Discover Credit Cards in Cereal Boxes?

When I went to recycle an old box of Honey Nut Cheerios last night a small silver package fell out of the container.  Now I’m sure my wife would have just thrown it away without opening it but I’m a sucker for free stuff (even if it’s a toy in a box of cereal) so I peeled open the plastic.  I was certainly surprised to see what was what looked to be a Discover credit card! 

I flipped the card over and read the back; turns out it’s a cash card, ours is loaded with $5.  I went to the website listed on the back and typed in my card number and special code to activate it.  According to the instructions, it can be used anywhere Discover is accepted.   It says to have the cashier ring up the card as credit, not debit. Apparently one in 10 boxes of certain General Mills cereal has one of the “prizes inside” and the amounts range from $5, $10, $20, $25.

I’ve never gotten a credit card in a box of cereal before, I’m used to seeing cheapy little toys that end up getting stuck in the vaccuum cleaner, so this was a cool surprise.  It’s only $5 but it’s enough to buy another two boxes of cereal : )

Have a good weekend, here are some money articles you might want to check out:

• Frugal Dad has some car maintenance tips
• Lazy Man’s wife shares a sad story about her parents
• Generation X takes a reader question about credit as an emergency fund
• The Digerati Life looks at a sane way to plan a wedding
• Million Dollar Journey has some tips on simplifying budgeting
• Brip Blap ponders financial behavior
• Suns Financial Diary takes a look at credit reports
• My Dollar Plan says goodbye to Microsoft Money

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

All posts by Ben Edwards