Got gift cards? Don’t forget to use them! Branded gift cards — sometimes for a retailer or restaurant, sometimes for a payment-processing service such as Mastercard — are among the most popular choices for gift-giving, but financial monitoring organizations have found that billions of dollars of value go unused each year.

It’s best to think of a gift card as money — safeguard it, make a plan for it and use it. Gift cards can expire, if the date is clearly shown: within two years for paper gift certificates and five years for an electronic gift via email, QR code or plastic card. The Star-Advertiser’s Kokua Line has more at 808ne.ws/GiftCardKokua.