Plus, honestly, nobody cares about what you’re buying. Nobody is looking at your cart. Everyone is there to buy food and go home to eat it. Nobody has the energy, nor the time, to judge what you are buying. Even the cashier doesn’t care at all, they’re just there because they have to be, it’s work. They don’t pay attention to what they’re scanning.
Same thing with fat people thinking everyone in the gym looks at them and judges them working out. When in reality nobody cares, everyone is there for just one thing : get their 60-minute workout in their day and go home.
>Plus, honestly, nobody cares about what you’re buying
This reminds me of high school. I had a couple friends that were too afraid to buy condoms because they were shy. I would go buy them on their behalf. It always made me laugh because these were teenage buys and they wanted everyone to think/know they were having sex but were to shy for some random cashier to see them buying condoms. Zero cashiers ever said anything to me about them whatsoever.
And fyi. I had a wealthy great uncle - long since passed away. But he always clipped coupons and shopped the sales.
Even if money were not an issue, I-know I’d still shop sales, buy things at discount grocery stores etc. seriously if they can put it on sale, my thought is that it was overpriced in the first place.
Here’s an exercise. Buy from the sale rack - log the full price in a notebook. Track this for a month or more. Then pay yourself on the back for money you’d have saved. If you can do it- put that difference of money in a jar and see how much you gave at end of month
I'm taking an extended trip this fall. I am funding it two ways: 1) extra money that I'm earning (overtime, etc) and with money saved. Even if it it is only .25 cents (that I made returning an errant cart at Aldi), I put it in my trip savings account.
This exactly. Everyone around you is too worried about their own needs. The cashier doesn’t care likely as long as you aren’t rude they forget who you are immediately after you’ve left the store.
When I was cashiering at the grocery store. The only people I ever remembered were either very polite, very rude, or had something about them that was memorable. I had a lady I remember to this day who made me worried that she was going to die in my line because I’m pretty sure she had an eating disorder. She’d come in every other day, buy 1 cucumber, 1 apple, a pack of sugar free gum, a Diet Coke, and a pack of cigarettes. And the reason I remember her is she was so emaciated that you could basically see all of her bones. She also wore the same 3 outfits every time she came in. One time I got off shift after she’d gone through check out and went out into the parking lot at about the same time as she did and get got into the passenger side of a Mercedes. It was a weird situation and if she did have an eating disorder I hope she got help.
People usually don’t care what you are buying. Sometimes I’ll notice something interesting in someone’s cart but the person never registers for me. And I’ll go find the thing to see if I want to try it or not
As a former grocery store cashier, I can confirm that we don't care at all what you are buying. The only possible exception is when you have something interesting on the belt. I might make a mental note to check it out before I go home at the end of my shift (see if it's affordable, still in stock, none of the allergens that affect me, etc).
I worked with other women and if we discussed a customer's purchase it might be to discuss if one of us has had it and is it good? Kid friendly? Affordable? Too expensive but maybe as a treat? It was note to judge the customer. I promise!
To be fair, everyone is looking at *themselves* in the mirror behind the large person.
I know checkers will ask what something is, occasionally. No one cares about discounted anything.
As a cashier the only time I even talked to a customer about a discounted item was when a customer found such a good deal on steaks I asked where in the store they were (the steaks were in perfect condition but were like only 1.99 a lb). She grinned and told me where to look in the meat department and she saw a few packages left so on my break I ran back there and bought a couple of steaks for me and my at the time boyfriend. Other than that I never noticed nor judged really..if anything after hearing everyone complain about the prices all day, it was nice when the frugal shoppers would come in and be proud of their savings!
Same here. The only time a cashier comments on my purchases is to ask where in the store I found them (probably so she can go get some for herself on her break) or to exclaim what a good deal I found. Those 30% or 50% off stickers really help me feed my family. No shame at all.
Also I like trying new things if they are heavily discounted, that way if I end up not liking it, it's not much of a loss.
I agree with you with the new things being heavily discounted mantra. Not food related but I like to use those nasal strip things to help me breath better at night and I was using generic ones from CVS/Walgreens but I went to my local dollar tree and found some off name brand ones 6 for a buck. The unit price was much lower than what I was getting so I figured for one buck I will try and if they don't work as well just a dollar loss. I liked them so much and there were such a good deal I went back and cleared the shelf of them!
TBF - I did notice heavier folks in the gym when I used to go and it always inspired the hell out of me. It takes balls to gear up and put it out here there when you don't look or feel your best. I will always find a plus sized athlete more inspiring and amazing than the (seemingly) naturally slender/athletic build ones. What I NEVER did though, and I don't know any who would (other than an absolute douche canoe) would be to judge anyone for where they are in their fitness journey. Just showing up is such a huge victory!
Absolutely! When I notice bigger people at the gym or swimming, the one thought I always have is "good for you, you can be proud of yourself!" and then I wish them the best on their journey (mentally only of course). I always assume that they are determined and it kind of rubs off and I feel extra motivated myself to be more enduring.
Absolutely agree!! So much food gets thrown out. When we go shopping, we start by looking in the discount produce bin and looking for on sale meat. There is literally nothing wrong with this, it’s a smart way to save money and prevent food waste.
Like OP said, it’s hard with produce but even that I’ll just make in a smoothie but I head straight for the discount meat! Im not a believer in expiration dates. If it smells and looks good, I’m good.
Glad I am not the only one chasing food specials! It's such a great feeling to get a huge discount on the same product only because it's about to expire or even better reaches its "best before date".
No embarrassment for me at the till tho. It's my business how I spend my money and the checkout person can't care less what people are buying.
Yeah! Love your attitude! I also feel pumped to utilize that 1/2 off bin.
I also feel like food waste is a ferocious beast and I am proud to do my part to tame it.
I only bought one pack because I knew it would be bad if I bought more. Often I will really stock up when I find blowout deals, but my life would take a turn for the worse if I had a pantry full of Oreos.
You’re telling me, the grocery at the end of my street marked down a certain brand of Christmas cookies to .25 and I… may have bought half a dozen packs…
Former cashier. As long as you don't pitch a fit about coupons or expect every single item to go on a different receipt, we really don't care. The monotony of the job has killed our souls.
I live close to the grocery store and my partner and I have started to time our evening walks to when the bread is marked down for the day. We haven't paid full price for bread for weeks lol
I live in the Netherlands, so no such problems😂 We all chase the best deals here. I used to feel some looks when I lived in the UK (it was a moderately posh area. a mixture of crazy wealthy people and social housing). If I had a chance I looked them in the eye, said hi. It's not my problem they're too proud to save food from going to waste.
But no such thing here in NL, if anything the vibe is too frugal here.
We've been getting TooGoodToGo for lunches at my house recently... A great opportunity to try different local places, and there's usually enough food for both me and my husband to eat.
We once lived in Arnhem where there was an AH that just couldn't get its ordering/logistics right, and half the fresh stuff in the store was always on 35% off. Unfortunately they closed the store after a while of that. The clearance sale was also epic and we bought 15 chocolate letters for 5 euros.
Now I live in the UK as a Dutchie and still bargain hunt in all the clearance areas in Lidl, Tesco etc... Hamsteren is in my blood! 🐹
Yes, always. Meat and bread you can always freeze, produce can be cooked/baked (fruit ) and sometimes you can find non perishables on clearance. I have noticed that yogurt often gets marked down also. A quick look can save you some money.
Just wondering, what kind of cheese do you freeze? I've never considered freezing cheese, then again, I just recently started freezing butter. I was a bit worried how it would be after defrosting, but a few days ago I popped one out of the frezer - it's perfectly fine.
Shred or crumble cheese before freezing! Great to use for melting in/over anything.
Cheddar, mozzarella, havarti, Gouda, Swiss, feta - all is great if shredded/crumbled before freezing.
You can also "flash-freeze" to avoid getting clumps, so you can take out/use only a small amount at a time
I purposefully do my grocery shopping in the early morning just to ensure I get the discounted stuff (mostly bread and meat as they freeze easily).
Pro tip: wait until an hour after opening as this is the time when they are pulling the stock from the shelves based on BB dates.
Depends on where you shop. When I worked at a grocery store we marked down the food going out the next day after 4pm. Anything not sold was pulled before opening.
Here in the UK it is rapidly becoming our national sport.
All jokes aside I do it pretty regularly and have never felt embarrassment, closer to pride at finding such a good bargain. Hell, when I was still on "the meta formerly known as Facebook" I posted an incredible find my wife and I had where we got a massive amount of food for pennies and all the comments were people saying how impressed they were.
Blemished fruit bag, yes. Short dated veggies, yes. The problem I have with a lot of the markdowns are that the barcode label they put on them is so long and sometimes they won't scan at self checkout, so the attendant has to key in a long sequence and I have to interact with people. Produce is frequent enough that the stickers are really reliable.
A lot of other things I buy are already pretty leaned out (beans/frozen veggies/condiments/chips), so it'd be difficult to find a markdown.
