![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-4b9_74YSZoHNM.gif\")
This is a guest post from my friend Lesley over at CouponsToTroops. I know that many of you are interested in donating your expired coupons to help our military families and these girls provide an awesome way to do just that!
With a new month beginning, it is time to pull the expired coupons from your organizers, but before you toss them in the trash or recycle bin, CouponsToTroops has another idea. Mail them to a US military family who is stationed overseas, where coupons can be used up to 6 months past their expiration date.
Our overseas military families can use the expired coupons at the Commissaries (like our grocery stores) and the Exchanges (like a Wal-Mart or Target) on base, but since coupons are not distributed in Sunday newspapers like they are here in the US, the families need help to get the coupons to them.
CouponsToTroops maintains a list of military families, stationed in countries around the world (including Bahrain, Cuba, Germany, Guam, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom) who are interested in receiving coupons. Anyone wishing to adopt a military family can sign up with us and we’ll put you in touch with one of our families. Then you send off your coupons as they expire. You can even include current coupons that you know you won’t be using. You can mail off once a week, once a month, once every other month, whatever works for you and your quantity of coupons and your budget for the postage.
It’s such an easy way to show your support to a military family. Sorting your coupons into categories is optional and we don’t require you to report in with a total of how many coupons or the value of the coupons you send; and if time and energy is an issue, we don’t even require you to cut the coupons out of the inserts!!! All of our military families share their extras with others on base, so even though you’d only be mailing to one family, your coupons will benefit many other families.
Since you’d be mailing to an APO/FPO military address or to Guam or Puerto Rico, domestic postal rates apply, so no need to worry about having to pay the more expensive international rates. Your postage to send overseas will be the same as if you were mailing within the continental United States. For anyone with a substantial amount of coupons, the United States Postal Service offers a wide variety of Priority- Mail Flat-Rate mailers and boxes (available at no charge) that can help you budget the postage. The postage for the “If It Fits, It Ships” mailers and boxes ranges from $5.15 to $15.45 but you can fit A LOT of coupons in them.
For more information or to adopt a Family, visit our website or send an email to us at [email protected].
Jess says
I love the idea. A couple weeks before I learned that expired coupons could save military people a lot of money. Then I understood why people still post/keep expired coupons on their website.
How do we send them to them?
Jessie,
Lesley says
Jess, if you visit the CouponsToTroops website, you can sign up to adopt a family. The email that we’ll send with the name of your family has some tips on the mailing process!
Cindy says
As one of the overseas military families that receive these coupons I want to say THANKS! I also want to let you know that coupons that we cannot use (that are still valid) we pass on to others in our military communities. I send all the pet coupons to the local shelter here (my dogs are on a raw food diet). I give the baby and young child coupons to a new mother I know and the rest I can’t use we cycle through a large group of couponers here. The dollars we save make a difference in our pocket books and we also buy many items to share with newly reporting families, local food pantries, and the animal shelter. So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! And please help spread the word!
Hazel says
Oh my goodness, Cindy … thank you for all you’re doing! Please let everyone know that we truly appreciate everything!
God Bless you and all our troops! (Policemen, fireman and men & woman protecting our borders, too!)
Hazel says
err, women. Gads.
Christine via Facebook says
Thanks Jennie!! I have been saving my coupons to do this and never got around to looking up how to join. I appreciate you posting this 🙂
Christine via Facebook says
Thanks Jennie!! I have been saving my coupons to do this and never got around to looking up how to join. I appreciate you posting this 🙂
Hazel says
Don’t forget that if a shipment is over a certain weight, it’ll require a customs form. Also, I got a letter from one of the bases saying they want them in (I think) 8×8 zipper style plastic baggies. I suppose that keeps them from flying all over the place should the packaging fail.
via Facebook says
Take a look at the post for the details Jennifer. 🙂
Jennifer via Facebook says
I have so many that are either expiring or expired…they are whole inserts…how do I send them off to someone?? thanks!!
Addie says
The families are only allowed to use coupons that are really no more than five (5) months or less expired. So any from last September should be okay. For more information on how to mail or to adopt a Family, visit the website at https://www.couponstotroops.com or send an email to us at [email protected].
Dusty says
Hello,
Wondering when I should pass on these coupons, or how long to keep the stacks of booklets I have? I have them from the past year, 2 of each. I see the P&G expires monthly. Do you keep them until Dec 31? Should I get rid of all the ones until Jan 1 and also the P&G at the end of this month? Just wondering because I’m running out of room on my shelf… 🙂
Addie says
Thanks for asking! The families are only allowed to use coupons that are really no more than five (5) months or less expired. So any from last September should be okay. For more information or to adopt a Family, visit the website at https://www.couponstotroops.com or send an email to us at [email protected].
via Facebook says
Thank you so much for the chance to share our program with your readers! :0)