Good morning everyone and Happy Friday once again! And for those of you reading this at the day job, I’m sure you’re all staring at the clock waiting to begin your three-day weekend. I know I am! I purposely saved some work for me to do today, just to make sure I have plenty to do and the day doesn’t drag on.
Now yes, we will most definitely be getting our grill on both at home and at the South Side Pagan Picnic, and the weather looks like it’s going to be perfect for doing so. Thank the Gods for that one, because it’s been way too wet lately. I did a bunch of grocery shopping yesterday to take advantage of all the big sales (13 Gatorades for a total of $4.90 ain’t bad!), and I’ll be making things like potato salad ahead of time so I too can enjoy the outdoors instead of being trapped in the kitchen. It will probably be on the humid side, but hey – that’s what hair ties, tanks and cargo shorts are for. And air conditioning to run to when it gets too bad!
We will be doing a little bit more than the unofficial welcome to summer this weekend, as we keep in mind what Memorial Day is intended for: To remember those who gave everything for us so we can live free. I don’t feel it’s necessary to write up again how we personally will be reflecting while noshing on barbecue-laden deliciousness, so I’ll simply link to last year’s article instead. Rather, I would like to focus on introducing a charity I am getting involved in: The Overseas Coupon Program.
As I posted last week, I’ve been thinking about how to help out our military families overseas with all the unused/unwanted coupons I have been coming across. Sure enough, there is already a group doing this, and I’m happy to be jumping in on it. I admit, it makes me sick to see savings go to waste, and with everything else, I would much rather repurpose these expired coupons than merely recycle. So I’m on board!
If you would also like to get involved, here’s all you need to do:
- Let’s choose a base or post to adopt! We need to know where our combined coupons will be going before we can mail them anywhere. Next week, I will let you all know which base or post has been chosen by majority rule. Please pass this around so we can get as many people interested as possible. The following are currently accepting adoptions:
- US Air Force: Alconbury, UK
- US Navy: Atsugi, Japan
- US Navy: Gaeta, Italy
- US Army: Grafenwoehr, Germany
- US Navy: Ikego, Japan
- US Army: Illesheim, Germany
- US Air Force: Incirlik, Turkey
- US Marines: Iwakuni, Japan
- US Air Force: Lakenheath, UK
- US Army: Okinawa, Japan
- US Air Force: Okinawa, Japan
- US Navy: Sasebo, Japan
- US Army: Schweinfurt, Germany
- US Air Force: Spangdahlem, Germany
- US Army: Vicenza, Italy
- US Army: Vilseck, Germany
- US Navy: Yokohama, Japan
- US Navy: Yokosuka, Japan
- US Navy: Yokota, Japan
- Collect coupons! There are a million places to find them, even when you’re not trying. There’s always the Sunday paper, and many websites like Coupons.com have a bunch to print at home as well. (And yes, there are indeed lots of coupons for healthy foods and green supplies.) Keep what you want for yourself, and mail the rest to me. They discourage, but not outright say no to, active printables, so really, just send any expired you have lying around. (Also, you don’t have to use virgin paper or print the coupons in color. Use the backs of scrap print and save yourself some ink.)
I’ve been saving our family on average 50-75% per shopping trip since I started, and it only takes a few hours out of my week with one newspaper and some printables. (I could order more newspapers, but I would then need to figure out what to do with the extras.) I’m no “Extreme Couponer“, nor would I really want to be. Most of my coupon clipping and circular browsing time is done while watching the news or something, so it’s not hard at all and is in fact a nice way to pass the time. (Game of Thrones gets my undivided attention however, as will True Blood starting next month!) And hey, if you’re not seeing crazy savings right away, don’t get discouraged – just keep doing what you’re doing, because every penny counts.
- Cut the coupons. They need to be cut, so please don’t print out and merely mail a sheet. The folks who sort these for the troops already take on an extraordinary amount of work, so that would leave me to do it. Any type of coupon can be sent that the commissary or PX/BX accepts, especially manufacturer coupons, up to two months past the expiration date. Please do not send in-store coupons like the ones on Target’s website, except the couple that read “Manufacturer Coupon” on top. Those can be used at any store than accepts coupons.
