Many (if not most) retailers who sell gift cards don’t give you back the cash on your unused portion.

So if you got a $50 gift card from Grandma to spend at say, Amazon, and you bought a book for $39.95, you’d have $10.05 left over. Which isn’t enough to buy really anything else once shipping’s added unless you spend more money, so it’s pretty common that it goes unspent. And you’re left thinking, what a waste!

One clever US website at www.giftcardonor.com allows you to select from a long list of American retailers, enter the amount/s owing (if you have a few not-fully-used gift cards), the state you live in and voila! You see a list of potential charities that you can donate the remaining money to.

But best of ALL, you can buy the gift cards there too – at a discount! Again, there’s a big list of well-known retailers that make available gift cards (perhaps they were left over from a promotion or have much shorter expiry dates, for example). So, I selected one of my favourites, Williams-Sonoma – and it was 15% off. These cheap gift cards range from 1-2% to 40% off the value remaining on the gift cards which means most of them have strange, not-rounded off amounts – like one I saw with a value of $US293.25 selling for $US249.26. 

Like eBay, you can also sell your unwanted or partially used gift cards and receive cash for them, but this website is the first one I’ve seen that you can actually donate the proceeds to charity.

If you’re a clever shopper (ahem, like me!), you’ll be looking for gift-buying opportunities all year long.

No? Don’t think you can afford to? Think again.

I was surfing around and saw some groovy laptop bags  the other day and noticed they were drastically reduced because they were deemed a ”discontinued colour”.

So it got me testing out magic phrases like ”discontinued”, “discontinued colour”, “end of stock”, “end of season” or “end of line” plus “sale” into Google to see what came up. 

I have my brother’s birthday coming up so I won’t mention what category I added to the search box, but it came up with a range of fantastic gift ideas for shirts (oh, damn) that are at excellent bargain-hunting prices.

Voila! You can save up to 90% on items that the online retailers are busting to shed their warehouses of.

And I know HE doesn’t care if the colour is now considered end-of-season.

Here’s one for the This Must Be A Record department: US retailer Best Buy has accepted a $40 gift certificate dating back to 1996.

Jon, a man from Illinois found his ancient handwritten gift certificate (left), that his brother David had given him as a gift for Christmas, in a box of old books.

He thought he’d try his luck and amazingly, and happily, while the sales assistant had to request approval from his supervisor, the gift certificate was honoured.

I’m always amazed though when I read about many people not redeeming their gift cards. Why wouldn’t you? And in 1996, $40 was really worth something!

Oh boy! I want to work for Oprah Winfrey!

As part of the celebrations for her 55th birthday, the undisputed queen of TV talkshow programs has taken her employees and their families to a popular Spanish tourist attraction in Barcelona, (keep in mind that the Oprah show is filmed in Chicago, USA) where they’ll spend three nights before going on a 10-day Mediterranean cruise around Italy, Greece, Turkey and Malta.

She has – count ‘em – 1,700 employees so with all of them taking at least two other people (spouse/partner and an incredibly lucky child), that’s already 5,100 people she’s taking on holidays. In 2005, she took all of them on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.

Apart from the fact she’s a gazillionaire and can afford it, why, from an astrological point of view is Oprah so generous?

Oprah has her Ascendant and Moon in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planet of expansion (hence her weight issues), generosity (well, hello!), and optimism. She lives life with gusto and her enthusiasm is palpable. Her Jupiter in Gemini (communication, talking, presenting) is in her 6th house of work and health. She is one mighty generous employer and they love her for it. She has her Sun (your basic personality), Mercury (what you think about) and Venus (what you love) in Aquarius (friends and group activities) in her 2nd house of income. She loves what she can do with money, thinks about what she can do with money (did you ever see the episode where every audience member got a new car?) and makes money from just being herself.  And the trips overseas? Sagittarius rules travel.

Whatever you give a Cancerian, take the time to craft a heartfelt message. These sentimental softies hoard all their old cards for their anniversary, birthday, Christmas, engagement, Mothers Day, Fathers Day – you get the idea. They well up when it’s something really special and something they’ve been hinting at (but were afraid you’ll forget). Cancers are one of the worst signs of which to forget or overlook their birthday and they’ll hold a grudge if you do!

Many of them will even save (and re-use) their wrapping paper so don’t be surprised to see the same, (slightly wrinkled) paper on your gift. In fact, if they don’t like what you’ve bought, they’re not above regifting it to someone else, or straight back to you at some later stage.

They don’t take it well when you just shove them a birthday card with money in it  – “here, get what you want” and will honestly believe you don’t care (frankly, I wouldn’t think you cared either if you pulled that stunt on me and I’m not a Cancerian).

