I mentioned a while back that we enjoy gathering up loose change around the Frugal household, and the holidays are a great time to round up coins to put towards a little Christmas shopping. Because I’m lazy, I usually stop by Coinstar and dump my change to cash it in for a small fee.
After that post, Coinstar contacted me to let me know about the eCertificate option offered by Coinstar, and a special promotion running through December 6th that offers $10 to users who redeem $40 worth of change for a retail gift card. Naturally, I took them up on their offer to try out this option – especially when they were nice enough to send me $40 in change to try it out!
I waited for the last-minute shoppers to vacate our local Kroger grocery store and took my change cup with $45.53 in coins to the nearest Coinstar machine. After following the on-screen prompts I dumped in the change and Coinstar generated a receipt including an Amazon.com (the retailer I chose) gift card code.
The only bummer was that I now have to mail off a little rebate receipt to claim my $10 bonus gift card. But hey, it’s worth a little effort to earn a 25% return on my change! If you’re interested in a little Cyber Monday online shopping, now would be a great time to dig through the sofa cushions for extra coins, find the Coinstar nearest you, and cash in!
The Frugal Roundup
Is Coupon Clipping Worth It? Here is an interesting spin on coupon clipping. It really makes you think about clipping coupons online. (@Suns Financial Diary)
Put Your Finances on Cruise Control, But Stay Alert. With all of the talk about automating your personal finances, it’s always a good idea to keep your eye on what’s in front of you. (@Consumerism Commentary)
Banks Can Manipulate Your Transactions, Then Charge You 1750% Overdraft Fee. Ever wonder how they calculate your overdraft fees? (@Wise Bread)
College Students Arrested For Refusing to Pay Tip. What would you do if you had a mandatory 18% gratuity and your server was horrible? (@The Consumerist)
Best of the Rest
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- 5 Reasons Why You Will Retire Broke and Unhappy
- Why I Don’t Buy Digital Media
- How Lease Payments Are Calculated
- Cleaning Out the Garage
- How to Score Big on Cyber Monday
Happy Thanksgiving to all! Don’t overdo the turkey, or the Black Friday shopping.
Photo by Clean Wal-Mart
Thanks for the inclusion! Have a Happy Holiday
I am bit confused by your use of Coinstar machines as they charge a very high % of the money you put in. It would seem to me that Frugal does not rhyme with Coinstar.
This is most certainly helpful. It’s also a great way to get rid of choking hazards.
@Nicolas: That’s just it; if you redeem your coins for a gift card, rather than cash, Coinstar does not charge the 8.9% fee normally assessed when converting to cash.
Wow, it’s normally a 8.9% fee…I never knew all that. I have always seen those machines and while they look fun to play on, I don’t believe I have ever dropped a dime in one. I like the idea, and it works will with people in a hurry.
Thanks for yet another great tip and information frugal dad!
I’ve been trying to take advantage of this Coinstar deal, but so far the machines near me are — I guess — all full, they all say they can’t take my change and to come back later. Hope they get cleaned out before the 12/6 deal deadline
I love trading in my change for amazon.com ecerts (and no fee)!!
I love these coin machines. Well, not all of them. Most charge a fee. The one at my credit union doesn’t charge a fee and couldn’t be more convenient.
My credit union has a coin machine in the lobby that works like Coinstar. Two differences:
1) It gives a slip of paper and you take it to the teller to get your cash (or deposit in your account).
2) It DOES NOT charge you a fee.
Wow, amazing. Over here in Europe there’s such a shortage of Euro coins that any small shopkeeper gets happy when you walk in and pay stuff with coins. I never knew these machines existed. And, I agree with Nicolas, that getting charged for exchanging your coins doesn’t seem frugal to me. Except, off course, when there’s the bonus like you point out.