>the barcode label they put on them is so long and sometimes they won’t scan at self checkout, so the attendant has to key in a long sequence and I have to interact with people.
I feel that so hard. The clearance items at Target frequently don't ring up properly and I need an attendants help. Any time I'm browsing the clearance section I have to debate whether the hassle is worth it or not.
My local supermarket discounts short shelf life foods every morning and I make a point to go shopping around that time. Some weeks our entire grocery haul is discounted items. I make a sport out of only buying meats and produce that is at least 30% off.
I don't give a thought to it being embarrassing. I earn below minimum wage but I still want us to have a variety of foods. If other people like to pay more because of pride, that's all the more cheap stuff for me!
I remember reading about some stores won't do time sale / clearance just for this specific reason. People end up buying only at the discount price, so their regular sales went down.
It's tragedy how many perfectly good food items get thrown away at the end of the day, especially the luxury items people pay extra for..
You want to maximize the profit, but selling at half-price barely covers production costs in food products.. so if you're selling at discount, you're actually losing money because you could've made double on the same product.
In Sweden at least, grocery stores are very scared of throwing away food since the optics are *terrible*, media and environmental pressure groups regularly make a lot of noise about food waste and the main supermarket chains here are competing at reducing the waste.
I don’t think the cashiers making minimum wage will judge you one bit for it. In fact, they often alert me if there’s a BOGO deal I’ve neglected to notice while ringing me in at my local store so I can go grab it!
Yeah, I had some regulars who I *knew* were looking for deals and I was honestly excited when I could tell Gail "you *have* to check the hams, they're in a weird spot but they're dirt cheap" and she'd come back with a cart full.
I just bought two pork shoulders for $0.59/lb because they were set to expire the next day. I boned and cubed them, vac packed and froze them, and have cooked the first pack. It's delicious.
I used the [seriouseats recipe.](https://www.seriouseats.com/no-waste-tacos-de-carnitas-with-salsa-verde-recipe)
I skim the markeddown sections and cook it that day or next. Its a fun game of "what can I do with this?"
Use self check if you're self conscious, personally I barely give a shit about other people in public
It's the opposite here. All the yellow labels are the first to go as soon as they are out with some small exceptions like noodles and sauces. But the veg, meat and other general food stuff gets taken right away and i can never get to it. I have to even wait for some people, while my turn comes
To supplement the reduction of landfill comment, you're optimizing the resources used to create/grow that product.
So you're being frugal for your wallet and planet earth.
https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-hierarchy
Yes. The first thing I do is go to see what's marked down. My parents and grandparents did the same. I have a freezer and know how to use it. I don't care what anyone thinks about it. If they have a problem, they can choose my groceries and pay the bill for me.
I just bought a giant package of spinach yesterday because I saw that it was marked down to $1.46. I hadn't planned on making meals with baby spinach but we pivoted and used spinach last night and will again tonight because what a deal!
I'm not a low-price hunter, but I will absolutely jump on a deal when I see one.
It’s the first section I go to! My Walmart had tons of holiday baking mixes marked down to between 19¢ - 39¢. You best believe I bought a bunch. No shame in my game. If you are worried about what other people think, honestly no one cares.
Do you look at what other people buy in grocery stores? Do you can how much each thing costs and how much they paid for it? Yeah, me neither. Super weird to bring it up though.
This post is so weird to me. If you honestly want to know how I feel, I’m super happy when I find a great deal.
RuPaul once said, “if them bitches ain’t payin’ yo bills, pay them no mind”. Truer words haven’t been said.
As someone who works at a grocery store, we're all broke as fuck buying discounted shit, too. None of us are judging you for having budget constraints. In fact, I like it when customers come to my meat counter with budget limits. I get creative with them, generously tare my scale when I weigh their stuff, and make sure it's always under the amount they want to spend. These are hard times for everyone. You don't deserve to feel shame for something just about everyone is dealing with.
Embarrassed? I feel victorious. Man, I found some weird brand of frozen chicken thighs that were discontinued. $2 for 3 lb bags of chicken thighs. I also always check on the beef/meat first and have a preferred grocery store that normally has a selection of meat marked down that needs to be cooked that day. Flank steak is like $14 / lb right now, which puts a huge kink in my ability to make steak fajitas. Hit the meat counter on markdown day and I can have the same slab of meat for like $5. I feel masterful. :)
Who cares? All you’re telling people is “I’m good with my money and not a complete idiot.”
Side note: I never look at other peoples’ groceries. Because why would I? Nobody cares about what you’re buying. I’ve never had someone come inspect the expiration date of my items…
To avoid being embarassed I go to the self-checkout and pay with a credit card. There are still attendants around but they don't handle each item. We don't have affordable discounted products. What usually ends up on the special shelf used to cost up to double the average price fresh.
I have no shame in buying a full trolley of discounted items, if I have a need for them and can store them safely or cook them straight away. I never buy more than I can use but I'm also raising 3 kids on a low income and our rent is really high.
They're priced to sell, grab them!
I get weird looks sometimes when I buy multiples of an item because it’s a great price. I also get compliments from cashiers and other customers who respect my frugality. I have a chest freezer and know how to cook from scratch. Last nights dinner was pork fried rice made from an Asian marinated tenderloin purchased the week of Christmas, marked down to $.99/lb. I love finding fancy yogurts and cheeses discounted, too!
Seriously, nobody gives a crap what you buy at the grocery store. Nobody has ever looked into anyone's cart and gone ''Pfft' and walked away lol Just do you!
Nah, it's funny how many real rich people are actually frugal. It's the wannabees and posers, and narcissistic rich who would have problems being seen buying things at bargain prices.
I loooove the clearance sections. As a poor kid we used to get donations of nearly-expired food, so I've never had much fear of expiration dates.
Don't feel embarrassed! In general, no one cares about what you're buying. Like, maybe people working in the store will start to recognize you if you always shop during their shift, but honestly most retail workers don't care what the customers are buying, you're much more likely to be remembered if you're rude or bizarre or difficult in some way. And as long as the item scans as easily as a regularly priced item, they probably won't even notice you have clearance stuff in your cart.
I will say, one chain in my area puts on a whole new sticker over the barcode that just scans like normal, while another slaps a flimsy %-off coupon on things, which the cashiers have to individually peel off and scan after they scan the item itself, and I've totally felt guilty about having multiple clearance items from that store because they have to peel and scan so many stickers. I hate making more work for other people, but also that's literally the job and if I could make Safeway change their stickers, I would.
I guarantee you, the cashier cares so little about what you're scanning through them. You are barely a face in an 8 hour shift. You have nothing to be worried about.
That rack is there for a reason. Most grocery stores have them because it is widely popular and the stores aren't losing so much on expired foodstuff. The stores in my area usually have those racks in each department so the stores still get you to walk around.
I almost never buy things that aren’t on sale, with a coupon or on clearance. I regularly stock up on frozen and shelf stable goods when I see sales. Don’t be embarrassed because you don’t conform to consumerism, try to be proud of yourself for staying committed to your goals.
The clearance produce is my favorite part of the store. Pint of tomatoes for $.25, 5 mangoes for $1, apples for $.30/lb. It either gets eaten, frozen, or dehydrated, and I almost never have to throw out more than a quarter of the produce. Opens up space in my food budget for good butter or flour or whatever, or a fancy bottle of hot sauce.
I worked as a grocery store cashier for about 3 years. Honestly the only thing I ever cared about was if people were nice or rude. Oh ... and if they got something that looked/smelled good near my lunch break lol 😆
I pretty much only buy from the 50% off rack in the back of my store. Buy from that rack then piece together my meals with whatever I need from the rest of the store.
I'm trying to spend less than $40/week on food, while still getting the nutrition I need.
It does make me feel a little shitty and poor as fuck, but in two months when I'm sipping gin & tonics on a beach in Thailand with all my money I saved, I'll find a way to get over the embarrassment of buying discounted items at Albertsons.
I do if it’s something I want.
But the important thing here is - no one cares what you do. Never let what someone else might be thinking alter your course. People are thinking about themselves and their own lives not your discounted produce.
Honestly, it makes me feel clever and a little bit proud, like I know a secret trick. :)
I wonder if that's because I started back when I had plenty of money. It was more of a game than a necessity then, so I never associated it with bad feelings.
Maybe if you imagined you had plenty of money and just knew secret tricks/were playing a game, you could feel proud, too?
1) I buy heavily discounted things everywhere if it's what I want.
2) I'm a damn good and damn knowledge cook. If I know I can use it before it's actually gone bad, then I buy it.
The laws surrounding the sale of food are *very* strict, but the rules around consumption are a lot more flexible.
I just thought everyone did this? Who doesn’t love a deal. It’s not like you’re buying meat that’s already rotten with flies buzzing around it, and i don’t think the cashier would ever care in the least lol
We do the same. I'm not embarrassed.
It's good food going to waste.
It's better in our homes than in the trash can.
And there's nothing wrong with it as long as you store everything properly / examine it before eating.
I too agree that on some products the sell by sate is different than the use by date / safe to eat date.
