* Coinstar sent me an ambassador package and compensated me for sharing information. While this is a sponsored post, all opinions expressed are my own.
Luv has an eye for coins. I suspect she was a pirate in a past life. She’ll find coins in the MOST random of places, too. Beneath our mailbox outside. In the entry coat closet inside a boot. In her pocket {which she found on the sidewalk on a walk and forgot about entirely}. And when The Mister is treating her to one of his magic tricks, he finds a coin or two behind her ear. Ha!
Top places where people find loose change around the house: Purses and Bags (59%), Car Cup Holders (53%), Couches (30%), and Closet Floors (19%).
The other night, we had some fun. While she was reading in the office, I laid a trail of coins for her to follow, leading to her treasure box that was filled with even more coins!
After she gleefully gathered the loot, we set it aside to take to our local Coinstar.
Did you know there are more than 20 thousand Coinstar kiosks throughout the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Ireland, and the UK – and they have counted more than 440 billion coins? If you live here in the US, chances are you live within 5 miles of a kiosk! The best part is having convenient options when deciding what to do with all your coins:
* Get Cash: Simply select the Get Cash Button on the screen and take the printed receipt to the checkout stand inside the store and trade it in for cash. Often times, this is how I paid for my groceries when I served tables in a restaurant. A store near the restaurant had a Coinstar kiosk, I’d empty my Crown Royal bag {that’s what I carried my change in} and do my grocery shopping while I was there. It came in handy for all that change I had! I loved that I didn’t have to roll the change or annoy our bartender and cash it all in at the end of my shift.
* eCertificates: When you select eCertificate you can choose from a number of popular retailers – without fees! Amazon, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Nike, Gap, Toys”R”Us, and more!
* Prepaid Cards: Green Dot Visa or Mastercard users can load their coins {and cash} onto their prepaid cards with ease.
* PayPal: Yes! love this option because I use Paypal for the vast majority of my online purchases. You can add either cash or coins to your PayPal account immediately at the Coinstar kiosk. So simple.
* Coins that Count: Coinstar has partnered with more than 14 nonprofit organizations across the nation, allowing you to donate loose change to worthy charities.
Stretching Holiday Budgets
This time of year, many families feel a pinch. Add in extra travel expenses {even just filling the tank for shopping}, any gifts you may be buying, parties you’re hosting, on top of the normal monthly expenses…
Americans estimate they have a little more than $26 in spare change, but according to Coinstar’s nationwide kiosk data, the average amount that customers convert to a no fee eCertifcate and/or gift card is $56.
If you have even below the average amount of change – think of what you could do with it. Buy some groceries, buy eCertificates for those “whoops” presents {you know, for the people you forgot to buy for}, add the change to your PayPal and buy gifts on Etsy. This is precisely how Coinstar can help stretch your holiday budget this year.
I’ll assume many of you are WAY ahead of the game and already have your shopping done. *wink* In that case you can always send your child{ren} on a coin hunt like we did! See how many coins can be found and donate the change at your local Coinstar kiosk. Even better, let your child choose what organization to donate to! It may seem like not much, but…
Ever Penny Counts.
Luv isn’t old enough to visit one of our local soup kitchens yet, but every year we give back as much as we can – either with monetary donations or food drive donations. Since we aren’t exchanging gifts this year, we’ve talked about charity and giving quite a bit already. When we asked Luv what she’d like to do with her coins, she read the options on the screen aloud. As soon as she saw she could donate her coins to charity, her mind was made up.
She selected Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals which raises funs for children’s hospitals and keeps funds in the community in which they were raised.
Did you know?
* 62 children enter a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital for treatment every minute.
* 1 in 10 kids in North America is treated by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals each year.
* In 2012, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals raised more than $300 million for local children’s hospitals.
I think she chose wisely.
To find out more about Coinstar and begin stretching holiday budgets, connect with Coinstar on Facebook or Twitter. Be sure to let us know if you donate the coins your child found! We would love to know which organization your child chose!
Yona
Awe, what a sweet lil’ girl to donate her change.
