I usually prefer to pay by credit card when possible to avoid carrying loose change in my pockets. But once in a while I cannot avoid it and receive loose change from paying change. I normally empty my pockets when I get home and store all the loose changes in a jar. I only store coins less than a quarter. I find it easy to spend quarters so I keep quarters outside the jar.
I also have a coin box on my desk at work. I leave the quarters outside the box and use them to buy breakfast. Sometimes when I have a huge stack of quarters, my coworkers would exchange them for bills. They need the quarters for laundry.
I use to like counting coins when I was a kid. Now, I’m past that stage, and I think it’s a waste of time. I would need to use the Coinstar machines when my coin jars are full. I remember during last winter Coinstar had a deal where you can exchange the full value of your coins for an Amazon certificate. That would be a nice deal.
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I currently have a nice sized tupperware box full of all misc. coins (including a bunch of dollar bills + gold dollar coins).
I intend to take it to our bank (Commerce Bank, NJ) to use their “Penny Arcade” essentially a free CoinStar machine they have in each of their branches, pretty neat.
I do the same thing as you (charge mostly everything, but occasionally I pay for things with cash).
I use the “Penny Arcade” at my bank (Commerce Bank in NJ) about once a year. After we cash it in, we just split the money between each of our 4 kids savings accounts. And it’s usually under $250.
I also take it to the Penny Arcade at Commerce Bank. At every Commerce they have this. I have seen them in Philadelphia. I take it once in a while when I have some change. You do not need an account w/ commerce to do this!
My credit union changes coins for free for all members. I have about $20 a month in change that I just pitch into a basket on my dresser. Once I month, when I do other banking, I haul it in and deposit the resulting cash into the vacation fund account.
I never miss it and hey – an extra $250 or so for vacation time isn’t a bad thing.
last time when I used coinster and opt for amazon certificate, the machine ran for 5 minutes. And then it told me it can not connect to background system, I have to get cash from cashier with 18% service charge.
I was so pissed and felt like I was cheated. I will never use their service again.
Does anyone have similar experience with I do?