Lost money: $41 billion in gift cards haven't been redeemed since 2005

But let’s say it’s a card you don’t think you’ll ever use.

Forbes says one way to get around the problem is by reselling. Plastic Jungle, it reports, is among the online outfits that will pay 80 percent or more of many cards’ face values.

The Journal points to that site two others that buy cards: GiftCardRescue.com and CardPool.com.

Or, says MarketWatch.com’s Consumer Confidential column, there’s also a way to invest the money on a card: “GoalMine.com is an investment site that allows you to invest in a mutual fund for as little as $25 (the total expense ratios for the funds you can purchase through GoalMine currently are about 1.12% to 1.4%). Through January you can trade the market value of a gift card, as determined by its partner PlasticJungle, to your GoalMine account. As a bonus, GoalMine will redeem your first gift card for 150% of its value, which is applied to a GoalMine mutual fund or savings account.”