I’ve seen these Coinstars before, but never tried it before.
Scratch that…my sweetie did once and I was standing there watching.
It does come in helpful for getting quick cash with all the change you’ve collected over the years.
Erin
Thank you, Yona! Yes Coinstar is a huge time saver!
Alicia K
i didn’t know they had a paypal option!! how convenient!!
Julie Wood
I had a lot of change and I needed to do something with it instead of rolling them up and taking to the bank. And I remembered that Coinstar was at our regular grocery store, and I took all the change and it was so great to get money back. Coinstar is a no hassle way to get rid of all that change!
Anne
We’ve used Coinstar to convert change to Amazon certificates, which are always useful. Your little girl was very selfless to donate her change. Good for her–and good for you, too.
Erin
Aw, thank you Anne!
Laura F.
I love the Amazon e-cert option. That’s what I always get.
mrsshukra
This is the first time I am learning about Coinstar, thanks!
judy gardner
youre little girl is very sweet and generous! i have used coinstar and it does help out!
Tim Bowers
Coinstar is so convenient, I’ve used it many times, and although it does take a percentage it’s worth saving time for!
Seth
I love taking my spare change to Coinstar, especially when it builds up in my car. I never redeem for anything that takes a fee, though. It’s just throwing money away.
Robin Wilson
I have used it in the past. It is a great way to handle all that spare change that goes into the change jar. Has come in hand a few times too!
Sarah L
I haven’t emptied my big piggy bank in quite a while. I’ll go and change them into Amazon GCs. Thanks for the reminder.
Lily Kwan
I didn’t know Coinstar had kiosks outside of the United States. Thanks for the interesting and informative article!
Dana Rodriguez
My fiance is always tossing change everywhere.We took a bag to Coinstar and took home $300!
Karin Shaim
What a great idea,
rebeka deleon
when we do save enough change, we always bring it to coin star. it is so convenient and easy. and it gives that extra money when you need it.
vickie couturier
my kids use this,but Ive never have ,my bank will do it for free,but you do have to wait a bit there,,interesting ,a lot I didn’t know about coinstar
Janet W.
I love that you can choose a charity at the kiosk! What a great way to give back!
Holly Thomas
I bought my Nikon Camera from Amazon buy using Coinstar.
Lisa Brown
i am familiar with these coin machines but i did not know all the services they provide…nice post and helpful.
sky
Wow! I have always thought that a Coinstar was just a place to change your change. I had no idea that there were other options as well. I love the donating feature!
Judy
I love coinstar! It is such a time saver and has great options to convert your spare change to.
Julie Wood
Coinstar is a great place to get extra money with my unwanted change. I have taken my change their in the past because I did not want to lug it to the Bank. It is so easy to use, and at the end I get money to use towards things that I need!
Amy Orvin
I have seen Coinstar at my local grocery store, but never used it. I like that they have partnered with more than 14 nonprofit organizations . That’s so important to me.
Ashley Trail
I love collecting my extra coins and then on a rainy day or after we need a few extra bucks taking the bag to go to Coinstar to see how much we have saved. I love the option to donate to charity 🙂 Merry Christmas!
Lynda Del
This is the first time I’ve learned about Coinstar. How convenient!
Rosie
I never heard of Coinstar before, so this is all new to me. Wow, I really learned something today! I used to like to look for coins as a kid at school, then my friend and I would bring them to the principal’s office. My aunt would always pick up a penny and say that if you get enough of them you will be a millionaire! This is cool, I’ll have to check to see if there is one in my area that I just didn’t realize.
latanya
I like Coinstar. It makes converting change to money real easy.
Eileen Richter
I have always thought this such a great idea! My daughter is a single mom and “found” she had over $100 in coins! I did not know you can load them to a card or that they had a donation program. How cool ! Every penny (dime, nickel, quarter counts!)
Elena
I like that they have a Paypal option. That’s cool!
Beth R
I love coinstar, it’s such a time saver!
Doreen
What a sweetie to donate her change to a charity! God bless her!
