comment: >
  
  I do? But having more money to save up for the things I want that are too expensive to ever expect as a gift is the best gift
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  (For an explanation of what a "showerthought" is, please read this page.)
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  My 90+ year old grandma decided that getting Christmas gifts for everyone was too hard anymore. She decided to start giving gift cards.
  She literally gave me mine and said “Don’t spend it all in one place!”. Couldn’t tell if she was being funny or not. >
  
  I worked as a whitewater rafting guide for awhile and an old, old woman tipped my friend $2 and told him “don’t spend it all in one place” 
  I’ll never forget that 😭 >
  
  I think at some point it lost meaning and people just say it just because. Like "bless you" or "hi" or "give peace a chance". >
  
  Pretty sure the lady was clearly making a joke given the small size of the amount
  Come to think of it I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say that phrase unironically >
  
  Studies show that gift cards are preferred by most. I would imagine a big part of it is that it's guilt-free pass to be "irresponsible" with money. When money was tight  with spouse and I, cash gifts typically went towards bills and groceries, which was still helpful and very much appreciated, but it kinda takes the fun part out of gifting. >
  
  Yeah I logically know cash is better, but know that realistically it will just be put directly in my wallet and then “disappear” into normal household spending.  Which isn’t bad of course, but not quite the intent of a gift. >
  
  My grandmother gives me gifts as a cash/bank tranfer. I usully allocate that for ny next bigger purhace and use it as a upgrade money (like, i was going to use 400 for gpu, i got 200, now i buy 600 gpu) >
  
  This is known as lifestyle creep. >
  
  I had relatives who were suckers for every scam on the planet. When they were particularly short of money, my mother gave them a Walmart gift card because that was likely to be spent on groceries and other necessities. >
  
  Well, it's like money but a little extra thought was put into it.  It's also sort of like a subtle way of telling the person it's okay to get something nice for themselves.  Maybe as a kid it didn't matter, but as an adult, especially with a family, I would probably use the money on my family, pay bills, put it to groceries, etc.  Or just put it in the bank.  I would want to be responsible.
  If it's a gift card for the PlayStation Network, mommy's gettin' a new vidya game!  Just saying. >
  
  My parents consider cash as a Christmas gift to be insulting/impersonal, but they are fine with Visa gift cards.
  So basically they are OK with cash as long as I spend $5 to get it converted to plastic. >
  
  I hate those.  It’s like cash, but way more annoying to spend.  I see the reason behind gift cards, I don’t see the reason behind those cash cards. >
  
  For those of us Outsite the USA we dont have access to services like Privacy so these are useful for websites you dont want to give real credit card info to. >
  
  Well, it's often more thoughtful that just giving money to someone. It shows you know the kind of things they like. >
  
  I prefer cash honestly.  I'm an adult. I already buy everything I want throughout the year. Just give me money to pay my bills so I don't have to is the best gift for me >
  
  Why not use your money to pay the bills?