Amber in SJ Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I thought I would share this tip because I was surprised at how many ladies at park day didn't know it. You know the Coinstar machine at the grocery store? The big green coin counter machine that no one ever uses because if you want cash it takes 10%? Well, that machine gives gift cards for the full value of your change, no fee or service charge. Gift cards like itunes, Lowes, Home Depot, and most importantly Amazon. My bank no longer accepts pennies, even if you roll them. I have declared that all change that comes into the house belongs to me. All change I find in the laundry belongs to me. It goes into a change jar until the jar is full & away to the coinstar it goes. This is how I feed my Kindle without impacting the household budget. I have also given itunes gift cards from the coinstar as b-day presents. Because it only gives a slip of paper I limit the gift giving to people who know & understand my frugality. That is my weird frugal tip for the day. What is yours? Amber in SJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 https://www.coinstar.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I love that aspect, although not all coinstar machines give gift cards. The ones in Walmarts do not. You can check the link above to see which stores do. It was really nice where we used to live, the machine was right down the street. I'd save all my change. Also you don't have to use just change, you can buy them with paper bills as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle in MO Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Except they don't give generic gift cards or cards to grocery stores, gas stations, or any other really useful place :glare: Not to be argumentative, but I saw a number of grocery stores listed. Not ones where I shop, but they do offer some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in SJ Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Are you saying Amazon is not useful?!!?!? :eek: I am shocked! Shocked, I tell you. You can even get groceries there. Particularly nice is being able to get specialty items like GF items. Amber in SJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amey311 Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I wonder if you could use the paper slip to pay for plastic gift cards? For example, if they do slips for Starbucks, could you then take that slip to Starbucks and use it to pay for a GC? Then you could still end up wiht GCs for B&M places. https://coinstar.com/freecoincounting.aspx - this talks about "coin to card" - do you have to have the GC to start with? Because I might be VERY interested in this for starbucks (as much as I should avoid them.... sometimes it's lovely having some chai after a big shopping adventure). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Except they don't give generic gift cards or cards to grocery stores, gas stations, or any other really useful place :glare: All depends on what you like.... I love Amazon and many of the restaurant choices. I go about twice a year and end up with $75-100 each time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I wonder if you could use the paper slip to pay for plastic gift cards? For example, if they do slips for Starbucks, could you then take that slip to Starbucks and use it to pay for a GC? Then you could still end up wiht GCs for B&M places. https://coinstar.com/freecoincounting.aspx - this talks about "coin to card" - do you have to have the GC to start with? Because I might be VERY interested in this for starbucks (as much as I should avoid them.... sometimes it's lovely having some chai after a big shopping adventure). It gives you a slip. You go online, enter the info from the slip and then it prints the gift card. The slip from the machine is not the gift card you take in to the store/restaurant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in SJ Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 I know you can use your Coinstar slip at B&M stores like Old Navy, Gap, and CVS. Amber in SJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I know you can use your Coinstar slip at B&M stores like Old Navy, Gap, and CVS. Amber in SJ Maybe the machines vary regionally. The one I go to explicitly states that the slip that comes out of the machine is NOT the actual gift card, will not be accepted in stores and that you must go online to print the actual gift card slip. The exception is for online stores, for which it gives you the gift card code to use at that store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I'm so glad our credit union now has one of these coin sorting machines. They give members the full amount in cash. I save up the change all year and use it for Christmas shopping. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kim.4dogs Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Thanks! I didn't know that. Now I've got some change to turn into an Amazon gift card! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Our bank has a counting machine and they don't take any off the top. They actually DON'T want change rolled. Ours too. In fact, when I went to set up my kids savings accounts, I specifically looked for a CU that had a change machine for members. My kids CU is different from mine due to it, but it makes things easier in the long run. For many years, all of the household change went into the kids accounts. For any excess change that is mine (ie after a garage sale), I use the machine to count the change, deposit it into one of the kids accounts and then withdraw it. Our CUs both allow shared branching so I can conduct all of our business at one location. I didn't for see it when I set up my son's account 10 years ago, but this is also the credit union that is at the community college. The transition from child to adult was seamless and he could easily access his account on campus for meals and expenses. I only throw this out there so that if you have more than one option for kids accounts, one factor to consider is convenience when they are young adults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindergretta Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Cool! Our credit union is a "no cash" credit union. We have no tellers. ALL transactions go through the ATM machine so coins are a bust without a Coinstar! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Thank you! I had no idea! I just checked and they have a gift card for Starbucks at my machine. I'm very excited about that. Although the responsible thing to do is get an Amazon one for Christmas gifts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I had no idea about any of this! I left my stupid bank when they started charging fees, and they had a coin machine without fees for account holders. I had my husband empty all the coin jars about a week before we closed our account, but now I am starting to need a coin machine. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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