<p>I am wondering: If a student receives many monetary gift cards (like Amazon, iTunes, Target, etc.) in December, are those cards, if they are unspent, considered a student asset for the January FAFSA? </p>
<p>Yes, but I doubt many people report them, either for the student or the parent. </p>
<p>oh my goodness, don’t worry about small things.</p>
<p>Some stuff, you just need to let go. We probably all have the equivalent of a few hundred in loose change and scattered bills around the house, but who thinks about cleaning up under the sofa or the car seats at FAFSA time? </p>
<p>There is that gray area. Few kids, if any, report Grandma’s and other relative’s checks on FAFSA and PROFILE, though technically you are supposed to do so. However, if like one board member who is looking to do fundraisers and hit up friends and relatives hard for college money, it crosses the line. What the point is , the line is, I don’t know. A $10K check from grandma as a gift is a flag. $100 definitely not an issue. $1000, ummm, starts getting gray, but still light gray.</p>
<p>Really, after all of the students (and parents) who have come on this forum asking if they really have to declare this, that, or the other valuable asset (or if the student can pretend she lived with unemployed Parent A instead of affluent Parent B, etc., etc.), I think it’s absolutely WONDERFUL that this student asked the question! Whether or not the amount is significant enough to report, the OP’s honesty and integrity count for a lot!</p>
<p>I agree, Dodgersmom.</p>
<p>There are also many collectible items that have value but cannot be reported as assets. I think they only counts cash and investments. Gift cards although have values, they have restrictions on their usage. Unless you can cash them out, I don’t think they can be counted as asset. </p>
<p>I agree, too, Dodgersmom. Thank you for pointing this out.</p>
<p>Thanks. I was thinking that the cards could be saved and used as needed for college expenses, like books, suitcases, etc. </p>