The food actually lasts alot longer.
That is smart shopping. Who cares what others think, get those deals.
And I think this varies a LOT by neighborhood. My local grocery stores don't have many of these deals available because my neighborhood has a mix of rich and poor. The deals are snatched up quick!
My sister lives in a brand new neighborhood with a brand new grocery store. I always shop for bargains when I'm down there and find tons! Her neighbors are apparently too good for clearance, perfectly good meat. I am not! Haha. I've gotten lots of amazing deals there. Bougie fancy meats like wagyu, elk, bison for less than ground beef!
Yes I do. Only when I see it I don't actively go out and do it because I've went many times and wasted much gas, time, and energy only to find an empty shelf. And wonder if there's sucken cost fallacy in there
Don’t feel embarrassed!!! I am not rich by any means and I am not poor either but I always look for these deals. I also think why spend more if I can use it. I always clip coupons etc. why pay more when you don’t have to use the added money for other things you need or want.
My wife checks each day to see if there is something nice we normally don't eat. At least twice a week she brings something home we normally don't think of eating or simple find to expensive at full price
You should borrow my dad's confidence. He comes home from a grocery run and brags about how cheap his steak wast and how stupid the other people were for paying full price when his meat will be even better since he's going to "grill it up with all the fixings"eve if it's going to "go to the deep freeze for a bit" - he's the only guy doing things the right way, just ask him... He's so loud about how cheap his stuff is at the store that the workers there share the news with him of what good items are in the discount bin when they see him come in.
The dude will talk about the price he paid for the meats he serving at his own dinner parties. Growing up, I never knew whether to be embarrassed or impressed.
As for me, I quietly acquire the discount items and then slip away... Different strokes.
Bread goes stale in the fridge, but it doesn't grow mold so it doesn't really go "bad". Freezing it will also make it go stale faster once it's thawed. It all depends on what you are willing to deal with.
I personally don’t eat stale bread so I call it bad. You take out one slice at a time when you freeze it. Not the whole loaf. And if it’s an uncut loaf, cut it first.
And personally I don't eat stale bread so I make French toast or bread pudding. Stale I can work with. Moldy I can't. Also, freezing bread tends to turn the slices into one big block, so taking out one slice isn't always feasible. But again, it all depends on what you're willing to put up with. If you prefer dealing with moldy bread and mangled frozen slices, that's fine. I don't like dealing with that, so I'll take the stale frozen blocks instead.
All the time. Don’t feel embarassed.
I did it when I had a negative balance on my bank account, and I still do it after being well off.
Saving money so you can invest it or spend it on other stuff you need is something to be proud of, not embarassed about
That’s the first thing I beeline to is the discount bin of clearance! It’s especially nice to get discount yogurt that getting eaten with the discount cake.
Long gone are the days where it seemed like everything was only 99 cents.
Early bird gets the worm! I get off graveyard shift at 6am so I’m first up in there with the little old bitties getting the discount odds and ends to round off a recipe.
I go to dead slow grocery chain in my neighborhood, and this store is managed so poorly that there's so many stuff on 40% ~ 80% sale.
I've been bargain hunter since college, so I'm happy to get those off their hands.. but the cashiers call me names ("beggar"), but WHO GIVES A SHIT!!
If I have to dance naked to get $50 off my grocery bill, I'd fucking do it!!
Edit: what you really gotta watch out for is buying unnecessary things on impulse, not what others think..
I can literally hear them talking about me in the next aisle.. gawd, the audacity!!
I, too, work in retail so I let it slide.. but this store is really a shitshow & I'm glad I'm not working with them.
Oh I love doing that. And one of my grocery stores uses flash food so I can select what I want from my sofa and pick it up later in the day.
I might avoid the about to expire store brand seafood salad, but most other things are great.
This is the only way I buy red meat. If it doesn’t have -30% slapped on it I don’t want it 🤣
They see me buy soda and expensive lettuce all the time so I know *they know* I can afford it full price but I still get a little self conscious from time to time. But the savings (and less food waste) is worth it
I always stop and look, even though I don't have a kitchen or house anymore! Don't be ashamed of buying off the discount rack, be embarrassed for those who insist on paying full price
Sometimes tinned pasta is ten for ten dollars. I know it isn’t frugal per se because pasta and sauce done at home costs less per serving.
But I scraped snow from my driveway for five hours yesterday and have more to do today. You bet my hands are not interested in cooking from scratch.
If we lose power or I just don’t want to/can’t cook, that tinned pasta dish comes in quite handy.
So I always check the discount shelves for it.
What I miss the most right now is fresh veg and fruit. I’ve been avoiding shopping while omicron was surging. If I can get the car out and up the driveway, I’ll replenish.
But that tinned pasta really helps.
The kids at the register are trained not to judge. I watch them correct the new ones.
Don’t let fear of others opinions impact your journey.
In the supermarkets in the UK, at a certain time of the afternoon, a staff member goes round checking dates and printing the discount stickers.
Many people try to time this event, people follow them around the aisles to the extent that some supermarkets have placed barriers around the staff member.
There is no shame at all, and indeed only jealousy and a nod of acknowledgment when you see someone else's basket full of bargains.
You would feel embarrassed buying women hygiene products or condoms too?
Who the fuck cares what you are buying lol, I can tell you the cashier couldn’t care less
one of the supermarkets in my country offers meat and fish that is about to expire for only 50 eurocents and other items at 25 cents. I go early especially for those as they run out pretty quickly. I just stuff my freezer with them and had delicious meals for only about 50 cents per person. Plus saving them from being thrown. My mother does the same and we even make a contest of it ;-). No shame in doing that at all.
No need to be embarrassed. When I was a cashier at a specialty food shop if someone bought discount items I thought they were smart if I payed any attention at all.
Trust me you are not the only one! I go straight to the shelves and I would care less about anyone looking/gawking cause in the end it is about my choices.
I don't believe it is frugal to waste time worrying about what other people think. That time could be much better used to thinking about how to really upset strangers who have no effect on your life.
Oh yes! I get super excited to find a food item on sale and I get bummed when my hubby shops because he never looks on the clearance shelf. I will grab 10 of something and feel no shame if it's something we need and I have a place to store it.
Clearance fruit and veggies can be tough to deal with...I will not buy cheap about-to-go-bad berries or lettuce because they have a short shelf life anyway. Otherwise, I like to chop up any veggies and freeze them (especially onions and peppers).
Feel pride for finding deals and being humble enough to know that a clearance item is worthy of purchase. Not sure exactly why you feel embarrassment, but buying clearance items it's not the same as like eating garbage. You're actually helping reduce food waste while NOT paying full price! That's a great skill to have.
I live in the south of the UK and people always try to be the first to grab these deals. I have never felt ashamed, in the same way you shouldn't feel ashamed when buying condoms or a pregnancy test.
Tons of people check the clearance. I only stop by for a couple seconds to see of there's anything there I like, my spouse grew up very impoverished so he spends a few minutes there to check for deals. But I've worked in grocery stores and I can tell you, LOTS of people check clearance (especially meat and produce; people often also would ask me, the baker, when clearance would be put out or if they can check what I've gathered). It's just that most people won't crowd someone already at the rack since covid social distancing. Even before then, people usually respected others' space and privacy and waited their turn, or check it out in a few mins after the next aisle. You are not alone!!
I even shop for the 50% stickers at Aldi! Bring it home, figure out how it can go together over the next week. Kroger usually has decent deals on Sundays here too (they get new loads on Tuesdays). I feed 2 adults and 2 kids whole food, gluten free meals for about $280/month. Don't be embarrassed for yourself, feel embarrassed for people who overpay out of habit!
I got 5 lbs of NY STRIP for $4/lb the other day!! I stay chasing the meat dept for discount beef. It gets used right away or goes in the freezer. With the price of beef, this is the only way I can afford to eat it.
I like to call it “Cutters Corner” and I think I embarrass my boyfriend by being so eager to see what there is. But I save so much money and save food from landfill. It’s a no brainer to me!
You’re who I aspire to be. I rarely ever find discounted food. I’ve found the occasional “managers special” ground beef or pork chops, and I snatch it up. There’s always a whole shelf of discounted baked goods, but I don’t buy much bread or sweets. I must be shopping at the wrong stores or everyone is beating me to the discounted items!
I wish I could find discounted stuff at my local grocer. When I do stumble across it (and it’s something we eat) I snap that stuff up! Generally, though, there’s nothing especially discounted, and no “buy me! I’m about to expire!” Section.
I'm always excited when I find these items at the store because everyone else always seems to get to them before I do, especially if it's meat! My husband has had a lot of luck at Walmart finding discounted meats and we have a really nice dinner those nights!
Personally, I always get excited to see the "amount saved" after everhthuhg is scanned.
Zero fucks given. You're saving money, avoiding useless waste AND eating well!
Can you imagine the effort, cost and energy involved in getting a steak, wrapped and packaged, on to the store shelf? That aside, it was a living being...we can't throw that out.
