At the tender age of 39, I can admit that there are some things I am good at and some things I suck at. I’m fantastic at turning off my blinker after changing lanes, I can clap to the beat of complicated calypso songs, and I can make Velveeta Rotel dip in less than 10 minutes. When it comes to life skills, I have some good ones.
And, I have handicaps– Excel spreadsheets, letting other people talk, and reheating brown rice in a standard microwave– to name a few.
Still, I get by.
But you what I suck at most?
Gift certificates.
I. Suck. At. Gift. Certificates.
I can never remember to redeem them until they expire. Or I lose them. Sometimes I write to do lists on them, then throw them away once I have completed the items. It’s pathological.
Yesterday, I put a massage gift certificate by my purse before I left the house. I walked 20 minutes to the spa and realized, as I stood by the door, that I had forgotten the gift certificate. Who does that? I couldn’t walk home and back and make my appointment time.
So I got the massage, paid for it, tipped generously and went home to find that unused gift certificate sitting on my bed. I could still see the imprint of my purse (the one I took to the massage) in the comforter. I had put the certificate next to my purse so I could take it with me.
Except I didn’t.
I never do.
And I am even worse at Groupons. Instead of succumbing to those emails promising discounted yoga classes and manicures, I should just set the money on fire. In my hands, it’s the same damn thing.
I am incapable of gift certificating in a timely manner.
My husband noted that I now have to get another massage using the gift certificate. Sounds great, if I was normal. But it has to be redeemed by July 2013, and I don’t know if I can remember to put it in my purse some time in the next ten months.
Haha, I just had a groupon expire. They sound so good at the time and then the months roll by and it’s too late. But that’s totally awesome that you have the blinker thing down. You rock.
Seriously, this drives me nuts. I know it costs me so much more money in the end. I lose at this game!
Not many women can get a massage and redeem a gift certificate at the same time. And think of how many massages you can get between now and next July if you retain your knack for forgetting your certificate!
I thought I was a multi-tasker, but alas, I am not in this arena. I should just milk the massages for all it stresses me out!
I do this with meat products! I take them to defrost them in fridge. Something comes up we change dinner plans and then I don’t feel like what I have defrosted until the meat is in a questionable state. I toss it out because I don’t want to risk getting sick! This happens once every few months…I always feel really silly and bad for my wallet and the animal that was killed in vain!
Me too! I just threw away chicken breasts for the exact same reason. Why can’t I get it right??? It drives me nuts. Then, I forget to take out the trash (and by forget I mean denial), and I have rotting, raw meat in my house. THis must be some sort of cry for help.
Oh so funny! .I am pretty bad with gift cards but Groupon? The worst. I spit my vitaminwater on the computer thinking about just lighting the cash on fire. I hope you enjoyed this massage better than the last.
NO more groupons– Let’s have a skype bonfire instead. We’ll throw hard earned money in!
OR… you keep all those coupons in your purse (as I do) and STILL forget to use them. Like me you will still be wasting money and have back problems as well.
Oh that too!! I do that too. Seriously, wtf?
Right there with ya! I must have psychological aversion to using them cause I never remember. If there ever is a hoarder show for gift cards/certificates/credit slips, I’ll audition. Promise. Yay for another massage for you!
Well, we have one thing in common. I was given a gift certificate for a massage for Christmas last year and I still haven’t used it. And we have one difference. I’m pretty much a God when it comes to Excel spreadsheets. (Don’t know if that’s the kind of thing I should really be bragging about…)
And now my husband will fall madly in love with you. I hate every last thing about excel. Those cells mock me. We hate each other.
I lose them, and I have coupons on my fridge that I forget to take to the grocery store. But I’ll be honest and admit that most of the time, unless it has my name on it, I regift them. Horrible, right? Oh Lord – I’m so ashamed.
From now on, I am regifting. It’s brilliant. Let that slip of paper be someone else’s burden/blessing. Genius.
LOL I love this, I am pathetically the same way. I’m not as bad with coupons as I am gift certificates, but pretty close. I like to think that by buying everything at full price because i left my gift card at home, it’s just me doing my part for the economy. Then I feel better about myself.
Well, I will take any positive spin I can get in this. Drives me batty!!!!
My problem is gift cards. I remember to use them occasionally but most of the time there is still some money left on them. I can never use it twice though because I can never remember how much is on the card and I don’t want to hand it to them only to be told that, oh “You get 7 cents of this purchase thanks to your gift card” LOL. So I never use them twice (if I remember to use them at all).
Exactly! I have a Nordstrom one that’s been in my purse for 5 years. Too much!!!
aaaaand this reminded me I have a gift certificate for a pre-natal massage!
Too bad my son is nine weeks old.
Ha!!! A woman after my own heart.
So true. gift certificates seem like such a good idea at the time. i like, might as well set the money on fire.
)
but hey, if that’s what you suck at, you’re doing pretty well.
(and even an expired gc, you can get credit for, if you go in and play stupid.
Oh going in and playing stupid in my specialty!
something you rock at
that’s your next post.
I can’t do groupon because I can’t commit. We had a restaurant.com meal bought for us by a friend. The restaurant is around the corner from our house. We had the certificate for nearly 2 years and then the restaurant closed. I still have the certificate though.
I totally relate. It’s totally the commitment thing. You’re right! Sorry about the lost certificate. Such a bummer!
I suck at Groupons too! Bahaha! I bought a gift certificate for ice cream parlor for sons bus driver. Certificate blew out window of bus. Someone in neighborhood found in their yard and returned it to me. I put it on table. Fan blew it off. Dog ate gift certificate. Bus driver quit. Coincidence? I think not. Best bus driver ever too.
No. Are you kidding? I am totally laughing right now. That. Is. Spectacular.
Not kidding! My dog doesn’t eat things so this is pretty special. I am chalking it up to the certificate smelling like the big yellow monster that steals her boys in the mornings. She might be a little passive aggressive.
That cute little dog? Maybe it’s the nail polish!
Probably. She isn’t little, 52 pounds.
I COMPLETELY simpathize with you, as I suck at the very same thing..
I totally understand. That’s why I try to avoid giving gift cards/certificates. They often get lost and never to be found again. Cash is the best present
Now cash I know how to deal with!