Gift Card Purchases up for 2011. Why They May Not be a Good Idea.

A new survey says the average consumer will spend $155 on gift cards this year, which is a new record.

Rather than give gift cards, my personal opinion is that it's best to just give good old fashioned cash. Why?

Well, first off.. while cleaning out my wallet the other night, I found three old gift cards I had completely forgotten about worth around 100 bucks. Wonder how many other people completely forget to use them?

Next.. they're easy to lose..

And finally.. what if the recipient doesn't want to shop at the store you gave them the gift card too? They can sell them for cash, right? Problem is, they're usually not worth their full value. According to an online gift card site GiftRocket, the average value of a $100 card is more like $72 if you try to sell it to someone else for cash.

On the upside, if you want to find gift card for less than face value, there are quite a few sites you should check out including Cardpool, Plastic Jungle, GiftCardRescue and Gift Card Granny.

Are you planning on giving gift cards this year?