.  This one happened to be from Christmas a few years back.

This card I remember particularly having problems with redeeming and the manager of the store transfered my remaining balance onto a new card, so I could finish using it.  Well...  Here's the deal.  I thought I depleted the funds on the card.  When I first saw this card, my first thought was to toss it, because I remember using it and really believed it was empty.  It had been several years since there was any activity on it.  But my gut feeling told me no, check the balance before tossing it.

Boy!  Am I glad I did!  I just found out that my card still had a balance of $32.71 on it!  Whoo Hoo!!! How close I came to just tossing this money out is scary.  The rule of thumb is...  If you find a card that has been tucked away for a while...never assume it's empty, even if you think it is.  You might find yourself with a little extra spending money.