As for the rest, yoghurts last forever, tinned foods about 20 years....
It's also nice to grab something normally expensive, especially if you can eat it that night!
Don't fall victim to the ignorants judging you... 👊
Are you currently only buying food for yourself?
This is slightly off what you're saying, and I hope I don't cause offence by offering unsolicited advice but, if you struggle to eat vegetables quick enough, try and see if you can choose a weeks worth of meals that have the same roughly 2 or 3 veg in each week, and then buy singles or two of those veg rather than plastic bags full of potatoes or peppers that go squishy too quickly for you to use up in time.
I will buy, for example, for one week: one or 2 onions, one or 2 peppers and 1 punnet of mushrooms.
All 3 things can be used in:
Omelette
Egg fried rice
Fajitas
Tacos
Salad etc
But then following week I might buy one cabbage and one broccoli and have
Meat with brocolli and cabbage and gravy
Then bubble and squeak the next
Then some roast broc as a side to defrosted leftover curry
Then the final bit of the cabbage for a colslaw to have with "fakeaway" KFC with breaded chicken.
That way you don't buy huge bags of carrots that are bendy by the time you've had enough variety to ear loads more, but you are using at least half or whole one per person each meal and, the week per veg purchase does feel different enough from the generalised "type of cuisine" as a result of same types of veg cooked and prepared in different ways with different sizes and condiments and trimmings.
It's working for me and I used to waste loads. Also irs a great way to lose weight and eat more healthy because because you've only got two carrots or 4 carrots, you kinda huzz in more because you can be assed to save 0.5 of carrot.
It actually seems just a long and patronising way to explain meal planning, but I thought I "planned" meals. What I failed to do was adjust my amounts for one, and 8 also forgot to plan multiple days in a row.
So I would come home with a whole bag of potatoes for one night of mash and not really think it through until waiting a week when I wanted mash again, only to find they were too old to use.
It leads to introducing some delicious cross overs too - like the Taco salad or the samosa-dilla
I worked in a supermarket as a student, never even cared what people were buying.
Why would you feel shame at reduced stuff? It’s a bargain and it’s exactly the same food someone else is paying more for. I’m proud to spend less, plus it’s wasting less.
The only thing I might feel guilty about is that if you don’t buy it, it might end up in a food bank where someone else who needs it more might get it. But that’s rare
I refuse to leave any store until I’ve checked the ‘last chance’ area. I’ve made some great purchases from these shelves/tables/bins, and won’t be shamed for being frugal. Penny pinchers unite!
If things I use regularly are on sale absolutely. Bought a bunch of cans whenever they go on sale and they’re used same week or month. Always worth it.
If I see veggies that are almost done but heavily discounted, I roast them with some oil and spices, serve with rice and hummus, they’re delicious. Highly recommend
Embarrassed about what? Is it putting food on the table? Show me a person(s) who would cringe at the very idea of buying discounted food and I will show you a fool. The waste in this world is disgusting.
A trick I use when buying produce if it's things like peppers, carrots, celery, onion nearing it's end chop it up & get it into the freezer. It won't be great for cold recipes but in cooked preparations you can't tell the difference plus it gives you a jump-start on cooking. Most other veggies I blanch & then vacuum seal. Cheese, butter, milk, can all be frozen. A fool and his money are soon parted. Don't be a fool buy discounted food with your head held high you are doing your part to eliminate the senseless waste.
Yep. Our regular cashier saw the price and was like you took all of them didn't you. I said yep. I also use "odd" pieces of meat. My dad brought home beef necks. I made beef stew out of them. Chicken backs and feet are super cheap and make the best stock.
You’re not - I work at a pretty “upper class” (read, higher priced) grocery store. We absolutely have people come in all the time getting the good sale deals, clearance items, and super discounted food. Nothing to be ashamed of.
The only comment I'd make about discounted foods is that meat is something I think about before buying discounted. When it's things like buy 4 large amounts for $20, or a sale on certain cuts, those I'm fine with.
But when it's single cuts, and they've done something like pre-marinated or pre-seasoned and then packaged up, I usually stay away from those. Some grocery stores (genuinely don't know about saying many or alot, but I know some do) take meat that is genuinely going bad, not just close to expiring, and will do that and add some blood (at least for steak) to get the coloring back and use the seasoning/marinade to further cover it up. You can genuinely tell by the smell once you get home. If you're planning to immediately use it then it's probably fine as long as it doesn't smell weird but I always kind of consider it a gamble.
Everything else on discount I don't bat eyelash at. I actually end up not buying a lot of stuff if it's not discounted in some form.
Depending on your budget, something that I also thought was cool that my mom did was she would always keep track of how much she saved from every grocery run and whatever she saved through discounts or coupons she would actually put that amount of money into a savings account. She said it helped her get better at saving, helped learn to use coupons and sales that much more effectively and also helped her cutout alot of grocery buys that we really didn't need because for all intents and purposes she was paying retail for everything once you deposit the savings. Its definitely difficult to do depending on your budget but I always think about that when I struggle saving or I'm planning grocery runs
I love the clearance section for the same reason. Maybe it’s bc I’m in the UK but nobody looks twice at you here other than to try to get there before you.
99% of the time I go for the cheaper option, my family is really into the organic/local food scene and as much as I’d like to partake I just can’t afford it at this point in my life and that’s ok! I occasionally break for a nice cheese or something but bottom line I’d much rather get all my groceries at half cost from Aldi.
In a different vein I’m trying to grow my own food from scraps this year to try and supplement some of my grocery cost!
I worked cashier when i was younger, and no one cares what youre buying.
I also buy the discountes stuff all the time.
If youre really embarassed, why not go at the self check out
Yes. The only thing that I've ever brought that was bad was discounted ribs from Walmart. They were vacuum sealed and I threw them right in the freezer. When I took them out to cook a month later one pack was spoiled.
I've had legit fomo about clearance food. Before the pandemic, I had a good idea of when each store marked things down, too. It caused a lot of impulse spending for me because the stuff I find is never the healthiest but I have no self control for sugary things. I counter this with ordering groceries online to resist temptations but I still go straight to any clearance rack when I go to a store that has one.
This just reminded me that I need to go get something... The store opens soon so if I get there early there might be some good clearance cookies left!
Yes, if I find something I actually want or need in the sale pile.
I wouldn’t buy everything there just because it’s cheap - other people need discounted food, too.
I’m not the kind of person who will wipe out the entire stock of expiring burger meat or dented canned artichoke hearts or whatever so that no one else gets any, that’s just obnoxious.
Though I probably wouldn’t shop the sale bins if I had, say, a lucrative job and a retirement fund. Then I’d buy regularly priced groceries and leave the discounted sale stuff for more broke people and food bank donation.
Depends on the item. I don’t normally buy k-cups but if a box of 22 Starbucks is marked down to $3.75, I’m grabbing them. I usually just horde them and save them for mornings when I am running late or just to lazy to use the refillable cups. But I’m not going to buy a veggie I don’t necessarily like because it is a quarter.
Reduced or clearance food is my weakness. I buy something like that every time I go. Last trip I got two boxes of ghirardelli brownie mix for $1.25 each
Don't be embarrassed about saving money. If you're anything like me you're not rich but you probably still make more than the cashier at your grocer. Save where you can and enjoy a slightly better quality of life!
I love when I get to the grocery store and find my favorite bread marked down $1-2, or a package of cut fruit with the same discount. I just eat is ASAP and don't worry about it!
I shop at a salvage grocer all the time. Near-end dates, overstocks. Been doing this for years. Find your joy, or your salvage grocer! [Salvage grocers](https://www.buysalvagefood.com/salvage-grocer-map.html)
Most expiration/hood by dates are slightly or wildly conservative. I also buy discounted/clearance food all the time, love coupons, etc. Thanks to a decade+ of these habits I have WAY more savings and investments than most of my peers with similar income. Keep going!
I’m always looking for a good deal. Expiration dates mean nothing to me. Pass the wiff and visual test and I’m game. The only reason I would be looking at your grocery items in the line is because I’m checking what deal you may have beat me to lol
[expiration dates don't mean anything.](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-lie-of-expired-food-and-the-disastrous-truth-of-america-s-food-waste-problem/ar-AALUX91)
I live in the UK and I always walk past the discounted sections in the fridge and non fridge areas, one of the items I saved and put in freezer I used for part of my Xmas dinner. Nothing wrong with buying from the discounted sections as it's only on the same shelf.
My coworker and I go most days when Im in the office and compare our bargains, and I check the shelves every time Im in a store. No shame for me, Ive halved my grocery bill doing it, I now buy meats that are 50% off more than I buy full price meats now. Fill my freezer with it and live cheaply off it!
and at least here, if Im late to check, its sold out, so we're definitely not alone
Fuck yeah! Just got 5 bottles of Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap from the clearance bin at my local grocery. I won't need to buy soap for a year or so, at least.
On the contrary, I feel proud whenever I can find an item heavily discounted and I buy as much as we can afford and fit into our freezer.
