Gift cards are the most sought after gift (followed by cash, clothes and books) and since the expiration date on cards has been extended to five years in 2009, people have a tendency to treat them more like cash and not spend them right away.  $750 million in gift cards will go unredeemed this year (this is actually down from $1 billion last year.)  See this article in Market Watch by Quentin Fottrell for more details:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/750-million-in-gift-cards-will-go-unused-in-2014-2014-11-29

As I said above, things are improving – only 1 percent or less of gift cards given are going unused now when in 2007 ten percent were going unredeemed (probably due to the earlier expiration dates.)  But it is still smart to spend those cards and tell the people who gave them to you what you bought (good manners.)

  For financial,  accounting and tax musings,