My husband won't spend change, so we wind up with piles of change on his dresser. Every so often, I'll gather it up and put it in paper rolls to take to the bank, or I'll take it to Coinstar in our grocery store.
Putting coin rolls in the driveup at the bank is a hassle, because you can only send one or two rolls at a time. Coinstar, if I got a coupon to use when grocery shopping, was charging me anywhere from 7 cents to 10 cents per dollar to cash in coins.
Then I found that I can turn the coins (through Coinstar) into an Amazon e-coupon, for free. We use Amazon just about weekly, for everything from computer supplies to pet food to clothes and shoes. I cash in the coins and then add the code to my Amazon account.
Source: Coinstar machine
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My husband use to put his loose change in containers when he got home from work. After he passed, I found the Amazon ecard was the best way to use the money.
In Walmart as well as some grocery chains if u use coin star and get a voucher from the machine u can use it as cash (no service fee)at the register
Unfortunately, our local Kroger, where I do most of my grocery shopping, is now charging something like 10 cents per dollar to use the Coinstar. Since there's just the two of us, I seldom go to the big-box stores anymore.
We do this also! It must be in the hubby job description to leave coins piled up!! Yikes! That makes me wonkier than I already am as he works hard for those coins and yet they are all over the table or dresser--OY!!! It must be a guy thing!
I wrap the quarters and dimes because they add up, and they go right into the bank to pay bills. Nickels and pennies don't add up as fast to wrap and take longer for me to wrap, so we use the CoinStar.
Our local Giant Eagle has one and last we used it, you could still get Lowes Home Store or Starbucks gift cards for no counting cost.
First choice is if we need something at Lowes and know it is the best price, we use that route and use the card the same day (it is right over the hill from the Giant Eagle).
If we have a time when we don't need anything for our old house (rare, but occasionally), then we will get the Starbucks Card. We have found this makes for a lovely date day that doesn't cost a lot. The Giant Eagle even has a nice Starbucks in it so we can go from Coinstar to coffee in about 100 paces.
We can enjoy a special coffee out which is a VERY rare treat these days, we people watch, read the paper for free (someone always leaves at least one on a table), sometimes we can read a new magazine the same way. If we are there long enough, we sometimes tap into the stores' free wi-fi and catch up on our social media and look for coupons if the Eagle has any for a quick grocery run.
This makes for a thrifty date...an easy way to get a treat without the hit to the budget. We usually average $15 in coin, which if we just do small coffee, can get us two dates from one card!
I think it is a "guy thing." He used to make fun of me for digging for exact change instead of just handing bills to the cashier, and, of course, getting more change in the process. I told him it made my purse lighter, getting rid of heavy coins.
Now, I use my debit card for just about everything and seldom use cash at all. He'll go through the drive-in for fast food and ignore all the change he's got piled up in his console. If I'm with him, I'll have the exact change ready by the time we get to the window.
And don't get me started on reusable bags for the grocery store. I carry a bunch with me every time, while he comes in with (aaagh!) more plastic. Which I collect and take back to be recycled.
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