Where can I save some money? This is the question I always ask myself…..every week. Where in the world can I save money? Hmmm….I buy a 1.59 soda from the gas station, hand over 2 $1 dollar bills, and what happens to the change? It lands smack at the bottom of my purse. And what do I do with that change? Well, after my purse starts weighing about 10 pounds, I throw that change in a drawer. And it sits there. Forever.
But now, not only can I save my back from from lugging around a purse full of change, I can cash in my change for NO FEE at Coinstar and get a Gift Card to Bi-Lo! SWEET! Save my back and save some money at the grocery store! While change is actually “my money,” because I just leave it lying around my house, I am really wasting it! Why not put it towards something I buy every week – like groceries!
I headed down to Gaffney, South Carolina and met up with my sister Stephanie and her sons who were planning on coming up to Charlotte to help my Dad pack. Since she has growing boys, we figured why not cash our change in to buy something they could snack on for the road trip?
The Coinstar machine was located in the front of the Bi-Lo store which was very convenient.
We followed the instructions and loaded our change and let Coinstar count it for us!
When we were through entering all our change, Coinstar gave us three options:
Cash it in
Bi-Lo Gift Card
Donate it to Charity
We chose option #2 – Bi-Lo Gift Card. When you choose to convert your change to a Bi-Lo Gift card, there is NO FEE #NoFeeCoinstar!
Because I generally do nothing with my collected change….it just sits in drawers, jars, and my already overloaded purse, I think using it towards a grocery bill is an awesome choice! I have only used Coinstar once before a long time ago and because the fee was so high, I never used it again. However, because I can cash my change in now at Bi-Lo and use it towards my grocery bill, I will definitely be taking advantage of Coinstar now.
Find Coinstar on Facebook and Twitter.
We have 7 grocery stores within a 5 mile radius of my house. Choosing which one to go to is usually based on the deals I can get there. Bi-Lo already has great weekly deals, but add to it the convenience of Coinstar and how it can reduce my grocery bill, you can bet Bi-Lo will be one of my top shopping places from now on.
Plus, check out all the deals we found while we were there!
There were sales down every aisle, including a “Locked Price” for my favorite water! Elsewhere it is significantly more expensive.
I have actually forgotten how great the deals were at Bi-Lo and you can bet I will heading there more often now.
We finally ended up purchasing some soda and chicken for her boys to eat on the way to Charlotte, and everyone was happy.
Find Bi-Lo on Facebook and Twitter.
Did you know you could cash you coins in at Coinstar in Bi-Lo for a Bi-lo gift card for no fee?
Note: I have been paid (at Coinstar’s request) to try and blog about Coinstar’s products/services as part of a Collective Bias shopper insights study. All opinions are my own. #CBias
That BiLo looks great! I use the coinstar all the time!
You have be convinced to try Coinstar! It is so convenient and my husband has a container full of change to cash in!
Bummer we do not have a bi lo in our area, seems like their is a coinstar is maybe our Krogers, but I have never used it due to the fee if I could get grocery cards no fee I would be all about that!!!
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I shop at BiLo all the time but I didn’t know about the cash into gift cards program. I will be checking that out!
Oh, what a great idea. I can relate to you what it means throwing all your change in your purse. I have been there and done that and you just forget about it. Love the idea. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve never heard of Bi-Lo before, we must not have those around here. I do believe we have coinstar though. Love the gift card option and the donate to charity option!
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I’ve never tried coinstar before, I always thought they charged a fee. From what you say, though, it sounds like it is free if you choose the gift card option.
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I have a jug of change upstairs just waiting to get turned into something useful!
Oh my gosh thanks for posting about Coinstar! I have a huge jar of coins and have been trying to figure out how to easily cash them in. I’ve seen the Coinstar machines at our Walmart but had no idea how exactly it worked. You really helped answer my questions and my coin jar and I will be heading to the nearest Coinstar later today! 🙂
I wish we had one of these. Maybe in time we will get lucky! I have change all the time and grow weary of wrapping it and taking it to the bank.
We used Coinstar a few years ago! It is amazing how change builds up.
loveee coin star! i bought myself a change counter just to assist me in my frequent visits to coin star 🙂
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