Comments on: I fail at retail therapy

By: Dossy Shiobara

Dossy Shiobara — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 19:54:18 +0000

Suki: Yeah, it would be kinda “wrong” to pay bills with a “gift” card.

Blue: I own one pair of shoes and I wear them for about 800 days, then buy a replacement pair. I hate buying clothes, so that’s not much of a “gift” for me, either.

By: Blue

Blue — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:14:25 +0000

I’d buy shoes and clothing for my job, but you don’t exactly have a dress code for yours. ^_^

By: Suki Fuller

Suki Fuller — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:43:30 +0000

Pay a bill…oh wait you can’t do that with a gift card. Darn, still in a quandry!

By: Dossy Shiobara

Dossy Shiobara — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:58:54 +0000

Janelle: Good point regarding finance charges. On this particular gift card, a $2.00 monthly fee is charged after twelve months. I would hope I can find a way to spend this thing before then, though!

And thank you for the compliment on my blog layout! Frankly, I’m not much of a designer and struggle with trying to make the layout “work” well. I definitely think it could be further refined and improved but I really don’t know how – any suggestions would be greatly welcomed.

By: Janelle

Janelle — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:20:22 +0000

I also fail at retail therapy and am extremely difficult to buy presents for, so I was able to empathize with your dilemna over the gift card. However, that said, a gift card or “Dead Presidents” as we like to call cash gifts, are much easier to utilize than yet another useless gadget that I have no space for. I have informed my family that, having passed the half-way point of my life, I am interested only in experiences and memories, so now our focus is on spending time with people who matter to us.

One note of caution, however – check the fine print on the gift card and make sure that it isn’t decreasing in value over time it sits unused. Some of them levy a charge for bookkeeping and, like money orders, those will eventually have no buying power. If that’s the case, use it at the grocery store to make your normal grocery purchases, then take the cash from your checking account and put it where it will remain viable for future purchases.

(I like the layout of your blog – it’s very easy to read and navigate.)

By: Dossy Shiobara

Dossy Shiobara — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 23:14:03 +0000

Mike: I think that’s the right way to go, spending time with the family. Those are the priceless moments that can never be bought with any amount of money later on in life.

By: Mike Duffy

Mike Duffy — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:44:03 +0000

Take the family (or just the spousal unit) out to a nice dinner and maybe a movie (most theatres take Visa, now that tickets are past the $10 level).

Make yourselves a little memory.

By: Dossy Shiobara

Dossy Shiobara — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:48:55 +0000

David K: Thanks, it’s nice knowing I’m not the only one.

Steve: Indeed, a 1+ TB 10K RPM laptop drive would indeed be sweet, but yeah — not something I can get right now.

Sadly, it’s a Visa gift card, so it won’t accumulate interest. If there were an easy way to transfer the balance to my banking account, that would be nice. Perhaps I could send myself the money via PayPal from the credit card, but then I’d “lose” 2.9% + $0.30 in fees, or $3.20 on $100. How long would it take for me to accumulate 3.2% interest on $96.80 in an average savings account? A year?

By: steve

steve — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 05:51:38 +0000

easy: 1tb and 10,000 RPM in a laptop.

unfortunately, I think we might have to wait a year or two on that one. no way to put that thing away and earn a little interest, eh?

By: David K

David K — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 05:02:13 +0000

I’m with you 100%. Material possessions do not make me happy. Obviously having a certain amount of comfort is good, but I’m not acquisitive. Spending time with people I care about is what makes me happy. I’d rather put money toward a good party or a trip to see some friends.