Did you know that more than $1 in $4 spent on gift cards goes unredeemed? That's money that just slips through our fingers. It also explains why businesses push gift cards so much. The Safeway supermarket chain has a subsidiary business that sells gift card displays to drug stores and even to Safeway's archrival Kroger. These displays offer one-stop shopping with gift cards from hundreds of different retailers. This is a highly profitable business all around. For every sale, the point-of-purchase retailer gets a cut, Safeway gets a cut and the point-of-redemption business gets a cut too. Some businesses are making more profit on gift cards than anything else they do.

Clark generally hates gift cards, but he will buy the ones where you pay a set amount and get a card that has added value. You sacrifice the flexibility of your dollar, but you get more than you paid for. These kinds of "bonus" gift cards were pioneered by restaurants, and have since been picked up on by spas and some theme parks. Clark's family has a 1 gallon plastic baggie for all the gift cards they've received from people. They always make sure to check the bag before they go out to dinner or to a store. Now there's even a website called LeverageCard.com that allows you to manage your gift cards online. In summary, Clark still thinks gift cards stink. His advice is to just give cash instead. Need a little help doing so this season? Clark has come up with a cash-only gift card for your gifting pleasure!