What do you do with your coin money?
@happythoughts (4109)
United States
April 21, 2017 3:07pm CST
We have a jar full of coins. When we have coins in our pockets we place them in this jar to build up. Now we have a heavy jar and no idea what to do with it. The local bank to me wants to charge us 5% to count it for us. I dont want to pay 5% of the money to have it counted. I was thinking that there has to be a better way.
What do you do with your change?
6 people like this
8 responses
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
21 Apr 17
I save it for the people who don´t have very much money and food mainly as they don´t much care for loose coins in the Supermarkets here.
All the rest I save but it takes me a long time for that to build up.
3 people like this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
24 Apr 17
I have this dream of one day being 100% debt free. I hope that if I count all those pennies one day they will build up to help me.
1 person likes this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
25 Apr 17
@happythoughts
Hope that dream comes true then.
Hold on to it tight and its sure to come about and you will be debt free.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
21 Apr 17
I belong to a credit union that has a machine on the premises that can be used for free by members. Every few months I take my coins, the machine counts them, and I take the slip to the teller. Rather than cash it I deposit it in my savings. This is one way I save. I pretend I don't have those coins and when I turn them in I put it right into savings. My DIL does the same but puts hers into her daughter's savings account. In one year, my little granddaughter has accumulated $233 in her savings account just from everyone's coins!
2 people like this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
24 Apr 17
Its amazing how fast the coins add up to something isn't it? We use them when we go places we know we will need snacks from vending machines but they aren't around much anymore. Even some of those take cards now. I think next time I go see my family I will tote my coin jar to the bank that will count my coins for free.
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (41392)
• United States
21 Apr 17
Our credit union in NC doesn't charge us to use the sorter. We save our coins also and last year used them for a fund raiser at church, Rise Against Hunger.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
24 Apr 17
I remember the firemen holding out a boot for change once. Smart to use it for a fundraiser.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14761)
• San Jose, California
21 Apr 17
Is there a Coinstar machine in your area? We take our jars of change to those and dump it in. If you want cash back for your coins, there's a fee (probably about the same as what your bank wanted to charge), but if you trade the coins in for a gift card, there's no fee. I sometimes trade in our coins for Starbucks gift cards or Amazon gift cards.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
21 Apr 17
Ill have to look into that. I am saving my amazon dollars for an Instant Pot. I keep hearing everyone talk about how awesome they are but I dont want to spend my food budget on it so Im trying to earn it with points or gift certificates. Id think we could get a nice gift card with our jar full of coins. Great Idea. Thank you.
@spiderdust (14761)
• San Jose, California
21 Apr 17
@happythoughts I'm not sure where you are in the US, but here's the webpage where you can find a CoinStar kiosk near you.
MyCoinstar Sign In | Sign Up Toggle navigation Menu Find a Kiosk Enter your location in the box below. Error: Check box next to kiosk(s) to continue. Error: Enter a location to continue search. Search Get cash for your coins, choose a NO FEE eGift Card opt
1 person likes this
@CaseyRoss9966 (4056)
• United States
22 Apr 17
My boyfriend and I are saving up our loose change in an old jug jar right now as well. We are planning on either filling it up or just seeing how far we can get it filled up before we go to the beach in July. We are going to turn it in at the bank before we go to the beach to see how much we have and add it to our spending money for the beach. My bank doesn't charge use to use their coin machine but the ones in the grocery store charge once it gets to a certain amount. Last year I filled up my little piggy bank and was shocked to learn that it can hold over $30 worth of coins since it isn't very big.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
24 Apr 17
$30 can be a fun night out if you do it on a budget. I love to see all those coins add up to something fun.
1 person likes this
@CaseyRoss9966 (4056)
• United States
26 Apr 17
@happythoughts I trying to add all my extra money to my savings account since I am graduating college next May and I would like to have a good amount saved up before then.
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
24 Apr 17
I quit bringing my coin purse around when I was trying to cut back on the weight of my purse. I think if I carried it more I would use exact change more and save me some of the dollars. Great idea.
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
21 Apr 17
The bank near us does that as well. They just want to charge a 5% fee (if I qualify or 10% if I dont). I was hoping there was a way to keep all the money we have saved up.
@MALUSE (69373)
• Germany
21 Apr 17
@happythoughts I've never heard about this. I think they should do this without charging anything as a service for the customers. I'd inform myself if all banks do this. You can go to a different bank, can't you?
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
21 Apr 17
@MALUSE I am very limited to the bank I can go to. Our home bank is ten hours away in the state we moved from a year ago. They will do our coins for free but that is a long drive for coin changing. We are only here in this home temporarily. We have been here a year and will be home in under a year. We can only use banks that have shared banking agreements with our home bank. Really I am blessed that there is shared banking at all, but the coins have been a challenge. Id love to teach my kids to save more.