ANN*H
I heard of Coinstar before but I didnt know that you could do all those other things beside getting cash back from change. That is lots of good options . That was really thoughtful of your daughter to donate her change to help others.thanks for the information
Andrina G
Wow I didn’t know that you could get Paypal. I am going to try it!
Nissa
Wow! I never heard of using coinstar to make donations. That is a great way to get rid of spare change and put it to good use.
JoeyfromSC
Ironically, I was talking with someone tonight about Coinstar lol..I love it! I’ve only used it a couple of times, but I love how convenient it is..It sure beats rolling change like the old fashioned way ha
Great review!!
sandra davis
i have seen the Coinstar in the store but have never used before. But now that I have learned about it….I am going to have to give it a try.
Desiree H
I really like Coinstar. I like that now you can choose a gift card for no fee instead of getting cash back. Its great for Holiday gifts!
Seyma Shabbir
I have seen coinstar at all the grocery stores but surprisingly have never used it. We have a big jar of coins and I think my sons would love to use it! Will try to use it next time!
Vena Silverstein
Love using coinstar. Very convenient when grocery shopping!
Marti Tabora
I have used Coinstar in the past, but I had no idea I could get an Amazon card. I’m so excited about that.
Alana Vester
I love Coinstar! It saves me from counting and rolling my change to deposit into my checking account. I like that it has the option to get gift cards as well as getting money back.
Tammy S
We have used the Coinstar machine at our local grocery store several times. My kids keep all their change and take it in before we go on vacation. Then they have their own spending money. I love all the great charities they have to donate to.
Tracy Robertson
I have a Starbucks card that I use to buy my coffee. When I cash in at Coinstar, I can choose Starbucks, slide my Starbucks card in the machine and it loads the money directly to my Starbucks card without charging any fees. So easy!
denise
Honestly, I would only do this at my bank because they don’t charge a fee. Why pay money to get your own money??
Becca
I had no idea CoinStar was also outside of the US. I have never used them before but I probably will one day! 🙂
Mya Murphy
Why wouldn’t you go to your bank, have NO fees taken out and do that?? I do this all the time. Coinstar charges you, I dislike that!
Melissa Shirley
I have used this machine down at the grocery store, I use it when I have saved a lot of change.
courtney b
i love coinstar we have SO much change just laying around. it takes a big percentage but its worth it
Allison Downes
I learned so much from this post. 440 billion coins is a lot! Thank you for sharing.
elfette
Coinstar comes in handy with all your loose change
Pam Gurganus
I’ve used Coinstar many times in the past, but had no idea you had so many options as to what to do with your cash! Is this something new? I especially love that you can donate to charities! Thanks for the information!
Jennifer Dysart
I save my spare change in a jar, I’m excited to cash it in once it fills. Last time I had like $75 in change, I was shocked!
Jessica H.
I wasn’t aware you could use CoinStar to donate to charity! I think that is awesome! My girls donated a small amount to charity the first time this year as part of their Christmas count down, what a easy way to keep up supporting charities! Thank you for the idea.
Meg Tucker
Since I found out about Coinstar i am very aware of any change laying aound! hahaha!! I make a point of asking my family if they have any change in they’d like to donate to my Coinstar fund! i love the sound of the machine going chaching!
sarahmarie jerome
I can’t say I have ever tried to use a coinstar.. but know ppl who have.. it’s pretty cool u can donate it t o different charities…
Cynthia R
i love keeping my change and bringing it to coinstar to cash in, spare change can turn into hundreds of dollars!
Sonya Morris
That is so great of your daughter to donate her change to charity! I had no idea Coinstar could do that.
heather
Wow didn’t know about the paypal option thats cool thanks for sharing.
Melissa Mazzur
Thats so sweet! My girls save their coins all year long and then right after Thanksgiving they turn them in and buy gifts for needy children!
Cindy Merrill
One word of advice: Don’t load in any Canadian pennies you come across. Canada has decided to stop minting them, so like the Wheat pennies, these coins are destined to become collector items. Hang on to them.
