I redeemed points from my Citi ThankYou card that had the offer of 50,000 points ($500) if you spend $2500. Since I did have to spend $2500 to get there, I was actually able to redeem $525 of Amazon bucks.

We now have $1336 in our Amazon account. We also have another $525 coming from NT's Citi ThankYou card as soon as his statement posts (should be this week). So that will bring our Amazon balance up to $1861.

My dream was to have our Amazon bucks be available for all of 2012 for any unexpected wants or needs that couldn't easily be covered by anything else. (If we do end up using these credits to purchase the stroller, I plan on saving up the same amount in cash to have as our household reserve instead.)

However, we've already spent $1064 in Amazon gift card money in three months. So do I really think $1861 will satisfy my household for the next NINE months? Doubtful. I think having the balance there is too much of a temptation to find reasons to spend it. But maybe when it starts to run low, we'll find ways to economize so we don't run out in June. One thing's for sure, when this balance is gone, the CFO (that's me) is going to start casting a much more critical eye on any new purchase requests.