If you've been thinking about turning your spare change into holiday cash, Coinstar is offering a generous deal right now.

If you don't mind substituting the cash for a gift card, you can make a 25 percent profit by pouring those extra pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters into a Coinstar machine.

That's a pretty nice way to stretch your holiday budget but, of course, there's fine print to the deal, which runs through Dec. 9.

Here's are the details:

We first told you about Jeff Bowman back in July. He's the local creative director from Garner who is in the running for a chance at a guest spot on AMC's "Mad Men."

Now the "Mad Men" Casting Call contest is winding down, but the ad man still needs your votes.

Ack! Just two days left to win a walk-on role on AMC's "Mad Men," which returns for a third season on Sunday.

Here's the deal: You've got to go to one of the area's two Banana Republic stores (at Crabtree Valley Mall or The Street at Southpoint) and get the entry code from the store's "Mad  About Style" guide. Then you've got to upload a picture of you looking like you could walk the halls of Sterling Cooper. Or better still, hang with Betty Draper in the 'burbs.

Find out more here.

Or if you want, go to the site to vote for one of the would-be walk-ons. Seriously? If you look at the competition so far, you could win this thing easy.