Don't Throw Away Those Expired Coupons!

What do you do with expired coupons? Even if you are an expert at using coupons to save huge amounts of money on your grocery bill, you are still going to end up with expired coupons at the end of the month.  Some stores will accept expired coupons, but most will not. 

Instead of throwing away your expired coupons, send them to military families stationed overseas!

Military commissaries overseas accept manufacturer's coupons for up to six months past their printed expiration dates. That means that coupons that are useless to you can still save oversea military families money. Military families are able to use the expired coupons, and just like with your budget, coupons help the military families make ends meet on the small salary of the armed services.

You can contribute coupons as an individual or organize a group to help out in sending coupons. Either way, it doesn't take much effort to make a big difference to a worthy cause.

Before sending the coupons, you will want to check the base list to see which location is in need of coupons. Most military bases receiving the coupons ask that you neatly clip the coupons (which you will want to do anyway to save on postal charges) and sort them into "food" and "non-food" categories. The "food" category should contain coupons for anything that humans would eat, including gum and mints, while the "non-food" category would be everything else (pet food and over-the-counter medications would be considered a "non food" item)

Once separated, add up the value of all the coupons in each category. Place the coupons from each category into a zip lock plastic bag, and write the category and the total dollar value of the coupons on the outside of each bag in permanent ink.

There are a number of ways to send the coupons to the bases. The cheapest is by "Parcel Post". If you chose to send the coupons this way, make sure that the coupons have not been expired for more than two months since Parcel Post takes quite a long time to travel to its destination. The fastest way to mail coupons is in the "One Price" Priority mailers available at your local post office. You can ship as many coupons as you can pack into one of those mailers regardless of the weight.

The USPS requires a "Customs Form 2976-A" to be attached to the outside of the mailer when sending directly to a base overseas. Use the description "Coupons" and record the value as "--$0.00--". Be sure to check the "Gift" box on the form. If the Post Office requests a delivery name, explain that the package is going to a "Position" not to a "Person."  It is "Official Mail."  By military regulations, "Personal Mail" requires a name with the address, but "Official Mail" does not.  The "Commanding General" may be changed as the military wishes but mail to the "Commanding General" is for that position not for the individual who may now be in that post.  The coupons are considered "Official Mail" for that base.

For more complete information on the Overseas Coupon Program, you can visit the website at ocpnet.org. The site also provides a list the of military bases that accept the expired grocery coupons.