Last week I shared one strategy for tackling your Christmas/Hanukkah shopping – buy gifts little by little. But let’s be real. Most folks procrastinate until Santa has started his sleigh ride. So here’s another strategy that requires less time.

Buy gift cards at discounted rates online and use them to buy presents later or give the cards as gifts.

There are a handful of reputable sites to buy gift cards from. Each one works a little differently, but the main attraction  is that you can buy gift cards for less than the value on the card and you can sell cards at a loss but get cash in your pocket.

PlasticJungle.com – offers up to 85 percent of the value of cards you are selling and discounts of up to 40 percent on gift cards you are buying. Cha-ching! The site guarantees their cards and has a refund process if something goes wrong.

GiftCardBuyBack.com – lists the percentage payout (based on the card’s value) for all the retailers they want to buy cards from so you can scan quickly for cards you want to unload. Their sister site, GiftCardsAgain.com, sells discounted gift cards.

GiftCardRescue.com – boasts cards for sale at 30 percent off their value and payouts of up to 80 percent of the cards value. They verify the balance on all the cards they sell and the site covers shipping. Nice.

Savvy folks who are loyal to a retailer could save a bundle by purchasing discounted gift cards. Consider this for groceries or movies!