Giving Back... One Coupon at a Time

Each month this year, I plan to give myself some sort of challenge, to try to improve how I'm doing in that particular area.  In January, I did the Clean Out the Cupboards Challenge to use up the excess food in my pantry and spend as little as possible at the stores.  Last month, I did the Drugstore Bootstrap Challenge to build up my Extra Care Bucks from CVS and my Register Rewards from Walgreens.

This month, it's time for me to give back... one coupon at a time!

My challenge for this month (and yours, too, if you'd like to join me) is to find a way to give back to others using coupons or other frugal strategies.  How?  I'll leave that up to you.  But here are some ideas that I had:

• Purchase pantry items cheaply and donate them to a food bank or to a friend, relative, or neighbor in need.
• Donate items already in your pantry that you don't plan to use.
• Donate/buy personal care items to a shelter or other charity in your area.
• Donate unused household items to a thrift store or charity.
• Purchase used children's books at a library sale or thrift shop and donate them to a school.
• Teach a friend, relative, or neighbor some of your money-saving secrets.
• Take unused but unexpired coupons and leave them at the grocery store near the item, so that someone else can use them (you should probably check with your grocery store manager before doing this).
• Donate expired coupons to military bases overseas.  Click here to learn how.

I'm sure there are lots and lots of other ways you can give back to your community - leave a comment if you have another idea and I'll add it to the list!

This week, I purchased 20 cans of tomato sauce at Publix.  They cost 8¢ each after coupons, plus I got two free loaves of bread with the purchase as well.  So I'm donating these cans of sauce, as well as a few other pantry items, to a March for the Hungry food drive in my area.  If you live in my area, I urge you to donate as well!

How are you giving back this week?  Leave a comment below!