Did you know up to 78% of gift cards go unused every year? So for that $100 gift card that was fun to give or to receive…$78 of it will sit in a drawer or fall out on the street and disappear. Can you freaking believe that?
If you found $78 cash on the street, would you pick it up? Even if you donated it all to charity because you don’t need it- leaving cash on the table (or on the street) just seems absurd. Yet that’s what we do, every year,
“Consumers spent more than $130 billion on gift cards per year, according to advisory company CEB TowerGroup, but it said roughly $1 billion went unspent.” (1)
There are SO MANY WAYS that we leave cash on our own table…and then get stressed out that we need to earn more or save more. Maybe we do need to generate more money, but if we cleaned up the waste of the money we already have laying around it would make a big difference.
Use What You Have
Joumor Principle: Use What You Have. Using what you already have is satisfying, uses less stuff, declutters, and almost always saves you some or a lot of money.
Here are some examples of Old Money to live off of/declutter that have already been paid for:
- Unused gift cards
- Not used monthly subscriptions
- Unused coaching sessions or classes
- Returns that need to be returned
- Unclaimed medical reimbursements
- Interest on credit cards
- Late fees on credit cards (can usually be reimbursed)
- Any kind of credits that are waiting for you to use them- a show, a store, a hotel
- Money that you lent to people and they still owe you
In the thick of this holiday season, when many are tight on money, what old money can you “cash in?”
Read the second part of this article and learn more on how to live off old money.
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