Rhonda Martin
I live in the hicks so we don’t have any around here but when I worked in the city they had them at the grocery stores. It’s a great way to donate to charities hassle free. I really like the paypal option. I actually think this is as good as cash because i can download it to my bank for free from paypal.
Jenny Sims
I love that you can get no-fee certificates for Amazon and Starbucks from Coinstar! It’s an easy way to turn loose change into a little something fun for myself.
Susan G
I seen a Coinstar Machine at my local Wal-mart but never once went up to it to look at it or anything..I just thought you dumped your change into the opening and the machine counts it , then prints out a receipt for the amount and you cash it in… didn’t know that you can have it go to your Paypal account or that you can donate the coins you redeemed to charity….. Learned a lot on this page.. Thank for making it..
Georgia Beckman
This is super cool! I have not seen one of these or heard of Coinstar. I’m going to be on the lookout now!
mary gardner
I think she picked a great charity! We love coinstar and use it every couple of months or so!
Bo
I’ve never tried Coinstar before but I should! We always have so much change.
Stephanie
What a great idea to teach children about the importance of giving back and the value of a penny. Definitely going to try this with my niece and nephew – I know we have lots of spare change in various drawers in the house.
angela smith
i’ve never used coinstar.dont have enough change around my house
Carla M
I love that they offer so many options, including donating to charity. I’ll consider using Coinstar the next time I have that much change.
kjasus
i go to coinstar about once a year. that’s how long it takes for us to fill our half gallon change jar. but it’s worth it to have that extra few bucks to grocery shop with
Angela Kinder
Before our store moved, we actually used Coinstar quite often. But I loved that you used it as a teaching tool, which was super creative!
Ashley Tucker
I love coinstar..I like to redeem the paypal option myself!
David Heath
whoever invented this deserves to be a millionaire
kelley wood
I love taking my coins to coinstar! I almost paid entirely for my son’s ps4 with coins! 🙂
K-Squared
I have on rare occasions ever gotten much change based on a child experience its been a challenge. Often times within my youth till the present I was able to do math in my head; this has had its great and down-fall – I had a mind like this and always intended to use it for a certain objective! Upon recent events, a car & pedestrian accident, I had to sell the majority of items and gather all the spare change under the couch to pay medical bills! But I kept the necessities: But still lack in that of items I wish I had: laptop (for school & work), my bills paid (all the way to the present), new clothes (my newest are 4 years old), a new (complete) home-make-over and money to pay for procedures and necessities that might help me in recovery!
I have seen these machines in almost every store around my area of living, moreover they are great teaching tool for children! Its a great way to teach money managment at that of an early age! Similar to that of what was given to me as a child by that of a single-parent home – that never got a dime of child-support! But after my injury I had to sell a lot of things just to slow the collectors from putting the bills to collectors. But I still have an old stove and fridge which were past down to me by that of my grandparents!
Winning any of these prizes will be an item worth winning as I know a use for all of them!
This coin-machine has rebuilt my confidence that better things are on the horizon for the children of today! For now I hope that I’m going to be able to make the dreams I had as a child that of reality!
I hope everyone has a great New Year -and- Good Luck in the Sweepstakes!
Meagan BS
I really like that you can donate with coinstar, that’s something i wasn’t aware you could do. I’d like to do that with my daughter.
sharon b
i wish we had a coinstar in town. we use to. that’s awesome that you can make a donation that way. makes it a lot easier.
Anna Pry
I was going to cash mine I for amazon card recently but it was not an option on the machine I went to. Wonder why all the locations don’t have the same redemption choices?
MARY T
I’ve never used Coinstar, but I plan to look into it now!
Danielle F.
So sweet of her to donate her coins to charity. As for coinstar, I’ve used it quite a few times before – there is one in my local supermarket.
Robyn
We have let my son cash in the coins in his piggy bank a few times when it has gotten full. My husband and I always put our spare change in it, so it feels up pretty quickly. He loves dumping it in the machine, and last time I was surprised how much was in there! He has a nice saving account now!
