Sending expired coupons to the military

Wow. After the big news tonight, it seems a little, er, irrelevant to post about Facebook coupons and moisturizer giveaways. I am so humbled by the courage of our American military. God bless the Navy Seals for risking their lives to bring justice and some closure to a wound that has never really healed.

I've been meaning to post about sending expired coupons to the military for a while, but given that current events have filled many of us with a renewed sense of appreciation for those who defend us, coinciding with just starting a new month, it seems particularly timely to do it now.

I've said several times on this blog that it's important not to grab every deal and redeem every coupon. If you find yourself doing that, you are letting deals and coupons be in charge of you and your budget, and that's both backwards and wrong. But being selective about couponing and shopping leaves us with handfuls of unused and expired coupons at the end of the day. Some of these might be GREAT coupons, but they just weren't part of our shopping needs. So why let these valuable coupons go to waste?

Commissaries on overseas military bases allow American military families to use coupons that have expired for up to six months. You can donate your expired coupons (expired no longer than 2 months, since it takes time for them to be processed and to arrive overseas) to military families through the Overseas Coupon Program. Here are the guidelines:

1. Sort your expired coupons into two categories: food and non-food, and place them in separate baggies or envelopes (don't use paper clips or rubber bands; they have a long way to go).
2. Only manufacturer's coupons are accepted. This means no Target, or any other store coupons should be sent. The coupons must say the words "Manufacturer's Coupon" on them.
3. Total the coupons in each pile by face value.
4. Send the coupons to one of the overseas military bases on this list.

I have also used this program to send unexpired coupons that I've acquired that we simply don't need, like children's stuff, OTC drugs we don't use, foods that we can't eat, etc.

This is a very small way to keep valuable coupons from going to waste (what I consider truly "green" behavior) and more importantly, to give back to those who keep us safe.

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