Our friends and family were very generous to my wife and me this Christmas. We received many wonderful gifts, but most of them were gift cards. Some of the gift cards are to specific stores and some are just blank cash cards. Our friends and family members know that we like to go out to eat, and they also know we are on a budget.

Gift cards are a growing gift trend and chances are you received a gift card this year too. Most American look at their gift card as free money. They rush out to use their card as if they were on a free shopping spree.

When I was a few years younger I would have done the same thing. I would get a $50 gift card to Target, or a $100 cash gift card and immediately start thinking of how to spend the money. If I didn’t already know what I wanted I would go to Target and see if I could find something to spend my money on. What a mistake! There is a better way.

My wife and I have a plan for our gift cards. We aren’t going to use them until we need to. We are going to use our Target gift card when miscellaneous expenses come up. We are going to use our cash gift cards to go out to eat, just as our friends and family intended. We think we can go 2 months without having to tap into our entertainment fund or our household item fund in our budget. We will carry the balance over for each category to help us get through the rest of the year.

We are already way ahead in our 2010 budget. I’m even more optimistic about meeting our financial goals for the year. Every little bit helps, and using your gift cards for items in your budget can go a long way. Take those gift cards and set them aside. See where you can fit them into your budget to help you meet your goals.