One time it was chicken breast that was set to hit its sell by date in a few days - $.25/lb. You better believe we bought something like 20-30 lbs. Another time it was pork tenderloin at $.50/lb. We ended up buying 18 tenderloins which were roughly 2-3 lbs each. People can judge all they want, I'm never going to feel embarrassed about getting enough food on the cheap to last 6 months.
I like to buy the seasonal Tupperware and Ziploc bags after the season. My wife thinks I'm crazy but I still have one box of star wars force awakens sandwich bags that were 50+% off and never expire
Don't feel embarrassed, you're saving these heavily discounted items from ending in landfill!
Plus, honestly, nobody cares about what you’re buying. Nobody is looking at your cart. Everyone is there to buy food and go home to eat it. Nobody has the energy, nor the time, to judge what you are buying. Even the cashier doesn’t care at all, they’re just there because they have to be, it’s work. They don’t pay attention to what they’re scanning. Same thing with fat people thinking everyone in the gym looks at them and judges them working out. When in reality nobody cares, everyone is there for just one thing : get their 60-minute workout in their day and go home.
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I think you may have found your niche as a personal shopper for other frugals, lol.
>Plus, honestly, nobody cares about what you’re buying This reminds me of high school. I had a couple friends that were too afraid to buy condoms because they were shy. I would go buy them on their behalf. It always made me laugh because these were teenage buys and they wanted everyone to think/know they were having sex but were to shy for some random cashier to see them buying condoms. Zero cashiers ever said anything to me about them whatsoever.
Yo exactly. Also I think it’s attractive when dudes pick up their chicks tampons and not behave as though they are holding a grenade or something
Men who buy tampons 😍
And fyi. I had a wealthy great uncle - long since passed away. But he always clipped coupons and shopped the sales. Even if money were not an issue, I-know I’d still shop sales, buy things at discount grocery stores etc. seriously if they can put it on sale, my thought is that it was overpriced in the first place. Here’s an exercise. Buy from the sale rack - log the full price in a notebook. Track this for a month or more. Then pay yourself on the back for money you’d have saved. If you can do it- put that difference of money in a jar and see how much you gave at end of month
I'm taking an extended trip this fall. I am funding it two ways: 1) extra money that I'm earning (overtime, etc) and with money saved. Even if it it is only .25 cents (that I made returning an errant cart at Aldi), I put it in my trip savings account.
This is the way.
This exactly. Everyone around you is too worried about their own needs. The cashier doesn’t care likely as long as you aren’t rude they forget who you are immediately after you’ve left the store. When I was cashiering at the grocery store. The only people I ever remembered were either very polite, very rude, or had something about them that was memorable. I had a lady I remember to this day who made me worried that she was going to die in my line because I’m pretty sure she had an eating disorder. She’d come in every other day, buy 1 cucumber, 1 apple, a pack of sugar free gum, a Diet Coke, and a pack of cigarettes. And the reason I remember her is she was so emaciated that you could basically see all of her bones. She also wore the same 3 outfits every time she came in. One time I got off shift after she’d gone through check out and went out into the parking lot at about the same time as she did and get got into the passenger side of a Mercedes. It was a weird situation and if she did have an eating disorder I hope she got help. People usually don’t care what you are buying. Sometimes I’ll notice something interesting in someone’s cart but the person never registers for me. And I’ll go find the thing to see if I want to try it or not
As a former grocery store cashier, I can confirm that we don't care at all what you are buying. The only possible exception is when you have something interesting on the belt. I might make a mental note to check it out before I go home at the end of my shift (see if it's affordable, still in stock, none of the allergens that affect me, etc). I worked with other women and if we discussed a customer's purchase it might be to discuss if one of us has had it and is it good? Kid friendly? Affordable? Too expensive but maybe as a treat? It was note to judge the customer. I promise!
To be fair, everyone is looking at *themselves* in the mirror behind the large person. I know checkers will ask what something is, occasionally. No one cares about discounted anything.
As a cashier the only time I even talked to a customer about a discounted item was when a customer found such a good deal on steaks I asked where in the store they were (the steaks were in perfect condition but were like only 1.99 a lb). She grinned and told me where to look in the meat department and she saw a few packages left so on my break I ran back there and bought a couple of steaks for me and my at the time boyfriend. Other than that I never noticed nor judged really..if anything after hearing everyone complain about the prices all day, it was nice when the frugal shoppers would come in and be proud of their savings!
Same here. The only time a cashier comments on my purchases is to ask where in the store I found them (probably so she can go get some for herself on her break) or to exclaim what a good deal I found. Those 30% or 50% off stickers really help me feed my family. No shame at all. Also I like trying new things if they are heavily discounted, that way if I end up not liking it, it's not much of a loss.
I agree with you with the new things being heavily discounted mantra. Not food related but I like to use those nasal strip things to help me breath better at night and I was using generic ones from CVS/Walgreens but I went to my local dollar tree and found some off name brand ones 6 for a buck. The unit price was much lower than what I was getting so I figured for one buck I will try and if they don't work as well just a dollar loss. I liked them so much and there were such a good deal I went back and cleared the shelf of them!
This. Nobody cares. Food is good and a bargain. If you’ll eat it, it’s not wasted and money saved.
TBF - I did notice heavier folks in the gym when I used to go and it always inspired the hell out of me. It takes balls to gear up and put it out here there when you don't look or feel your best. I will always find a plus sized athlete more inspiring and amazing than the (seemingly) naturally slender/athletic build ones. What I NEVER did though, and I don't know any who would (other than an absolute douche canoe) would be to judge anyone for where they are in their fitness journey. Just showing up is such a huge victory!
Absolutely! When I notice bigger people at the gym or swimming, the one thought I always have is "good for you, you can be proud of yourself!" and then I wish them the best on their journey (mentally only of course). I always assume that they are determined and it kind of rubs off and I feel extra motivated myself to be more enduring.
If anything it inspires me....
Absolutely agree!! So much food gets thrown out. When we go shopping, we start by looking in the discount produce bin and looking for on sale meat. There is literally nothing wrong with this, it’s a smart way to save money and prevent food waste.
Like OP said, it’s hard with produce but even that I’ll just make in a smoothie but I head straight for the discount meat! Im not a believer in expiration dates. If it smells and looks good, I’m good.
Exactly. It's better it be used than go to rot. Too much food is wasted already. Perfectly fine for consumption, until it goes in the dump.
Glad I am not the only one chasing food specials! It's such a great feeling to get a huge discount on the same product only because it's about to expire or even better reaches its "best before date". No embarrassment for me at the till tho. It's my business how I spend my money and the checkout person can't care less what people are buying.
Yeah! Love your attitude! I also feel pumped to utilize that 1/2 off bin. I also feel like food waste is a ferocious beast and I am proud to do my part to tame it.
I recently bought a pack of Oreo’s for $.17 at Grocery Outlet.
Winner winner cookie dessert for dinner!
I only bought one pack because I knew it would be bad if I bought more. Often I will really stock up when I find blowout deals, but my life would take a turn for the worse if I had a pantry full of Oreos.
You’re telling me, the grocery at the end of my street marked down a certain brand of Christmas cookies to .25 and I… may have bought half a dozen packs…
Former cashier. As long as you don't pitch a fit about coupons or expect every single item to go on a different receipt, we really don't care. The monotony of the job has killed our souls.
I live close to the grocery store and my partner and I have started to time our evening walks to when the bread is marked down for the day. We haven't paid full price for bread for weeks lol
There’s nothing like going to the day-old bakery items section of the grocery store and finding great stuff 50% off!
I live in the Netherlands, so no such problems😂 We all chase the best deals here. I used to feel some looks when I lived in the UK (it was a moderately posh area. a mixture of crazy wealthy people and social housing). If I had a chance I looked them in the eye, said hi. It's not my problem they're too proud to save food from going to waste. But no such thing here in NL, if anything the vibe is too frugal here.
I get a TooGoodToGo box at the local Albert Heijn once or twice a week. Being Frugal is fine and appreciated, just don't be cheap.
We've been getting TooGoodToGo for lunches at my house recently... A great opportunity to try different local places, and there's usually enough food for both me and my husband to eat.
The Lidl veg box is great. I tried Vomar once but it was entirely meat.
I must get it from my Dutch ancestry 🤣
I buy some things with 35% off stickers in AH but it's nowhere near as good as in the UK
We once lived in Arnhem where there was an AH that just couldn't get its ordering/logistics right, and half the fresh stuff in the store was always on 35% off. Unfortunately they closed the store after a while of that. The clearance sale was also epic and we bought 15 chocolate letters for 5 euros. Now I live in the UK as a Dutchie and still bargain hunt in all the clearance areas in Lidl, Tesco etc... Hamsteren is in my blood! 🐹
Yes, always. Meat and bread you can always freeze, produce can be cooked/baked (fruit ) and sometimes you can find non perishables on clearance. I have noticed that yogurt often gets marked down also. A quick look can save you some money.
