CouponsToTroops Guest Post: What to Do With Expired Coupons

I know that Saving & Giving readers have a heart for giving while they are saving money. Today, I wanted to introduce you to Lesley Parkinson from CouponsToTroops. She has a great way for you to make use of those expired coupons that you might just be tempted to toss.

Coupon users know that as the end of the month will soon be here, the push begins to use up all of the coupons which will soon expire. But if the last day of the month comes and goes, and you clean out the coupons that are now expired out of your organizer, please keep in mind that they are not completely useless.

For U.S. military families who are stationed overseas, those expired coupons still have a purpose. Since the availability of coupons is so limited overseas, those families are allowed to use coupons at the Commissaries and Exchanges on base for up to 6 months past their expiration date!

CouponsToTroops’ mission is twofold. In addition to working at spreading the word that expired coupons can make a huge difference in the lives of our overseas U.S. military families , CouponsToTroops can put you in touch with an overseas family who is hoping to receive coupons in their mailbox.

The process is very easy. Just send us an email at admin@couponstotroops.com to request the address of a military family, gather up your coupons and mail them off in an envelope or box to the address provided. It is the same cost for postage to mail to an overseas military address as it is to mail anywhere within the US. For packages larger than 13 oz, a customs form may be needed; forms are available at no additional charge at your local Post Office. (Customs forms are not needed when mailing to a family living in a US territory, such as Guam or Puerto Rico.)

With CouponsToTroops, you are not required to add up the value of your coupons and report to us, and sorting your coupons is optional. If you are sending boxes full of coupons, you may wish to consider sorting into categories such as Food vs. Non-Food, or even break it out further into categories such as Food, Household, Health & Beauty, Pets and Baby, just to make it easier on your assigned family, but it is not required.

There are many programs and websites with information on sending expired coupons overseas, but we are one of the few who recommend mailing directly to a family. Some ask you to ‘adopt’ a base and have you send to a collection point on base. By sending to a family, you’re much more likely to receive an acknowledgement that your coupons are being received and also you know that your coupons are getting right to the people who need them and will use them. All of the families on our contact list share their extras with others on base. When your coupons go to a collection point on base, there is no way of knowing if your coupons are even being received or that they are being quickly distributed to the families on base.

Others ask you to mail to a collection point here in the United States. They, in turn, repackage the coupons with others they have collected and then re-mail them overseas. By mailing the coupons directly to a family and avoiding the ‘middle-man’, your coupons are being received much quicker, which means the military families are able to save money that much quicker. And just think of all the postage that does not have to be spent if the coupons go through the United States Postal Service only once.

If you would like to request an address to mail your coupons to, please send us an email at admin@couponstotroops.com. If you would like additional information, please visit us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/CouponsToTroops.