The first of the month can be a sad day for “coupon ladies & gentlemen” across the country. This is the day when the majority of coupons have expired. Millions of dollars in coupons are tossed in the trash.

If you have been to our Free Frugal Fairhope Coupon Workshops you have heard us talk about another use for those expired coupons. Military bases overseas can use expired coupons in their commissary for up to 6 months after the expiration date.

We have spent some time overseas, and we can tell you from personal experience it is not cheap. The military bases commissary offers some discounts that can help with the grocery cost but the cost of living in general is expensive. Like those of us living state side grocery costs are soaring with no end in sight, so every little bit counts.

Sending coupons overseas is pretty simple and your are sending the package to a U.S. territory so doesn’t require extra international postage.  You can get all the instructions including how and which base to adopt at the Overseas Coupon Program, www.ocpnet.org.

Here are a few tips from the site:

• Sort your coupons by food and non food (we especially liked the calorie tip)
• We placed our coupons in two Ziploc bags (see photo)
• Don’t send anything that has expired over 2 months, by the time it gets there they may not be able to use it
• Keep the package open until you get to the post office in case it is cheaper to send your package by parcel post
• Don’t forget about completing the customs form
• Tally the coupons value by weight or counting the values (optional)

There are several bases to adopt and the site is self serving. Fill out an on line form telling them how much you donated and the base the coupons were sent. This helps them keep track of what base is in need.

We have saved all of our expired coupons from this year and this month will be our first experience with shipping expired coupons overseas. We plan to send out a shipment of expired coupons every two months. Our next shipment will be in April. If you are interested in joining us in the Frugal Fairhope Expired Coupons Drive, send an email to Frances @ Frugal Fairhope .com (no spaces) and we will send you the details of the drop off. All coupons must already be clipped, sorted, and placed in Ziploc bags to be mailed.