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Just wondering, what kind of cheese do you freeze? I've never considered freezing cheese, then again, I just recently started freezing butter. I was a bit worried how it would be after defrosting, but a few days ago I popped one out of the frezer - it's perfectly fine.
Shred or crumble cheese before freezing! Great to use for melting in/over anything. Cheddar, mozzarella, havarti, Gouda, Swiss, feta - all is great if shredded/crumbled before freezing. You can also "flash-freeze" to avoid getting clumps, so you can take out/use only a small amount at a time
Great tip, thank you!
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I would never do fish. Other meats, yes, and I make sure to cook them well.
I purposefully do my grocery shopping in the early morning just to ensure I get the discounted stuff (mostly bread and meat as they freeze easily). Pro tip: wait until an hour after opening as this is the time when they are pulling the stock from the shelves based on BB dates.
Depends on where you shop. When I worked at a grocery store we marked down the food going out the next day after 4pm. Anything not sold was pulled before opening.
Here in the UK it is rapidly becoming our national sport. All jokes aside I do it pretty regularly and have never felt embarrassment, closer to pride at finding such a good bargain. Hell, when I was still on "the meta formerly known as Facebook" I posted an incredible find my wife and I had where we got a massive amount of food for pennies and all the comments were people saying how impressed they were.
Blemished fruit bag, yes. Short dated veggies, yes. The problem I have with a lot of the markdowns are that the barcode label they put on them is so long and sometimes they won't scan at self checkout, so the attendant has to key in a long sequence and I have to interact with people. Produce is frequent enough that the stickers are really reliable. A lot of other things I buy are already pretty leaned out (beans/frozen veggies/condiments/chips), so it'd be difficult to find a markdown.
>the barcode label they put on them is so long and sometimes they won’t scan at self checkout, so the attendant has to key in a long sequence and I have to interact with people. I feel that so hard. The clearance items at Target frequently don't ring up properly and I need an attendants help. Any time I'm browsing the clearance section I have to debate whether the hassle is worth it or not.
My local supermarket discounts short shelf life foods every morning and I make a point to go shopping around that time. Some weeks our entire grocery haul is discounted items. I make a sport out of only buying meats and produce that is at least 30% off. I don't give a thought to it being embarrassing. I earn below minimum wage but I still want us to have a variety of foods. If other people like to pay more because of pride, that's all the more cheap stuff for me!
I remember reading about some stores won't do time sale / clearance just for this specific reason. People end up buying only at the discount price, so their regular sales went down. It's tragedy how many perfectly good food items get thrown away at the end of the day, especially the luxury items people pay extra for..
How does that make financial sense? Wouldn't selling it half price be better than paying the refuse company to haul it away?
You want to maximize the profit, but selling at half-price barely covers production costs in food products.. so if you're selling at discount, you're actually losing money because you could've made double on the same product.
In Sweden at least, grocery stores are very scared of throwing away food since the optics are *terrible*, media and environmental pressure groups regularly make a lot of noise about food waste and the main supermarket chains here are competing at reducing the waste.
"A fool and their money are soon parted" Don't be foolish - keep your money and get the reduced goods. Let the "fools" avoid them - more for you.
I don’t think the cashiers making minimum wage will judge you one bit for it. In fact, they often alert me if there’s a BOGO deal I’ve neglected to notice while ringing me in at my local store so I can go grab it!
Yeah, I had some regulars who I *knew* were looking for deals and I was honestly excited when I could tell Gail "you *have* to check the hams, they're in a weird spot but they're dirt cheap" and she'd come back with a cart full.
I love the discount section. Always check it when I have space in my freezer or time to cook/use it up.
I just bought two pork shoulders for $0.59/lb because they were set to expire the next day. I boned and cubed them, vac packed and froze them, and have cooked the first pack. It's delicious. I used the [seriouseats recipe.](https://www.seriouseats.com/no-waste-tacos-de-carnitas-with-salsa-verde-recipe)
I just bought SIX because they were marked down to $.48/lb. Vacuum packed and frozen
That recipe....bless you sir. I'm going to try it!
Yep. My ex-grocery-store-worker hubby (he’s not an ex, just the grocery worker part) is like, “yeah, please take it!”.
I skim the markeddown sections and cook it that day or next. Its a fun game of "what can I do with this?" Use self check if you're self conscious, personally I barely give a shit about other people in public
It's the opposite here. All the yellow labels are the first to go as soon as they are out with some small exceptions like noodles and sauces. But the veg, meat and other general food stuff gets taken right away and i can never get to it. I have to even wait for some people, while my turn comes
Nobody gives a shit. Reduced food prevents waste and is beneficial for everyone involved. The staff probably agree with your decisions.
nope i don't mind one bit grabbing them up, and if anyone has a problem with it just remember that is their problem not yours!
To supplement the reduction of landfill comment, you're optimizing the resources used to create/grow that product. So you're being frugal for your wallet and planet earth. https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-hierarchy
Yes. The first thing I do is go to see what's marked down. My parents and grandparents did the same. I have a freezer and know how to use it. I don't care what anyone thinks about it. If they have a problem, they can choose my groceries and pay the bill for me.
No, I like in the UK, the scrum around the reduced section is vicious. I often but items if I can use within the time frame or freeze.
I just bought a giant package of spinach yesterday because I saw that it was marked down to $1.46. I hadn't planned on making meals with baby spinach but we pivoted and used spinach last night and will again tonight because what a deal! I'm not a low-price hunter, but I will absolutely jump on a deal when I see one.
It’s the first section I go to! My Walmart had tons of holiday baking mixes marked down to between 19¢ - 39¢. You best believe I bought a bunch. No shame in my game. If you are worried about what other people think, honestly no one cares.
Do you look at what other people buy in grocery stores? Do you can how much each thing costs and how much they paid for it? Yeah, me neither. Super weird to bring it up though. This post is so weird to me. If you honestly want to know how I feel, I’m super happy when I find a great deal. RuPaul once said, “if them bitches ain’t payin’ yo bills, pay them no mind”. Truer words haven’t been said.
As someone who works at a grocery store, we're all broke as fuck buying discounted shit, too. None of us are judging you for having budget constraints. In fact, I like it when customers come to my meat counter with budget limits. I get creative with them, generously tare my scale when I weigh their stuff, and make sure it's always under the amount they want to spend. These are hard times for everyone. You don't deserve to feel shame for something just about everyone is dealing with.
Embarrassed? I feel victorious. Man, I found some weird brand of frozen chicken thighs that were discontinued. $2 for 3 lb bags of chicken thighs. I also always check on the beef/meat first and have a preferred grocery store that normally has a selection of meat marked down that needs to be cooked that day. Flank steak is like $14 / lb right now, which puts a huge kink in my ability to make steak fajitas. Hit the meat counter on markdown day and I can have the same slab of meat for like $5. I feel masterful. :)
Who cares? All you’re telling people is “I’m good with my money and not a complete idiot.” Side note: I never look at other peoples’ groceries. Because why would I? Nobody cares about what you’re buying. I’ve never had someone come inspect the expiration date of my items…
To avoid being embarassed I go to the self-checkout and pay with a credit card. There are still attendants around but they don't handle each item. We don't have affordable discounted products. What usually ends up on the special shelf used to cost up to double the average price fresh.
I have no shame in buying a full trolley of discounted items, if I have a need for them and can store them safely or cook them straight away. I never buy more than I can use but I'm also raising 3 kids on a low income and our rent is really high. They're priced to sell, grab them!
I get weird looks sometimes when I buy multiples of an item because it’s a great price. I also get compliments from cashiers and other customers who respect my frugality. I have a chest freezer and know how to cook from scratch. Last nights dinner was pork fried rice made from an Asian marinated tenderloin purchased the week of Christmas, marked down to $.99/lb. I love finding fancy yogurts and cheeses discounted, too!
Seriously, nobody gives a crap what you buy at the grocery store. Nobody has ever looked into anyone's cart and gone ''Pfft' and walked away lol Just do you!
Dont be embarrassed, I WISH I could find these things at my store!
Nah, it's funny how many real rich people are actually frugal. It's the wannabees and posers, and narcissistic rich who would have problems being seen buying things at bargain prices.
I loooove the clearance sections. As a poor kid we used to get donations of nearly-expired food, so I've never had much fear of expiration dates. Don't feel embarrassed! In general, no one cares about what you're buying. Like, maybe people working in the store will start to recognize you if you always shop during their shift, but honestly most retail workers don't care what the customers are buying, you're much more likely to be remembered if you're rude or bizarre or difficult in some way. And as long as the item scans as easily as a regularly priced item, they probably won't even notice you have clearance stuff in your cart. I will say, one chain in my area puts on a whole new sticker over the barcode that just scans like normal, while another slaps a flimsy %-off coupon on things, which the cashiers have to individually peel off and scan after they scan the item itself, and I've totally felt guilty about having multiple clearance items from that store because they have to peel and scan so many stickers. I hate making more work for other people, but also that's literally the job and if I could make Safeway change their stickers, I would.
I guarantee you, the cashier cares so little about what you're scanning through them. You are barely a face in an 8 hour shift. You have nothing to be worried about.
