*This is a sponsored post with CoinStar. All my opinions are my own and not swayed by outside sources*
When the holidays roll around, money gets tight. Every little bit helps when you’ve got a shopping list a mile long, but you’ve only got half a mile of budget. We’re always looking for ways to stretch our budgets, and loose change is a great option. Surprised? You shouldn’t be! Haven’t you ever wondered just how much money is in that change jar on the dresser? I did, and I was amazed.
Loose Change Makes a Difference
It might sound crazy, but all the loose change floating around our homes can actually make a difference to our holiday bottom line. Last year, Coinstar conducted a survey asking Americans how much change they thought they had. The average answer was $26.00. In reality, the average no-fee eCertificate transaction at Coinstar kiosks was $56.00. That’s more than double what the surveyed people estimated. $56.00 is another present crossed of the list!
What Can You Really do with Loose Change
You can do a lot with your loose change, actually. Everyone knows that you can redeem your change for cash at Coinstar kiosks, but did you know that change can also be used for eCertificates and gift cards for stores like Amazon, Old Navy, Toys”R”Us, and more? Yep, you can. Remember that $56.00 present I mentioned earlier? Well, it’s not just a present! It’s a toy or shoes or a zillion other things. That’s a winner in my book.
When I found out about this, I immediately started scouring the house for loose change. I was amazed at just how much I found. Between our couch cushions, under the bed, our pockets, and a few other interesting places, I found enough loose change to walk away from our local Coinstar kiosk with a nice gift card to Starbucks for a family friend. She’ll be set for delicious coffee for about three months. Thank you, Coinstar. Seriously, thank you. That’s one awesome present off the list that I got from couch change!
Lose the Loose Change and Find a Gift Instead
Start looking around your house for loose change. You’ll be amazed at how much you’ve got stashed away, and you don’t even know it. You never know, you might end up scoring a gift for one or two people on your holiday shopping list. And really, how much is that loose change helping you sitting at the bottom of your couch? Couches aren’t vending machines – even if they do have almost as much change!
Visit your local CoinStar to cash out for dollar money or gift cards today!
Oh my goodness, these Coin Star machines make my son so happy. He saves and saves and saves his change and then changes them into bills. I think he loves using the machine as much as he does getting the dollar bills back. 🙂
We always have loose change lying around. The last time we got it all together, there was over $300. We ended up taking it on vacation with us. … Not the change but after we cashed it in.
Ah, I’ve done that before and for some reason, I found it so much fun!
Oh how fun to turn in your change for a gift card that you will use! Nice!
My kids do this. I let them save up all the coins they find or earn, its a great way to teach them how to save.
Oh my goodness I love this idea!!
I never carry cash anymore, so I don’t have change, but I used to use these machines all the time. It is amazing how quickly you can save up a bundle of money in change.
It’s really true, coins add up fast! What a perfect gift!
I love this. One of my favorite money saving tips is to save all the coins and pay in dollars. All of my boys have jars of change in their room.
I haven’t used coin-star in so long! I had no idea you could get gift cards now- I’ll be using change to finish up my holiday shopping!
I always look at these machines and think that I really need to try them, thanks for inspiring me to. Going to gather up our loose change to take with us shopping tomorrow. The extra cash will be a sweet bonus, for sure!
You don’t realize how much all that loose change is until you drop it into a CoinStar machine!
That machine is awesome. I love watching my change get tallied up. Love the gift card option.
I use Coinstar every few months to cash in the change from my piggy bank. I’ll probably use the change this time around to get a couple gift cards for my kids through Coinstar.