gift cards

Discounted gift cards: The new coupon?

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That’s how one guy described discounted gift cards — the subject of my current column, “Instant savings on holiday shopping,” over at MSN Money. (Edited to add: That column is no longer available on the MSN Money platform. Read on for the basics.)

These cards become available for various reasons, usually because their owners need the money or because the gift was unsuitable. Resellers like Plastic Jungle or Cardpool make them available to consumers at less than face value.

You can save 3% to 30% (or more) on cards for places you plan to shop for the holidays. There’s an aggregator site called Gift Card Granny that pulls up the best deals from eight different sources.

But these aren’t just for gift-shopping. You can use this “new coupon” to provide consistent discounts for your everyday purchases.

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Rockin’ the surveys — when it’s worth it.

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In the past few weeks I’ve been having good luck with online surveys. Not only have I earned more than $20 for relatively little work, I’ve been asked to test several products.

Can’t say exactly what they are – confidentiality agreements – but they’re all things I was happy to get. Even though none of them was a pony.

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This week’s winner.

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Stephanie is the winner of the $20 Amazon.com gift card. Congratulations, Stephanie, and please respond to my e-mail so that I can send you your prize. This Friday’s giveaway may — or may not — be a geographically specific animal. Stuffed, not real. Stay tuned.

Welcome to Copout Monday.

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My hat is off to grandparents who wind up raising their grandchildren. A mere half-day spent with my niece’s kids makes me want to lie down with a cold cloth on my eyes.

The boys are funny and sweet but very, very high-energy. Bless their hearts.

That’s why today’s entry is short. By the time I got back to my host’s home last night, I wasn’t good for much besides having a bowl of oatmeal and visiting a short time before crawling up to bed. And I’m only 52.

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BOGO, meet GOGO.

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Surviving and Thriving is not a “bargain of the day” site. Plenty of other blogs already do that, and do it much better than I ever could. However, at times I’ll be writing about deals that I think are too good to pass up.

The “GOGO” deal at CVS is a good example. The drugstore chain has introduced e-gift cards, and during the month of May you can get a free gift card every time you give one.

(“Give one, get one” as opposed to “buy one, get one.” Cute, huh?)

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