Comments on: Conquering coin clutter

By: lelak

lelak — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 00:23:21 +0000

After accumulating loose change for years, I’m finally making a dent in the mountains of coins by using them to pay for my morning coffee. The 7-Eleven guy knows I’ll be paying exact change.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sun, 27 May 2007 22:08:57 +0000

I find that going completely cashless doesn’t let me save those leftover coins for later. This last week I happened to use a lot of cash, and by the end of the week I had enough quarters for a few loads of laundry, which saved me a trip to go get cash and change.

By: Damian

Damian — Tue, 15 May 2007 19:24:18 +0000

“You can also cancel change out of your life completely by exclusively using your debit card and going cashless.”

The banks and marketers LOVE that tip. It enables them to track everything you do.

By: Damian

Damian — Tue, 15 May 2007 17:46:21 +0000

Coinstar’s fee is exhorbitant. Go to Commerce Bank, or find another bank that does free coin counting. If you’re still keen to give away almost 9% of your money (that can be a lot if you’ve been hoarding for a while), give it to the charity of your choice.

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 13 May 2007 03:44:39 +0000

I’m in the UK and anything less than a 20p piece (e.g. a quarter) goes into my big wooden bowl (like what Tim Roth has in Reservoir Dogs)at the end of the day.
Every few months, I bag it up and take it to the bank who’ll change it for free. It’s surprising how fast the 20p’s add up. I reckon I get around £60 (c. US$120) every two months, and I pay it into my ‘fun’ account.
It’s almost like free money.

By: Leo Petr

Leo Petr — Fri, 11 May 2007 15:38:44 +0000

Dominion grocery stores have coin machines in Canada. I think they give store credit.

By: Deb

Deb — Fri, 11 May 2007 12:14:36 +0000

We have two places to keep coin. One with silver that we roll for goodies on vacation and the other we keep just the pennies, those go to Coinstar….

By: Neil McIntyre

Neil McIntyre — Fri, 11 May 2007 03:50:16 +0000

Is there a Coinstar equivalent in Canada? On their website you can search for one near you in the US and UK…

By: GrantParish

GrantParish — Fri, 11 May 2007 01:24:14 +0000

Our local grocery has installed self service lanes with coin/bill acceptors for payment. About once a month, I take all my coins and make a small purchase and pay for it by feeding all the coins in the slot. (This works best if you don’t go at peak times and have folks standing behind you!) It is much better way to use up coins than rip-off Coinstar and you don’t have to deal with a harried clerk who does not want to take your pennies.

By: Lavatory Lady

Lavatory Lady — Fri, 11 May 2007 00:47:01 +0000

I started keeping my change in my son’s spiderman halloween bucket. I do find myself haVing to empty my purse and clean out my car because of the pennies. Great Post.
http://www.lavatorylady.com

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 10 May 2007 22:15:11 +0000

At many banks, there are now machines to do what coinstar machines do but for free. Our local bank does it and we use it about twice a year.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 10 May 2007 21:45:11 +0000

I just bring all my silver coins to work. Anyone who has worked such a boring desk job as mine can often find themselves raiding the snack and drink machines out of pure bordem.

I’ve been using this method for a month now, and I can honestly say that I haven’t owned a quarter for more than 4 hours at a time.

What about the pennies and the canadian quarters you ask? A good old coffee can and every-now-and-then trips to the bank works loads better than rip-you-off coinstar.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 10 May 2007 20:31:54 +0000

I have a tin that I use on my dresser and once a year (I know long time) I turn it in for, usually $180-$250 and my wife and I go out for dinner for our anniversary. She and the kids keep their coins separate for their uses.

matt