After (almost) a full year of working from home, I can finally admit I have an Amazon shopping addiction. What’s there not to love? I can find something amazing, purchase it without waiting in line or even whipping out my credit card, AND have it delivered that same day! That’s the closest thing we have to magic!

As I looked back on my credit card statements from 2020, I ordered from Amazon almost every day. Of course, I didn’t need a credit card statement to tell me that because I receive a package on my front porch consistently!  All in all, little purchases here and there don’t seem like a big deal, until you add them all together and you see the amount you could have saved throughout the year!

I knew I needed a solution, and since I know myself, I know that I’m not good with self control: If I know there is pie in the fridge, I’m not going to save it for later, I’m going to eat when I want because I’m a grown up! 🙂 So I needed a way to literally set a limit on my credit card specifically for Amazon purchases. I don’t get why credit card companies aren’t advanced enough to let me determine a personal limit for individual stores … but this does not exist. As my husband and I were brainstorming ideas to develop a personal credit limit, we forgot about the first cards we were given as kids: gift cards. I remember for multiple Christmases, as a teenager, just asking for gift cards. I got all the freedom of going to mall with my friends, while also sticking to a limit. This entire concept is exactly what I wanted. I wanted a way to say “you can only spend $200 and once you spend that amount, I’m not letting you charge any more”.

With Amazon Reload, you can do just that ! Every month, I can reload my gift card that’s linked to my Amazon account. For 2021, this is what I’m trying .. if my savings account doesn’t double over night, then it’ll all be for nothing.

The process is very simple, and even more simple if you choose to auto reload your gift card balance. Under Payments, you can add a gift card or balance through ‘Manage gift card balance’.

From there you can either select a one-time load or an auto-reload. I will be auto reloading  every month !

the real goal is for my house not look like this: