The Toys R Us liquidation is still going on, but we’re about to cross a retail point of no return this weekend: Gift cards will only be honored through April 21.

That means if you have unused gift cards for either Toys R Us or Babies R Us, it’s use it or lose it time!

RELATED: 6 things to know about the Babies R Us going out of business sale

This is the final weekend to use Toys R Us gift cards

We’ve known about it for a while, but it’s finally here. You only have until Saturday to redeem any gift cards for the failed toy retailer.

After Saturday, the value will evaporate and you won’t have access to the money anymore.

And per the Toys R Us website, you will not be able to return any card or any unused portion on any card for cash.

Clark Howard: Avoid retail gift cards

This is a prime example of why retail gift cards are dangerous.

So far we’ve had two major liquidation announcements in 2018. You know about Toys R Us, of course. But earlier this week, iconic Midwestern retailer Bon-Ton announced it too will begin liquidating 250+ retail stores shortly.

The retail environment we’re in is a tenuous one as more and more players find they can’t compete with Amazon and are forced to close many of their stores or give up the ghost altogether.

This is exactly why money expert Clark Howard says you should avoid buying retail gift cards — and restaurant gift cards for that matter, too.

If you choose to buy a gift card, you need to so with the full faith that the store is going to be there when you visit it. And that’s an increasingly dicey proposition.

So what’s Clark’s alternative to gift cards? Give cash instead! There’s no expiration date, it never goes out of style and any store will accept it!