If you are ever wandering around the supermarket or market and you spy a bargain, especially when it's something you know that you use regularly, never pass it by! If you have the ready cash, then what's stopping you.........snap it up!, even if there's just a day or two left on the 'sell by' or 'use by' dates!
People seem to have a fear when it comes to 'sell by' and 'use by' dates, and because they are not sure exactly what they mean, as a country we dump approx 700 euros worth of food per household each year!......crazy isn't it!....... so what are they really about? how can we use them to our advantage? and save ourselves MONEY!
'Sell By' ..... this is more for the convenience of the store for the ordering of their stock and to remind them of when an item should be removed from sale......it's not for the convenience of the customer......so don't worry too much about it.....in fact, ignore it!
'Use By' .....this is the important one for us the shopper!
If we buy something and the 'use by' date is a certain number of days away, then that item is good to use any time up to that date....if it remains unopened! that is the important point!
If you open a 'perishable' item, something like a tub of ready made coleslaw, then the 'use by' date on the packaging goes out the window!.......once you have opened or broken the seal on the packaging you are exposing the food inside to the air and therefore the possibility of bacteria growing or being introduced.......for example......I buy a packet of ham on the 9th of the month, the 'use by' date on the packet is the 25th of that month........this ham will keep perfectly well in the fridge up to the 25th as long as I don't open that packet! ....... If at any time I open that packet of ham before the 25th, then I have about 3-4 days in which to finish the ham or it will not be at it's best or could be going off and have to be dumped......and I hate wasting food!
Even if you haven't opened the packet by the 'use by' date, there is still a chance that the food will still be okay to eat if you open it a day or two after the date, this is very true for vacuum sealed products......you'll never know until you open it....so always open and have a check before feeding it to the bin....or the dog!
When it comes to things like coleslaw or milk they sometimes won't even last to the use by date...... many times I have had milk that was fine the night before the 'use by' date and the next morning it was sour!
When buying dry goods that you may want to store for long periods such as canned items or UHT milk, it does no harm to check the date, they may have been hanging around in a warehouse for a long time or even in smaller stores where stock may not move as quickly, your item could be closer to its 'use by' date than you realise......yes canned foods do last for years, but still, do check!
Now that we know about 'use by' dates and how we interpret them, we can go looking for bargains!
I love having a poke around those 'reduced' items shelves, fridges or baskets in the supermarket or local shops, as Forest Gump always said.....you never know what you're gonna get!! You may come across something you would use frequently or even something you've been dying to try but it may have been out of your budget.
When you do find something, ask yourself......when will I use it?.....how can I use it?.......can it be frozen or bottled?......or how can I cook it and then freeze it?......is it really cheaper?
That last one is the important question!
I had the experience in a supermarket where I found a fridge of whole roasting chickens reduced as there was only 1 day left before its 'use by' date was up......they seemed like a bargain until I rounded the corner and there was more chicken, chicken fillets to be precise... when comparing the price per kilo of each, the chicken fillets worked out cheaper per kilo than the whole chicken on 'offer' and I wasn't paying for bones!
So you do have to be careful......always go shopping with a calculator I say! Someday I hope to walk into the supermarket and see hordes of shoppers all standing with their calculators out whilst doing their shopping!
When should I shop?......Hitting the supermarket at certain times of day can help too!.....early in the morning is good........ when new stock is being put out you may be able to haggle for 'old' stuff, also just before closing time is good too......it's a great time to buy fresh flowers, in-store bakery goods, or fruit and veg that may otherwise end up in the skip!
Just before closing on Christmas Eve or just before a bank holiday or at the end of a bank holiday is good too......most big stores close at 5.30 or 6pm on Christmas eve, if you get there about 20 minutes before closing you can bag some wonderful bargains on fish, meat, fruits and vegetables....anything that is fresh really as they don't want it sitting around until the store opens maybe the day after boxing day.....you can really do well on luxury items such as fresh salmon, goose, turkey, duck, fresh cranberries, fancy desserts, ready made meals suitable for freezing etc. that might be beyond your budget the rest of the year......and FREEZE! FREEZE! FREEZE! I say!
Can I haggle in the supermarket?.......of course you can....if you don't ask, you don't get! and sometimes they would rather take any money than have to record wastage.
Small local stores, farmers markets and roadside sellers are the best places for haggling and you should always try to build up a friendly relationship with stall holders if you see them regularly.......praise of their products sweetens the path to talking them into giving you a bargain!
read more supermarket tips here! So happy bargain hunting..........and don't forget the freezer bags!
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