A Great Use For Manufacturers Coupons That Are About To Go Around the Corner

I have always been a coupon clipper. Now more than ever, pinching pennies is important and I look forward to the Sunday paper to harvest the coupons. Because of this, I accumulate a large number of coupons that I "might" want to use in the future and I throw away an equal number for which I have no use. Last weekend, I looked at the great stack of manufacturers coupons and decided that in addition to cleaning the exterior of my house, I should also weed through and organize them.

When I had finished the weeding and organizing, I had a pile of coupons that were recently expired, a stack that were going to expire in the next 10 days, and a stack that I might actually use. The piles were pretty big and I was sad that so many would go to waste. I remembered participating in a coupon exchange years ago, and I also remember when one of the local groceries offered a big table where assorted coupons could be placed for others to sort through and take what was useful to them. The table at the grocery is long gone and I can't even remember the source of the coupon exchange, so I set about to look on the internet for a use for my excess coupons. I asked on Twitter for information but got no responses, so I set out on my own journey.

It didn't take long before I happened upon this site http://www.ocpnet.org and I was hooked. The Overseas Coupon Program provides a way for recently expired (2 months or less) coupons to be sent to US military bases all over the world. There, in the PX and commissary, the recently expired coupons can still be used on base. This is a nice way to support the military families who are overseas sacrificing for all of us.

The site has all of the instructions you need, including how to adopt an overseas base as the recipient of your coupons. This can be undertaken by an individual or a group. It could be a project to incorporate into a home schooling arithmetic exercise (adding up the value of the donated coupons), a project for a scout troop, a project for your bunco group or other social group that meets regularly, a church or a youth group, the possibilities are endless. It is a win-win proposition.

Now I have two big Ziploc bags of coupons ready to go!