Shh! It’s a secret. This weekend I bought my sister’s birthday gift and scored a nice deal. I received an email with a 40% off coupon from the GAP. There was a caveat. The coupon indicated I had to use my GAP card. I’ve been trying to lay off the plastic especially my retail credit cards so I wasn’t very happy about it. Oh, what the heck!

I headed to the store with my card and began browsing when a sales associate approached me.

“Do you need help finding something?”

“Um, just browsing for now. Thanks.”

“Ok, let me know if I can help with anything.”

I’m one of those people that don’t like pushy sales associates that follow you around so I walked in the other direction. She wasn’t overbearing, but better safe than sorry. Then it hit me.

“Excuse me, I have this coupon that says I have to charge my purchase.”

I was tempted to lie and say I forgot the card. Then I remembered they can still charge your card as long as you show them your ID. Darn!

“I really don’t want to put this on my card. I rather pay with debit to avoid forgetting about it and paying more later.”

“Ugh, that’s happened to me before. Don’t worry. Just look for me when you’re done.”

Once I found a cute outfit, I looked for the associate. She charged my debit card and I saved $37.16! She told me that most of the time, if you just ask, they can still give you the discount even if the coupon states you have to charge it on their credit card. That’s great news!

I haven’t used my retail credit cards in about six months. When I did swipe them, I made sure to pay the bill in full. As you may recall, I’m no stranger to getting in trouble when making purchases with plastic. Remember how my coffee addiction ended up costing me more than a few pounds?

As my monthly income continues to fluctuate greatly, my preemptive strike was to cut use completely till it steadies. I’m glad the sales associate helped me stay on track. Needless to say, I came out a satisfied customer. Have you given up credit cards? How hard was it?