Welcome to Angela, a guest blogger and single mom of a college-bound student.  She’s been in the insurance industry for most of her adult life and is in no hurry to change that.  And speaking of change…

I usually put my spare coins in a jar, and when the jar is full I take it to the bank. I had only used Coinstar once before, but it was a really long time ago. I don’t even remember if I cashed the change in for a gift card to the grocery store or a gift card to another store. But the reason why I hadn’t been using Coinstar is because it was just as easy to take the money to the bank without incurring a fee.

The No Fee program available through Coinstar is worth taking a second look, though. It will probably encourage me to use Coinstar again in the future. It was both convenient and beneficial to me since I do shop at Bi-Lo already. I didn’t realize that there was a minimum of $5 in change in order to convert it to a Bi-Lo gift card, but that was okay since I had enough change. But it’s something to keep in the back of my mind for the future. Plus, since I’m at the grocery store at least once or twice each week, by not making special trip to the bank I’m saving time and gas, which is important to me. And, it’s fun watching the coin conversion from a bunch of change to a gift card I will use. Say yes to #NoFeeCoinstar!

I bought Mayfield ice cream while I was at Bi-Lo. My daughter made me do it! :)  I like shopping at Bi-Lo because it is literally up the street from our apartment complex and it’s on my way to and from work, and because the prices are reasonable, especially when there is a sale.

You can find out more information about Coinstar on their Coinstar Facebook page on on their Coinstar Twitter page. See what’s going on at Bi-Lo by checking out the Bi-Lo Facebook page or the Bi-Lo Twitter page.

Take a look at my google plus story for more pictures!

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. #CBias