- Mail the coupons to me. I will do the totals they’re requiring and mailing the coupons to the base or post adopted. It should only cost you a stamp or two to get them to me, and I’ll be batching them into the least expensive pack possible. So for everyone involved, it’s a very low-cost and easy way to help. Please send your coupons to:
Lori Dake
Attn: PNC Coupons
PO Box 306
Chicago, IL 60690-0306
United States
I’ll be mailing all the combined coupons once a month to our adopted base. The first mailing will be going out at the end of June, and I will post our totals the following Friday here on W&K. Again, please send these pre-cut and sorted, because if we start really getting a lot, I’m going to be crazy-slammed with little slips of paper!
Please remember to only send active and expired (up to two months old) manufacturer coupons. For the most part, they need to say “Manufacturer Coupon” at the top. I can’t stress that enough. The commissaries and PX/BXs can’t take most of the other kinds, like ones for Wally World or whatever. Read their FAQ if you need more details.
- Why clip for the troops? Saving up coupons is such a simple thing to do, and by participating in this program, it will be one more way our community becomes recognized by folks who may not even realize we exist or cling to stereotypes and/or misconceptions. And hey, it will help you and yours at the same time, since you’ll be coming across some deals you will surely want to keep for yourself.
Since these families almost entirely live on one paycheck, it’s nearly impossible for the spouse to hold down any kind of meaningful job due to constant moving. Those checks aren’t all that big either – just enough to make ends meet – if that. Also, they may well be looking at pay freezes like they were threatened with last month due to the debt ceiling being hit, so those little savings here and there will really add up. Like I said, since we started couponing a little over a month ago, we’ve seen some significant savings. Today is payday, but it’s the rent checks, so we usually are pretty tight right about now. But because of the coupons, we actually have about $400 to spare. (That money’s going right toward paying down lingering debts, but hey, it’s nice we can do that.)
As we all know, the price of everything has gone up considerably. Gas is high, which we are reliant on trucks fueling up to deliver to the stores. And, with all the storms resulting in ruined crops, there’s simply less food to go around. That’s a double whammy right there. I would rather try to be proactive and prepare for the worst by helping these folks stretch their checks further… and for you, too! Let’s work together!
Thanks for doing this. As a military wife, every little bit helps. And just to let you know they can be expired coupons too ( just keep them separate) Most px’s will take them especially over seas. Just ask where there being sent if there PX takes them. I have a ton of both, that Ill get into the mail to you asap.
M
Yes, I did mention expired coupons, but these folks say to send them no more than 2 months old. The coupons still need time to get from me, then to the sorter at the base/post and then to the families to pick through. So if I collected coupons 5 months old, they might be no longer good by the time they get to the families. It’s reliant mostly on the post office doing their job of course, and we all know how that goes.
If you or anyone else need to get a hold of me, my email is doom diva (at) yahoo (dot) com.
I’ll vote for the USAF @Alconbury,UK. I get the Sunday paper & there’s tons of coupons I never use.
Got it! Please feel free to pass on the message!
There’s always coupons I come across I have no purpose for as well, but I know other people find them extremely valuable – baby products come to mind. I just did a quick tally of what I have so far and it’s already up to past $200 worth of good stuff, some coupons still active!
This was one of the projects which the Science Fiction Fan Club we belonged to in southern Maine, before we moved to Greene, had going for quite a while.
As so many Coast Guard stations are located so far from places where there are PXs and such, and are too small to have ones of their own, we seldom got to use a PX at all. Having served 10 years, on both coasts, I have always understood how much something like this would have been helpful, very helpful, back then.
So while we were with the club, “USS O’Bannon, NCC-5372″ we made a point of filching coupon flyer inserts from the various places where people tended to leave them behind while reading their papers, and adding all the cut-apart coupons from them to the monthly pile handled to our club’s coordinator for the project.
Yes, clip those coupons before sending them. This greatly reduces the weight of waste paper going through the mails.
That’s too bad you weren’t able to shop there, because taking advantage of those super low prices and tax free can make a world of difference for people on a tight budget! The nearest one to us is Great Lakes, so for local personnel, they have a bit of a haul to get to one. But for big purchases, I can see it being worth the drive. Especially around here – we have 9.75% sales tax, and that was recently *reduced* from 10.25%. Yikes!
I’m actually a bit anal on my own clippings, mostly because I want to make sure they fit easily in my binder. But you’re right about the weight. I’m guessing I’ll use a priority envelope for $4.95 (“if it fits, it ships”) at the rate collected already on my end, but for people mailing them to me, it might just mean the difference between one stamp and two (or three).
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Hi there!
I’m still looking for a couple more votes by Friday to choose a post or base to adopt. Thanks!!