They’re big on their family and even the men are born Nannas. If they have small children they get a kick out of mummy-daughter, father-son matching outfits. Spending time with their children is their favourite thing so family tickets to a show, museum, theme park or other activity that builds a store of family memories would go down well.

They also lurrve their home and to make it beautiful for others to enjoy when they entertain (with Venus-ruled Taurus on their 11th house of friends and group activities they love to feed their friends with hearty home-cooked meals, while with Libra on their 4th house of home and family, they crave a beautiful home and a peaceful family environment). Beautiful candles or cookware are popular, as are hardware gift certificates so they can do a few fixes around the house. Stunning coffee table books on French Provincial/Italian/Paris interiors would go down well. Greenery works well too.

Many Cancerians are into history so you could give them one of those heraldic plaques for their surname perhaps, a real bodice-ripper by Cancerian Barbara Cartland, a guestbook, a leatherbound photo album or you could create a cool collage of family photos and frame them. If your budget extends that far, taking them to an antiques market where they can choose something in your budget would be a major thrill.

A lot of them like to work from home (whether they have kids or not) so while it’s not the typical touchy-feely gift Cancerian gift, something that makes it easier or more comfortable to have their own office could be a clever idea. And with Saturn in their solar 3rd house of communication until 31 October, many of them are trying hard to overcome their innate dislike of technology. A multi-function phone. fax, answering machine, laptop, scanner or home printer might be possible birthday gift idea options for a number of Cancerians.

No, this isn’t a post about whether Sasha and Malia Obama gave their father soap-on-a-rope for yesterday’s Fathers Day celebration in the US, but about his impassioned speech imploring men to be better fathers.

Barack is a regal Leo who wants to be the best at everything he does and one of Leo’s best assets is their regal ability to inspire others. Leos are also noted for their courage so it was fascinating that he said, “Any fool can have a child. That doesn’t make you a father. It’s the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.”

He has roll-up-your-sleeves Mars in Virgo. This is a classic position for working hard, being dutiful, helping with housework and homework and generally being a hands-on, practical Dad. The Mars position in a man’s sign is his quality of action, activity and energy and since Virgo won’t rest until things are seen to, Barack will work very hard to help inspire a sense of duty amongst America’s fathers. Combined with the slow-burn effect of Pluto in Capricorn until 2024, it’s likely that there will be growing disapproval for social instability as well as a swing to extended families to ensure that the burden of child-rearing is shared in society.

According to a new survey on wedding gift practices by Brides.com, 90% of wedding guests gave a gift to the happy couple. The most popular price point for gifts is $US100-$US199 with the second gift price tier being the more frugal $US50-$US75.

But gift-givers and recipients have expectations on both sides. While 70% of respondents said the couple shouldn’t expect a gift, at the same time, 63% said they’d feel obliged to send a gift even if they weren’t attending the wedding.  It seems you’re more likely to get a wedding gift from kind old Grandma or crazy Aunt June than from your free-loading friends as 72% of those aged 65 years and over said they’d give a gift even if they weren’t attending, while only 53% of those naughty Gen Ys (aged 30 and under) would cough up for a toaster.

The sheer cost of weddings – not only for the couple but for all their hapless guests – which is a median cost of $US200 including gifts, travel, accommodation, clothing and other expenses, means only 37% would give a gift for the bridal shower and a measly 10% would give them an engagement present. About 37% of respondents reported they had travelled 100 miles or more to attend a wedding. Still, only 3% of the respondents would knock back an invite to the wedding because of the cost factor.

Women said watching the “I do’s” and the seeing the bride’s gown were their favourite aspects of weddings (73% and 72% respectively) while men most liked the food (55%). Men (regardless of income) were twice as likely as women to plump for beer and pigs in a blanket for the reception food.

See, you CAN cut wedding costs somewhere.

Right now is a good time to start buying Christmas gifts. I know that shopping six months out in June could seem insane or pointless, but it actually saves your time, money and sanity.

Here’s 10 reasons why it pays off to buy Christmas gifts throughout the year but definitely starting in June (if not in January)!

1. Mid-year sales. This is the ideal opportunity to save big-time on non-perishable gifts as many companies try to clear stock. Buy now, save now.

2. Time to find cool things. Now is a great time to join a few of the online shopping newsletters which list specials and feature unusual items every week. You’re bound to see something cool to make ‘em go “ooooh”. Plus, having all your Christmas shopping done by the end of November gives you plenty of time to enjoy the holiday season in relaxed style with a lot less stress.

3. Choice. There’s nothing more terrifying (at least, to me) than a sea of people in the department store, desperately grabbing at anything pre-gift-wrapped on 24 December. By taking your time now, you get to choose gifts that are really cleverly thought out, affordable, and that they’ll love.

