From the people who charge you 8.9% to count your loose change comes the best deal you will see this year.

Take your coins to Coinstar, select that you want to redeem your coins for a certificate from a participating retailer, and Coinstar will send you a $10 rebate.

There is a $40 minimum to get the rebate, so be careful when plugging that loose change into Coinstar, if you put in less than $40, you get zilch. Put in more than $40 and your ROI drops below 25%.

I had a couple stashes of change and Nancy through in her piggy bank accumulation and I trudged to Coinstar. On the way, I had the blinding flash that if I didn’t have $40 worth of coins, I was screwed.

I stopped at the local car wash and pumped in a couple ten dollar bills into the coin changer and loaded up my pockets. $20 worth of quarters gave me the urban fashion styling I have been seeking.

Our Coinstar locations are inside Kroger.
There is a bank in Kroger that is open late on Saturday.

Dur.

Walk up to counter, change two twenties into 160 quarters! Put the 160 quarters into the Coinstar, $40 at a time and I get an eCertificate each for $40 to spend online (or at the store if available) with a rebate form for $10.

• Amazon.com®
• Borders®/Waldenbooks
• Cabela’s®
• CVS/Pharmacy®
• Eddie Bauer®
• iTunes
• JCPenney®
• Lowe’s®
• Old Navy
• Overstock.com®
• Regal Entertainment Group
• Rixty
• Starbucks®

Since I’m putting a buck into every Salvation Army bucket I pass this year, the Coinstar 25% return on investment will keep churning through the community.

It’s the Sixty version of Kiva!!!

UPDATE: My tax adviser sends word from Ashland, Kentucky that my donations are fully deductible. Since I’m in the 35% bracket, that means my 25% ROI jumps to 152% ROI he says.

I’ll be spending a lot of time at Kroger.