What to do with expired coupons......Don't throw them away!!!

I am involved in a penny pincher message board, surprise surprise, right!!!!! You can send your unused or expired coupons to Military Families overseas through the Overseas Coupon Program!!!!!! Military families stationed overseas don't get the paper and therefore don't get grocery coupons. However, the commisaries will accept manufacturers coupons, up to six months after the expiration date.

This program only applies to press printed coupons (not coupons printed on your home computer, which families can do while overseas) and to national brands (as opposed to local). Here is what you need to do to start your coupon donation program, by yourself, or as part of a group at work, school or at church, etc.



-Collect unused or expired coupons (no more than one or two months expired, as they take time to reach the overseas bases). Clip coupons to their exact size, to reduce the paper weight when shipping.

- Sort coupons by "food" (ie. human food) and "non-foods" (including diapers, cleaning supplies, pet supplies, medications etc.)

-Total the batch of coupons in dollar amount and write that on a piece of paper. This helps the base keep track of how many dollars in coupons they receive.

-Put each pile of coupons into a seperate Ziploc bag and label them "food" and non-food".

-Find a participating military base on the Overseas Coupon Website Here. This list gets updated on a regular basis. Only mail coupons to bases who still accept donations as indicated on that page.

- Mail your coupons through the post office using Parcel Post (cheaper but slower). On the USPS customs form, list the contents as "manufacturers coupons" and the value of the package at "$0.00, and check the "Gift" box. If you have a lot of coupons to send out, it may be best to choose Priority Mail as you can fit as much as you can in a specific envelope for one designated fee.
Courtesy of Perfecting Motherhood



That's it. This is a very simple way to help our troops in a way you may not have heard of before.



I am so excited about this and I look forward to my next coupon purge.