Local coin machine options

We used to use Coinstar at Pathmark, so now I'm looking for a new option for my son's piggy bank. Does anyone know if the Stop & Shop has one? Or if there's another nearby choice that has low fees? We don't have a local bank.

Thanks!

I thought they kept the Pathmark machine?  TD does it for non-customers for an 8% fee and TD for 5%.  May have to check branches.  Chase may still accept rolled coins from non-customers for no fee, though up to a limit ($100?).  Not sure BofA.

Buy a hand crank coin sorter from Amazon for $27 then loan it out to people with coins to count for $5. Then give me $32. You're welcome.  

Stop and Shop still has the Coinstar machine.  10.9% fee or you can get a no-fee gift card to a number of retailers including Amazon.

I'll make a suggestion, you can decide what to do with it.  Take your wee bairn and his piggy bank to Valley National on Valley St across from the new behemoth (or the one in the best downtown in NJ) and open a Kid's First passbook savings account.  You need exactly one penny to keep it open.  Then he can use the coin counter there for FREE FREE FREE.

Better than giving Coinstar 10.9% of his tooth fairy money.

mrincredible said:

Stop and Shop still has the Coinstar machine.  10.9% fee or you can get a no-fee gift card to a number of retailers including Amazon.

I'll make a suggestion, you can decide what to do with it.  Take your wee bairn and his piggy bank to Valley National on Valley St across from the new behemoth (or the one in the best downtown in NJ) and open a Kid's First passbook savings account.  You need exactly one penny to keep it open.  Then he can use the coin counter there for FREE FREE FREE.





Better than giving Coinstar 10.9% of his tooth fairy money.

Thanks!! He hasn't lost a tooth yet but he has the Grandpa Fairy, so... =)  I like this idea! However, I'm not sure how to make it work with the Spend/Save/Share concept. We're having a little trouble with that concept in general, actually, but I imagine it would be worse if he just sees a lump sum. Hmm... (if anyone has suggestions for this, by the way, I would love it!!) 

Can you tell me more about the Spend/Share/Save concept?

I was thinking of starting our 7-year-old on an allowance.  She'd be responsible for saving a certain portion (let's say 40%) and donating another portion (let's say 10%) and finally being able to spend the remainder.  She's doing subtraction in math at school at this point, so I think it's feasible to handle with a lump sum.  Especially if it's a fixed sum every week.

Is this what something like what you do?

TarheelsInNj said:

mrincredible said:

Stop and Shop still has the Coinstar machine.  10.9% fee or you can get a no-fee gift card to a number of retailers including Amazon.

I'll make a suggestion, you can decide what to do with it.  Take your wee bairn and his piggy bank to Valley National on Valley St across from the new behemoth (or the one in the best downtown in NJ) and open a Kid's First passbook savings account.  You need exactly one penny to keep it open.  Then he can use the coin counter there for FREE FREE FREE.





Better than giving Coinstar 10.9% of his tooth fairy money.

Thanks!! He hasn't lost a tooth yet but he has the Grandpa Fairy, so... =)  I like this idea! However, I'm not sure how to make it work with the Spend/Save/Share concept. We're having a little trouble with that concept in general, actually, but I imagine it would be worse if he just sees a lump sum. Hmm...

If you do this, be sure to check in advance what documents you will need to open an account.  Also ask them about any rules related to keeping the account open (even if it's inactive for a period of time).

I can't remember all of the details, but I do recall getting very annoyed with Valley for doing some sort of auto-close of the account (which held a not insignificant amount of money), which was a bit of a pain to straighten out.  

This may be typical for all banks (yes, I know there are rules and regulations), but my experience with Valley was irritating.

Good advice, mjh.

My own experience was that I brought the passbook in after we had done nothing (no deposits or withdrawals) for almost three years.  I had misplaced it when we moved and finally found it recently.  There was no problem depositing some money she had received in the meantime.  Might be because it's a passbook account.

mrincredible said:

Can you tell me more about the Spend/Share/Save concept?

I was thinking of starting our 7-year-old on an allowance.  She'd be responsible for saving a certain portion (let's say 40%) and donating another portion (let's say 10%) and finally being able to spend the remainder.  She's doing subtraction in math at school at this point, so I think it's feasible to handle with a lump sum.  Especially if it's a fixed sum every week.

Is this what something like what you do?

Yep, exactly what I'm thinking. My son is 6 and we were going to do $6 a week to keep it easy - maybe $2 spend now, $2 save for later and $2 share. However, he reacted so negatively to save and share we decided to wait a little longer 

I did find a really neat app that can help with this concept. It's called FamZoo and it operates like a virtual bank, basically. You as the parent "deposit" into the account, and you can view the balances right there. I really like this idea, because that way if we're out somewhere and he doesn't have his money with him, he can see the balance and buy. Or, if we decide to do an online donation with the "share" portion, we can just debit it from the FamZoo account. Added bonus - I don't have to keep a ton of singles on hand 

When we were kids, we used to enjoy rolling coins for our father. Banks give out the paper rolls for free.

Nowadays, I don't collect coins. I generally keep less than a dollar in coins in my pocket, and if I can pay with some or all of them, I do it at every opportunity so I don't have to roll coins or shove them through a machine. It takes quick arithmetic acrobatics at the time of purchase, which I figure is good for keeping my brain sharp.