What would you do with a $600 Amazon Gift Card?

[sparky28]

After spending a few months in hotels, I redeemed Sheraton points for a $600 Amazon gift card. What would you use it for?

Possbilities:

Buy things that can are truly useful, like a slow-cooker (already have) that continue my plans of mustachian-ness.

Buy things with the intention of resaling. I haven't done this before succesfully, and sourcing from Amazon seems like a much harder source rather than flea markets, etc.

Buy things that will supplement or start some fun hobby. The vast majority of my current hobbies/routines are based around not needing a lot of equipment (reading, biking, etc.) so I feel hesitant to spend on something new. But if it's a fun idea, I want to hear!

Limitations:

• Can't buy gift cards with gift cards. Also don't want to go through the hassle of converting it to cash.
  
• I have a truly tiny apartment (<200), so anything like weightlifting equipment,  while being helpful, wouldn't fit or be appreciated by downstairs neighbors. That's what the gym and sidewalks are for. Then again, it also cuts down on any knack-knack accumulation.

Thanks in advance. And yes, I realize this the best 'problem' to have.

[I'm a red panda]

Add it to my amazon account and then just use it as things I need/want pop up.

I wouldn't go out of my way to spend it when I got it.

Something I buy from amazon:
Soap
Toilet Cleaner
Kindle Books
MP3s
Salty/Sweet mixed snack packs
Random things I think "you know what we need..." and then they have it.

[iknowiyam]

Buy a Kindle and then you can use more money to buy books for your Kindle. (I love my Kindle). This would be a mostly clutter-free solution. Also, you can buy grocery/food items on Amazon.

[Dicey]

Add it to my amazon account and then just use it as things I need/want pop up.
I wouldn't go out of my way to spend it when I got it.

I like the above, but why not take it a step further? What if you decided to live on this card for as long as possible and bank the savings? You can buy almost anything, including food, on Amazon, so why not challenge yourself to make it last as long as possible? Other than fixed costs, determine to spend nothing anywhere else but on that gift card and then look for every way possible to stretch it. Since it's for a fairly fixed period of time, you won't feel too deprived. Make a game of it and you might be surprised how much extra cash you wind up with. Could be a fun way to maximize the $600.

[kpd905]

I've been getting anywhere from $50-200 a month from Swagbucks and Perk TV for about a year.  A lot of it has gone to camping and backpacking gear.

[RunHappy]

Add it to my amazon account and then just use it as things I need/want pop up.
I wouldn't go out of my way to spend it when I got it.

I like the above, but why not take it a step further? What if you decided to live on this card for as long as possible and bank the savings? You can buy almost anything, including food, on Amazon, so why not challenge yourself to make it last as long as possible? Other than fixed costs, determine to spend nothing anywhere else but on that gift card and then look for every way possible to stretch it. Since it's for a fairly fixed period of time, you won't feel too deprived. Make a game of it and you might be surprised how much extra cash you wind up with. Could be a fun way to maximize the $600.

+100

Love this idea and blog about it!

[dragoncar]

Three of these so I can swim like scrooge mcduck:

http://www.amazon.com/Dehydrated-Marshmallows-Assorted-40lb-Case/dp/B008DJR6HU

[dudde_devaru]

Talk to friends. Find out if they are gonna buy anything in AtoZ. Ask them to use your gift card and pay the $$$ back to you in a month like they pay for credit cards!

[surfhb]

Sell it online and put it in my ROTH account.   

It not a hassle at all....people buy em up like hot cakes and you get your cash right away. 

[I'm a red panda]

I've been getting anywhere from $50-200 a month from Swagbucks and Perk TV for about a year.  A lot of it has gone to camping and backpacking gear.

I always get an Amazon card for my discounted card; but once I have to pay "full price" I just get paypal- then it gets deposited into my bank account.

[okits]

Three of these so I can swim like scrooge mcduck:

http://www.amazon.com/Dehydrated-Marshmallows-Assorted-40lb-Case/dp/B008DJR6HU

When I was a kid it was my dream to be able to buy these (without the pesky cereal bits!)

I see you can finance your purchase over $149 is you use an Amazon credit card.  Imagine, "I have 12 more marshmallow payments to go."

