How I Turned Pocket Change into Groceries #NoFeeCoinstar #CBias

My little man and I went on a date today.

(Ain't we cute?)

 We went to the next town over (about 30 minutes away) and did a little shopping and ate some pizza. 

But what does that have to do with pocket change and groceries?

I'm all about coupons and deals, so whenever I have the opportunity to get a good deal, I'm on it!  Bi-Lo often has great sales that can be combined with coupons, but there is not one in our town.  However, I knew there was one in the town where we were going on our date.

I checked over the ad and saw a couple good deals that I wanted to pick up while we were in the area.

Since I'm all about pinching every penny (literally!), I was looking for a good way to use up the loose change that seems to collect in the console of the van.  I also have problems with the change compartment of my wallet bursting at the seams.

I had heard of Coinstar coin conversion before, but never really paid much attention to it.  I didn't figure the few coins from the van and my wallet would be enough to justify paying the conversion fee.

However, through my friends at Collective Bias, I discovered that I could convert my coins to a Bi-Lo gift card with no fee!

That was enough convincing for me to give it a try!  I scrounged up the coins out of the van and from my wallet and headed on over to Bi-Lo after we were finished shopping and eating.

We grabbed our bag of change and went inside to find the Coinstar machine. 

 

When we finished converting our coins we received a gift card with $10.83 on it.

We were thirsty after shopping, so we got some drinks.  I also picked up four boxes of Cheez-its for $1.67 each and a bottle of All detergent for $1.99.

My total was $12.03, so I only had to pay $1.20 after I used my gift card.  I got some good deals, and I got to use up all my loose change without having to pay a conversion fee!    


If you want to take a  more detailed look at my experience, you can flip through my Google+ album here.

Also, be sure you're following Coinstar on Facebook and Twitter and also Bi-Lo on Facebook and Twitter to make sure you're keeping up with the latest news and deals!

  
Disclosure: 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.