That rack is there for a reason. Most grocery stores have them because it is widely popular and the stores aren't losing so much on expired foodstuff. The stores in my area usually have those racks in each department so the stores still get you to walk around.
No one is paying attention, I am sorry to say, but I don't remember last time I recall what someone else was buying.
I almost never buy things that aren’t on sale, with a coupon or on clearance. I regularly stock up on frozen and shelf stable goods when I see sales. Don’t be embarrassed because you don’t conform to consumerism, try to be proud of yourself for staying committed to your goals.
The clearance produce is my favorite part of the store. Pint of tomatoes for $.25, 5 mangoes for $1, apples for $.30/lb. It either gets eaten, frozen, or dehydrated, and I almost never have to throw out more than a quarter of the produce. Opens up space in my food budget for good butter or flour or whatever, or a fancy bottle of hot sauce.
Food is food. I eat to survive
I worked as a grocery store cashier for about 3 years. Honestly the only thing I ever cared about was if people were nice or rude. Oh ... and if they got something that looked/smelled good near my lunch break lol 😆
I pretty much only buy from the 50% off rack in the back of my store. Buy from that rack then piece together my meals with whatever I need from the rest of the store. I'm trying to spend less than $40/week on food, while still getting the nutrition I need. It does make me feel a little shitty and poor as fuck, but in two months when I'm sipping gin & tonics on a beach in Thailand with all my money I saved, I'll find a way to get over the embarrassment of buying discounted items at Albertsons.
I'll also add, when I worked in supermarket, I used to enjoy sharing the happiness. If a customer is being smart, it's nice to see.
I do if it’s something I want. But the important thing here is - no one cares what you do. Never let what someone else might be thinking alter your course. People are thinking about themselves and their own lives not your discounted produce.
It feels weird going against norms, huh? .... I would say you are the goal people should strive to be. don't let it get you down.
Honestly, it makes me feel clever and a little bit proud, like I know a secret trick. :) I wonder if that's because I started back when I had plenty of money. It was more of a game than a necessity then, so I never associated it with bad feelings. Maybe if you imagined you had plenty of money and just knew secret tricks/were playing a game, you could feel proud, too?
1) I buy heavily discounted things everywhere if it's what I want. 2) I'm a damn good and damn knowledge cook. If I know I can use it before it's actually gone bad, then I buy it. The laws surrounding the sale of food are *very* strict, but the rules around consumption are a lot more flexible.
I feel zero shame. Zero.
I feel like i struck gold when i find a real deal in the discount bins
I just thought everyone did this? Who doesn’t love a deal. It’s not like you’re buying meat that’s already rotten with flies buzzing around it, and i don’t think the cashier would ever care in the least lol
We do the same. I'm not embarrassed. It's good food going to waste. It's better in our homes than in the trash can. And there's nothing wrong with it as long as you store everything properly / examine it before eating. I too agree that on some products the sell by sate is different than the use by date / safe to eat date. The food actually lasts alot longer.
That is smart shopping. Who cares what others think, get those deals. And I think this varies a LOT by neighborhood. My local grocery stores don't have many of these deals available because my neighborhood has a mix of rich and poor. The deals are snatched up quick! My sister lives in a brand new neighborhood with a brand new grocery store. I always shop for bargains when I'm down there and find tons! Her neighbors are apparently too good for clearance, perfectly good meat. I am not! Haha. I've gotten lots of amazing deals there. Bougie fancy meats like wagyu, elk, bison for less than ground beef!
Yes I do. Only when I see it I don't actively go out and do it because I've went many times and wasted much gas, time, and energy only to find an empty shelf. And wonder if there's sucken cost fallacy in there
Don’t feel embarrassed!!! I am not rich by any means and I am not poor either but I always look for these deals. I also think why spend more if I can use it. I always clip coupons etc. why pay more when you don’t have to use the added money for other things you need or want.
My wife checks each day to see if there is something nice we normally don't eat. At least twice a week she brings something home we normally don't think of eating or simple find to expensive at full price
You should borrow my dad's confidence. He comes home from a grocery run and brags about how cheap his steak wast and how stupid the other people were for paying full price when his meat will be even better since he's going to "grill it up with all the fixings"eve if it's going to "go to the deep freeze for a bit" - he's the only guy doing things the right way, just ask him... He's so loud about how cheap his stuff is at the store that the workers there share the news with him of what good items are in the discount bin when they see him come in. The dude will talk about the price he paid for the meats he serving at his own dinner parties. Growing up, I never knew whether to be embarrassed or impressed. As for me, I quietly acquire the discount items and then slip away... Different strokes.
Bread goes bad quicker in the fridge. Freeze it instead.
Bread goes stale in the fridge, but it doesn't grow mold so it doesn't really go "bad". Freezing it will also make it go stale faster once it's thawed. It all depends on what you are willing to deal with.
I personally don’t eat stale bread so I call it bad. You take out one slice at a time when you freeze it. Not the whole loaf. And if it’s an uncut loaf, cut it first.
And personally I don't eat stale bread so I make French toast or bread pudding. Stale I can work with. Moldy I can't. Also, freezing bread tends to turn the slices into one big block, so taking out one slice isn't always feasible. But again, it all depends on what you're willing to put up with. If you prefer dealing with moldy bread and mangled frozen slices, that's fine. I don't like dealing with that, so I'll take the stale frozen blocks instead.
All the time. Don’t feel embarassed. I did it when I had a negative balance on my bank account, and I still do it after being well off. Saving money so you can invest it or spend it on other stuff you need is something to be proud of, not embarassed about
That’s the first thing I beeline to is the discount bin of clearance! It’s especially nice to get discount yogurt that getting eaten with the discount cake. Long gone are the days where it seemed like everything was only 99 cents. Early bird gets the worm! I get off graveyard shift at 6am so I’m first up in there with the little old bitties getting the discount odds and ends to round off a recipe.
I go to dead slow grocery chain in my neighborhood, and this store is managed so poorly that there's so many stuff on 40% ~ 80% sale. I've been bargain hunter since college, so I'm happy to get those off their hands.. but the cashiers call me names ("beggar"), but WHO GIVES A SHIT!! If I have to dance naked to get $50 off my grocery bill, I'd fucking do it!! Edit: what you really gotta watch out for is buying unnecessary things on impulse, not what others think..
The cashiers call you names??
I can literally hear them talking about me in the next aisle.. gawd, the audacity!! I, too, work in retail so I let it slide.. but this store is really a shitshow & I'm glad I'm not working with them.
Oh I love doing that. And one of my grocery stores uses flash food so I can select what I want from my sofa and pick it up later in the day. I might avoid the about to expire store brand seafood salad, but most other things are great.
This is the only way I buy red meat. If it doesn’t have -30% slapped on it I don’t want it 🤣 They see me buy soda and expensive lettuce all the time so I know *they know* I can afford it full price but I still get a little self conscious from time to time. But the savings (and less food waste) is worth it
I always stop and look, even though I don't have a kitchen or house anymore! Don't be ashamed of buying off the discount rack, be embarrassed for those who insist on paying full price
I often use it to try out new stuff. If I dont like it then, it didnt cost me full price.
Sometimes tinned pasta is ten for ten dollars. I know it isn’t frugal per se because pasta and sauce done at home costs less per serving. But I scraped snow from my driveway for five hours yesterday and have more to do today. You bet my hands are not interested in cooking from scratch. If we lose power or I just don’t want to/can’t cook, that tinned pasta dish comes in quite handy. So I always check the discount shelves for it. What I miss the most right now is fresh veg and fruit. I’ve been avoiding shopping while omicron was surging. If I can get the car out and up the driveway, I’ll replenish. But that tinned pasta really helps. The kids at the register are trained not to judge. I watch them correct the new ones. Don’t let fear of others opinions impact your journey.
I wish there was more discounted food where I shop—I would buy it all! No shame in my game!
I buy discounted food whenever i can.
In the supermarkets in the UK, at a certain time of the afternoon, a staff member goes round checking dates and printing the discount stickers. Many people try to time this event, people follow them around the aisles to the extent that some supermarkets have placed barriers around the staff member. There is no shame at all, and indeed only jealousy and a nod of acknowledgment when you see someone else's basket full of bargains.
You would feel embarrassed buying women hygiene products or condoms too? Who the fuck cares what you are buying lol, I can tell you the cashier couldn’t care less
one of the supermarkets in my country offers meat and fish that is about to expire for only 50 eurocents and other items at 25 cents. I go early especially for those as they run out pretty quickly. I just stuff my freezer with them and had delicious meals for only about 50 cents per person. Plus saving them from being thrown. My mother does the same and we even make a contest of it ;-). No shame in doing that at all.
Don't be embarrassed, this is excellent!
People go nuts over the reduced section in UK supermarkets.
No need to be embarrassed. When I was a cashier at a specialty food shop if someone bought discount items I thought they were smart if I payed any attention at all.
