Free Coin Counting from Coinstar Gives Students Spending Freedom

"The depiction of college students as scraping by on a limitedincome is not a new reality; but like most of the general public, theyare surprised at how much expenses add up," said Alex Camara, seniorvice president and general manager, worldwide coin, Coinstar, Inc."Our free coin-counting program allows them to get top qualityproducts from some of the best retail brands using the forgotten moneyin their coin jar."

Many students struggle with the adjustment of living within themonthly spending allowances pre-determined by their parents."Necessities" defined by students may be different than those definedby their parents. While many parents might not consider a cell phone,lattes or music critical to surviving the semester, their children maydisagree. According to a recent study by Key Education Resources, thefinancing arm of KeyCorp, 69 percent of students who live away fromhome and 66 percent of parents are surprised by how much money iseaten up by ancillary expenses like books, utilities, groceries,entertainment, cell phones, computer software, transportation andtravel.

Coinstar estimates there is $10.5 billion of spare change lyingidle in the United States - approximately $99 in each Americanhousehold. An estimated 80 percent of Americans accumulate coin, butonly 58 percent of those then choose to cash in their coin. Theability to turn this inactive change into a book, latte, DVD rental,or accessories for a dorm room with no coin counting fee, givesstudents a choice and a motivating reason to cash in change.

College students can choose from a number of national retailersincluding, Starbucks, Amazon.com, iTunes, Eddie Bauer, Pier 1 Imports,Linens 'n Things, Borders, Virgin Digital and more, making it easierto make it through the school year.

Coinstar, Inc. offers the Coin to Card program at more than 6,700grocery and drug stores. To find Coinstar locations offering thisservice and available gift cards and eCertificates, consumers mayvisit the company's machine locator at www.coinstar.com.

About Coinstar, Inc.

Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTR) is a multi-national company offeringa range of 4th Wall(TM) solutions for the retailers' front of storeconsisting of self-service coin counting, electronic paymentsolutions, entertainment services and self-service DVD rental. Thecompany's products and services can be found at more than 60,000retail locations including supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchants,financial institutions, convenience stores and restaurants. For moreinformation, visit www.coinstar.com.