Ways To Cash In Your Loose Change Without Paying Fees

This week I finally managed to fill my change pot up to the top. Every cooper which I had been given over the last year was in this pot, not to mention silver coins such as 5p's, 10p's, 20p's and a few 50p's. Seeing as we have a lot to buy over the next few month ahead of Christmas, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to cash the money in. I took my change pot to our local supermarket. I found a machine which changes all your change to pounds and notes however I was disgusted to see that for every £1's worth of coins I put in, I would only receive 90p back of that £1 which means for ever £1 I put in 10% would be taken by the machine. This got me thinking on how I could use all my change but pay no fee's to greedy machines.

Take your change to the bank
Many people hate sorting out change and taking it to the bank however did you know some banks now offer a service which counts your change for you and adds it straight into your account? HSBC and RBS offer this service and it is extremely easy to use. All you simply need to do is visit your local bank and see if there is a coin deposit machine. If there is this will enable you to pay your loose coins into your bank account without the need for a paying-in slip or individual coin bags and get a detailed receipt of your transaction. This is a free service in many branches.
Doing it the old fashioned way
This is the longest process in cashing in your change however it ensures you get every penny of your money back. You need to visit your local bank and ask for money bags at the counter, once you have received your money bags you need to go home and sort the change you have saved up. You’ll have to collect at least £1 in coppers and £5 in silver and the selected coins in each bag MUST be the same e.g 100 x 1p's to get £1 in coppers back. Once you have sorted the change all you need to do is take the bags into the bank and the cashier will be able to weigh them to check you have the right number of coins. The cashier can then either credit your account or give you money back for your efforts.
Use your change on self service machines
Most supermarkets now have self service machines. These self service machines are quite efficient and allow you to pay via cash, notes or cards. If you are planning on buying something small why not take your coin jar along to your local supermarket and use your coins in the self service machine, this way you are getting rid of the annoying change, whilst loosing nothing and buying that little treat you need. Warning on this idea - Be considerate to others! It may not be best to pay for £50's worth of shopping in 2p's.
Pay that extra pence in change
Often when we are out in the car we go to the petrol station to pay for fuel. Often the petrol can end up on a odd amount like £31.53. Instead of adding that full uneven amount to your card why not pay £30 on your card and then pay for the remaining £1.53 in change. Not only does this withdraw a even amount on your card, but it is using that loose change up.