Buy Reduced

Photo Courtesy of: www.123rf.com

My earlier post from today leads me into another money-saving topic very near and dear to my heart, buying reduced. Folks, if you shop the clearance rack for clothes you can shop the clearance rack for food! (LOL)



As a child, it was ritual of mine to go with my mom to the grocery store every Sunday morning to scour our local grocery store for reduced food. We were on a strict budget and my mom taught me from a young age, as her mom taught her, the importance of finding subtle ways to stretch a limited income. Let me preface this by saying, we do not eat expired food, per se. Instead we buy food that is close to expiration date and freeze it to eat at a later date. Freezing greatly slows the aging process thus the food can be saved and eaten much later than it would if it remained at the grocery store without freezing. 

Grocery stores are inundated with food on a daily basis, more food than it can possibly sell before it will expire. Many grocery stores take food close to expiration and donate it to local charities for local area families who need the aid. Others, sell food that is close to expiration at greatly reduced costs to the consumer. I don't buy just anything that is reduced, I primarily focus on, fruits, veggies, dairy, bread, and meat, since these items can be frozen for later consumption. If items are stored in large packages I will repackage them myself for fast and easy usage later. 

Buying reduced helps you not only stretch your budget, but it is a great way to eat things you otherwise couldn't afford on your budget. I regularly get organic and minimally processed foods this way. I recommend checking your local grocery stores (and health food stores if you are trying to eat healthy) for reduced items and talking to employees to find out when they mark items down and where they put the items they mark down (sometimes there is a special specific location in the store). 

Employees at grocery stores have to go through all the items in the store and manually check expiration dates and befriending them can be very beneficial. I personally know a butcher at my local grocery store who gave me the inside scoop on what day and time they mark the meat down. This saved me a great deal of time since prior to this I was going to the store every day trying to find reduced meat. Plus, if you find an item that is close to expiring you can take it to a store employee and ask them to mark it down. Don't feel bad about it either, because it saves you money and saves them time!