On topic: if you won't try to sell it, use it to buy necessities you would have gotten anyway (not dehydrated marshmallows), and gifts for friends and family when special occasions roll around.  I assume the gift card won't expire so no rush.

[kpd905]

I always get an Amazon card for my discounted card; but once I have to pay "full price" I just get paypal- then it gets deposited into my bank account.

Same here for Swagbucks.  It was a lot of Perk money for a while though.  I just sent all my Perk phones in for $600 Verizon credit, so no more of that.

[StockBeard]

Add it to my amazon account and then just use it as things I need/want pop up.

This.
I shop often enough on Amazon that it would go pretty quickly anyway. I wouldn't "look" for something specific to buy

[Rural]

I've been sitting on $500 at Amazon for a couple of months now. I dumped the credit into my account, and it doesn't expire, so I'll use some of it for my Christmas shopping. Some of it is buying textbooks since my husband is going back to school, but if he weren't, I'd just save some for next christmas, too. Oh, and I bought some wool socks since I've been looking for good ones locally for years without success.

[Thegoblinchief]

I know you said no weightlifting, but kettlebells are small and most gyms around my way don't even have them.

But if there's nothing absolutely you want, bank it for now until you do have a want.

[MrsPfennig]

I get diapers, wipes, and dog food automatically delivered once a month (cheaper than the store prices). Maybe get a subscription for some household items?

[Easy Does It FI]

Just don't let it inflate your expenses. If those investments are lucrativ/worthwhile, why haven't you already spent your own money to do them?

[Sam E]

I would just sell the gift card and invest the earnings.

[banjarian]

+1 to everyone just using it for essentials. I buy a lot of my essentials on Amazon; it's often cheaper anyway, and saves me a trip to the store. Spend more than $35 on items that are Prime-eligible, and you get free shipping, anyway.

[sparky28]

Thank you all for the responses.

I flirted with the idea from Diane C of trying to make it a fun challenge of seeing how long I could live off of it (minus fixed costs). My main holdup of this is with food - Amazon doesn't really sell anything fresh, and most of what they have is more expensive than a standard grocery stores.

For those recommending buying essentials, what kind of essentials do you mean? I'm already stocked on anything toiletries-related for at least the next 6 months. No pets, so dog food would be odd haha.

I could cash it out and invest, but since this is 'free' money that I haven't factored into any budget, I'm looking to buy something that could further enrich my life that I haven't considered before. Hence, my consideration of trying to turn this opportunity into a side-gig of flipping or starting up a new hobby or something.

[NewReality]

I was gonna say something boring like, "whatever necessities I would normally buy that are attractively priced"...

but then I realized I could get 4 of these! --> http://www.amazon.com/Giant-26-Pound-Gummy-Party-Python/dp/B00LT3L7AO/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1433952971&sr=1-1&keywords=gummy+worms

[banjarian]

Thank you all for the responses.

I flirted with the idea from Diane C of trying to make it a fun challenge of seeing how long I could live off of it (minus fixed costs). My main holdup of this is with food - Amazon doesn't really sell anything fresh, and most of what they have is more expensive than a standard grocery stores.

For those recommending buying essentials, what kind of essentials do you mean? I'm already stocked on anything toiletries-related for at least the next 6 months. No pets, so dog food would be odd haha.

I could cash it out and invest, but since this is 'free' money that I haven't factored into any budget, I'm looking to buy something that could further enrich my life that I haven't considered before. Hence, my consideration of trying to turn this opportunity into a side-gig of flipping or starting up a new hobby or something.

Okay, okay, if you don't want to spend it all on a few years' worth of dish detergent and shampoo, fine, I'll bite.

If I had $600 to spend on a new hobby, I would get myself a nice entry-level DSLR camera. I don't know if you like photography currently, but I've found lots of opportunities to help out friends & family with good photographs - helping them promote their own hobbies (bands, crafts, whatever), celebrate events (amateur wedding photography!) and things like that. Theoretically you could grow into making a bit of money with it, but you'd probably have to spend a lot more on equipment before you could really start charging people for it. But photography is a great skill to have and can be a lot of fun. And if it's digital - you're not paying for prints or anything like that.