Diana Mahnke
I love that you can put the change on your PayPal.
KELLY MCGREW
what a beautiful decision by her. she will grow up to be a very giving and humble person. !
i love coinstar, when i was younger i’d save up the change left from my lunch money then i’d go to coin star to get money for vacation souvenirs!
Katlyn
What a lovely little girl! My middle son is like that. He was saying around Christmas time that he wanted to raise money to buy presents for all of the kids who’s parents couldn’t afford them.
Jean
I’ve been walking past Coinstar machines for almost all my life and have NEVER used one. I did not know about the option to donate to charities. We have tons of change lying around. I think my girls would really enjoy feeding it into the machine and choosing who to give it to!
Evelyn Chuter
We have a Coinstar right down the road at our grocery store. When my change gets to e too much and I need a few extra dollars cash, I head over to the Coinstar. I love that machine!
Susan Smith
I like that you can choose cash, e-certificates, Paypal or Visa/MasterCard. I tend to spend my change so I wouldn’t use Coinstar but I think it’s a good option for those who do.
Beaynbopp
Wow they have changed a lot since the last time i used one….I love the option of picking gift cards or paypal. When we first moved, we gathered up $71 worth of coins!! I kept some to save (since I was a pirate in my past life also lol). My dad had a coin collection that I got and I add to it.
kathy dalton
I have used the coinstar machines before when I was in a bind for cash but i dont really like paying a fee.
christine jessamine
we love coinstar. My kids use it everytime they are saving up for something fun.
Tara O.
I had no idea Coinstar had more options than just cash! Thanks for the information!
s riches
I have used Coinstar several times. It is a great way to turn loose change into cash.
kristin sims
i absolutely love Coinstar!! and we have something in common….i use the purple crown royal bags for my change! My bank stopped accepting bags of change last year…i used to turn it into them, and they would count it, and put it in my account. when they stopped, i used coinstar for the first time at walmart. way better than the bank, and i redeem coins for amazon cards and paypal! thanks!
RANDY FULGHAM
I LOVE COINSTAR– I LIKE THE FACT U CAN TRANSFER MONEY TO PAY-PAL ACCOUNT!!
kelly Nicholson
i like rolling my own coins..this is easier,but i like doing it the hard way..thanks
Brandy
Coinstar is amazing. I have used it when budget gets tight. We go around house collecting our change and cash it in to get milk or bread. It’s wonderful and we have a machine just downtown. My kids love to do it with their collection of money from chores after it accumulates too!
Rosie
This is really cool. When I was a child, my friend and I would collect change we would find on the playground and then give it to the principal. I wonder what he thought! I still must stop if I see a coin, and so I do have change! This is a great idea, for kids and grownups alike!
Bill Elliott
Coinstar saves a lot of time from having to set and roll all the coins. Thanks for the great post.
Bridgette Friedman
I didn’t know you could convert to paypal. Thanks for the great post!
Your little girl has a big heart to donate and she made a wise choice, big hugs to her!
Julieh
This is a great idea. We have so much change lying around the house, this would help me put it to good use!
Dana Rodriguez
We use coinstar a couple of times a year.My fiance’ saves change and when the container gets full there is some extra fun money!
Michael W Perkins
Good ol Coinstar, Ive used it a few times.. works great
laurie
I have a large jar with coins I need to turn them in
CharityS
What a lovely little girl, and I love that she donated her coins.
mariem
how sweet! i luv her giving heart.
coinstar is ez n fast
Cindy B
I don’t seem to accumulate much change, so it’s been quite awhile since I’ve used Coinstar. I didn’t know that you could now get e-certificates!
Richard Hicks
I have seen these coinstars around but never used one. We have a ton of change in jars and all and will be taking advantage of the coinstar
Thomas Murphy
I love saving up my change and going to coinstar.
Buddy Garrett
Wouldn’t it have been great during the recent holiday season if everyone had collected all their change and taken it to Coinstar to donate to the needy.