4. Saving money. If you spend $50 per gift per person (minimum) and you have to buy gifts for at least 10 people, you’re looking at $500 which is a big chunk-o-change out of your wallet on one day. If you buy one gift per fortnight starting now until the end of November, you won’t even notice it, and you’ll have more money to blow on going out to parties in December. Promise.

5. Personalization. If you want to get someone special a personalized gift, there’s no use deciding that on 24 December. Most online personalized gift websites will cut off their ordering dates by 17 December at the latest to ensure Christmas delivery. If it takes up to 21 days to be customised and delivered, it’s better getting it done safely now, and put away. Plus, last-minute panic orders can sometimes lead to disastrous typos like a badly spelled name or address, for example and no time to get them replaced.

6. Spying/prying – otherwise known as research. Start asking now about your favourite people’s colours, flavours, fragrances, music, movies, hobbies etc. It can take a while to find out what people are really into and you can be sure of giving them something that would delight them. And by asking now, they’ll have forgotten about it so they have a nice surprise on the day. Caveat: leave asking the what-would-you-like-Santa-to-bring questions for the littlest kids and teenagers til last as their tastes change so quickly they could be into Dora the Explorer one minute and Lady GaGa the next.

7. Christmas is when retailers make money. For many retailers, Christmas is THE most profitable time for them to finally make some money so they won’t throw it away with deep discounts for procrastinating shoppers. Cha-ching! Many of them won’t have anything on sale until 26 December.

8. Benefit from off-season/different hemisphere shopping specials. The wonderful world of online shopping exposes you to sooooo many cool things and if you buy them ahead of time, you can save heaps, too. Does your cousin love diving? You’ll find great specials in southern hemisphere (winter-time) June. Ditto if you stock up on fun, out-of-season ski products from US sites now in their summertime so your mad uncle can get piste in the Alps at Christmas.

9. Gift cards/gift certificates. Pick up one or two of these next week for clothing, hardware, books, movies, or music and you’ve already gotten a couple of gifts for those hard-to-buy-for people crossed off your list. You might not be so generous with the amounts if you had to buy 10 of them in one go, though.

10. Sea mail. If you happen to choose such weight-challenged gifts as books for friends and family living overseas, you’ll have to spend a packet just to get it there in time. Shopping for it now, and mailing it in October means your gifts will get there in time, but at a fraction of the airmail cost.

Everyone loves a special offer but how do you know if that bargain is worth it or not? One way to know if you’re getting the best bang for your buck is to separate the special offers that you’re emailed into dollars-off and percentage-off.

Hunt for special offers which discount by a $ amount if the gift is under $100 AND special offers which discount the item by a percentage amount if it’s over $100.  Let’s compare a discount of $25 and a discount of 25% to see where you come out ahead.

While the shopping newsletters won’t thank me for saying so, you’ll save the most on dollar-discounts if you match or go only slightly over the minimum $ amount  per purchase, but not exceed them. For example, if a website offers $25 off orders of $75 or more on a gift item, if you spend $75, you’ll save yourself 33.3% ($25). If you spend $125, the $25 saving becomes worth only 20%, and if you splurge $200 you’ve saved only 12.5%  and if you went really crazeeeee and spent $500, with that same $25 saving, you’ve only shaved 5% off the total price. For the best savings: buy one item. Complete sale. Repeat.

By comparison, percentage discount offers save you more the more you spend in one purchase. So a 25% discount on orders of $75 will save yourself $18.75, on an order of $125 will save yourself $31.25, and $200 will knock off $50 while a $500 splurge will reduce the entire amount by a whopping $125. This is where you come out best if you can do all your gift shopping at one website on one order. The shipping works out cheaper, too.

One of the BEST days of the year this year to celebrate your wedding anniversary, birthday or engagement is on Sunday 21 June.

Venus (the planet of love and beauty) conjuncts sexy action man Mars in Taurus, which rules the five senses – taste, touch, smell, sight and sound. When these planetary lovers meet up it is a boon for plenty of that lovin’ feeling and you should ah, definitely take the phone off the hook.

The gifts that will be best-received on this day are anything which pleases the senses. 

Take them out to dinner somewhere fancy (this is not the day to worry about counting calories as you should be burning them off soon enough). Play them some romantic music guaranteed to get both of you in the mood. (Barry White works for some people although he make me collapse in a fit of the giggles). Light plenty of flickering candles to add atmosphere. Arrange masses of fragrant seasonal flowers in vases and wear your sexiest perfume/cologne. Wear touch-me textures like velvet, cashmere, satin.  

Oh, and if you’re not in the market for a Mini-me, take extra special care, guys!