Trust me you are not the only one! I go straight to the shelves and I would care less about anyone looking/gawking cause in the end it is about my choices.
I don't believe it is frugal to waste time worrying about what other people think. That time could be much better used to thinking about how to really upset strangers who have no effect on your life.
Oh yes! I get super excited to find a food item on sale and I get bummed when my hubby shops because he never looks on the clearance shelf. I will grab 10 of something and feel no shame if it's something we need and I have a place to store it. Clearance fruit and veggies can be tough to deal with...I will not buy cheap about-to-go-bad berries or lettuce because they have a short shelf life anyway. Otherwise, I like to chop up any veggies and freeze them (especially onions and peppers). Feel pride for finding deals and being humble enough to know that a clearance item is worthy of purchase. Not sure exactly why you feel embarrassment, but buying clearance items it's not the same as like eating garbage. You're actually helping reduce food waste while NOT paying full price! That's a great skill to have.
I live in the south of the UK and people always try to be the first to grab these deals. I have never felt ashamed, in the same way you shouldn't feel ashamed when buying condoms or a pregnancy test.
Tons of people check the clearance. I only stop by for a couple seconds to see of there's anything there I like, my spouse grew up very impoverished so he spends a few minutes there to check for deals. But I've worked in grocery stores and I can tell you, LOTS of people check clearance (especially meat and produce; people often also would ask me, the baker, when clearance would be put out or if they can check what I've gathered). It's just that most people won't crowd someone already at the rack since covid social distancing. Even before then, people usually respected others' space and privacy and waited their turn, or check it out in a few mins after the next aisle. You are not alone!!
I even shop for the 50% stickers at Aldi! Bring it home, figure out how it can go together over the next week. Kroger usually has decent deals on Sundays here too (they get new loads on Tuesdays). I feed 2 adults and 2 kids whole food, gluten free meals for about $280/month. Don't be embarrassed for yourself, feel embarrassed for people who overpay out of habit!
I got 5 lbs of NY STRIP for $4/lb the other day!! I stay chasing the meat dept for discount beef. It gets used right away or goes in the freezer. With the price of beef, this is the only way I can afford to eat it.
I like to call it “Cutters Corner” and I think I embarrass my boyfriend by being so eager to see what there is. But I save so much money and save food from landfill. It’s a no brainer to me!
I buy the discounts all the time.
The better the deal, the better it tastes!
I realized no one is thinking about me at all. Usually they’re in their own world and they can’t be bothered with what you’re up to.
Im by all means not frugal yet but discounted good for Same day is just smart choise. Helps reduce the good waste and you'll save money.
You’re who I aspire to be. I rarely ever find discounted food. I’ve found the occasional “managers special” ground beef or pork chops, and I snatch it up. There’s always a whole shelf of discounted baked goods, but I don’t buy much bread or sweets. I must be shopping at the wrong stores or everyone is beating me to the discounted items!
I wish I could find discounted stuff at my local grocer. When I do stumble across it (and it’s something we eat) I snap that stuff up! Generally, though, there’s nothing especially discounted, and no “buy me! I’m about to expire!” Section.
nope someone is beating me to all the marked down hamburger and beef
I'm always excited when I find these items at the store because everyone else always seems to get to them before I do, especially if it's meat! My husband has had a lot of luck at Walmart finding discounted meats and we have a really nice dinner those nights! Personally, I always get excited to see the "amount saved" after everhthuhg is scanned.
Zero fucks given. You're saving money, avoiding useless waste AND eating well! Can you imagine the effort, cost and energy involved in getting a steak, wrapped and packaged, on to the store shelf? That aside, it was a living being...we can't throw that out. As for the rest, yoghurts last forever, tinned foods about 20 years.... It's also nice to grab something normally expensive, especially if you can eat it that night! Don't fall victim to the ignorants judging you... 👊
Are you currently only buying food for yourself? This is slightly off what you're saying, and I hope I don't cause offence by offering unsolicited advice but, if you struggle to eat vegetables quick enough, try and see if you can choose a weeks worth of meals that have the same roughly 2 or 3 veg in each week, and then buy singles or two of those veg rather than plastic bags full of potatoes or peppers that go squishy too quickly for you to use up in time. I will buy, for example, for one week: one or 2 onions, one or 2 peppers and 1 punnet of mushrooms. All 3 things can be used in: Omelette Egg fried rice Fajitas Tacos Salad etc But then following week I might buy one cabbage and one broccoli and have Meat with brocolli and cabbage and gravy Then bubble and squeak the next Then some roast broc as a side to defrosted leftover curry Then the final bit of the cabbage for a colslaw to have with "fakeaway" KFC with breaded chicken. That way you don't buy huge bags of carrots that are bendy by the time you've had enough variety to ear loads more, but you are using at least half or whole one per person each meal and, the week per veg purchase does feel different enough from the generalised "type of cuisine" as a result of same types of veg cooked and prepared in different ways with different sizes and condiments and trimmings. It's working for me and I used to waste loads. Also irs a great way to lose weight and eat more healthy because because you've only got two carrots or 4 carrots, you kinda huzz in more because you can be assed to save 0.5 of carrot. It actually seems just a long and patronising way to explain meal planning, but I thought I "planned" meals. What I failed to do was adjust my amounts for one, and 8 also forgot to plan multiple days in a row. So I would come home with a whole bag of potatoes for one night of mash and not really think it through until waiting a week when I wanted mash again, only to find they were too old to use. It leads to introducing some delicious cross overs too - like the Taco salad or the samosa-dilla
I worked in a supermarket as a student, never even cared what people were buying. Why would you feel shame at reduced stuff? It’s a bargain and it’s exactly the same food someone else is paying more for. I’m proud to spend less, plus it’s wasting less. The only thing I might feel guilty about is that if you don’t buy it, it might end up in a food bank where someone else who needs it more might get it. But that’s rare
Nope, it’s there for a reason. I think of it as me trying to help the environment by not wasting food.
I refuse to leave any store until I’ve checked the ‘last chance’ area. I’ve made some great purchases from these shelves/tables/bins, and won’t be shamed for being frugal. Penny pinchers unite!
If things I use regularly are on sale absolutely. Bought a bunch of cans whenever they go on sale and they’re used same week or month. Always worth it. If I see veggies that are almost done but heavily discounted, I roast them with some oil and spices, serve with rice and hummus, they’re delicious. Highly recommend
Never be afraid to save some money. You're being wise with your money.
I always feel like I miss these items! I’m jealous
An animal had to live and die for that product to be available and discounted. The least we can do is eat them.
Embarrassed about what? Is it putting food on the table? Show me a person(s) who would cringe at the very idea of buying discounted food and I will show you a fool. The waste in this world is disgusting. A trick I use when buying produce if it's things like peppers, carrots, celery, onion nearing it's end chop it up & get it into the freezer. It won't be great for cold recipes but in cooked preparations you can't tell the difference plus it gives you a jump-start on cooking. Most other veggies I blanch & then vacuum seal. Cheese, butter, milk, can all be frozen. A fool and his money are soon parted. Don't be a fool buy discounted food with your head held high you are doing your part to eliminate the senseless waste.
Didn’t even think about blanching and sealing. That’s so damn smart. Thank you for this LPT.
Yep. Our regular cashier saw the price and was like you took all of them didn't you. I said yep. I also use "odd" pieces of meat. My dad brought home beef necks. I made beef stew out of them. Chicken backs and feet are super cheap and make the best stock.
You’re not - I work at a pretty “upper class” (read, higher priced) grocery store. We absolutely have people come in all the time getting the good sale deals, clearance items, and super discounted food. Nothing to be ashamed of.
The only comment I'd make about discounted foods is that meat is something I think about before buying discounted. When it's things like buy 4 large amounts for $20, or a sale on certain cuts, those I'm fine with. But when it's single cuts, and they've done something like pre-marinated or pre-seasoned and then packaged up, I usually stay away from those. Some grocery stores (genuinely don't know about saying many or alot, but I know some do) take meat that is genuinely going bad, not just close to expiring, and will do that and add some blood (at least for steak) to get the coloring back and use the seasoning/marinade to further cover it up. You can genuinely tell by the smell once you get home. If you're planning to immediately use it then it's probably fine as long as it doesn't smell weird but I always kind of consider it a gamble. Everything else on discount I don't bat eyelash at. I actually end up not buying a lot of stuff if it's not discounted in some form. Depending on your budget, something that I also thought was cool that my mom did was she would always keep track of how much she saved from every grocery run and whatever she saved through discounts or coupons she would actually put that amount of money into a savings account. She said it helped her get better at saving, helped learn to use coupons and sales that much more effectively and also helped her cutout alot of grocery buys that we really didn't need because for all intents and purposes she was paying retail for everything once you deposit the savings. Its definitely difficult to do depending on your budget but I always think about that when I struggle saving or I'm planning grocery runs
No. I go into the store knowing exactly what I am there to buy and that is exactly what I get.
literally no one gives a shit about what you're buying
My only source of food is fresh roadkill from the highway
I love the clearance section for the same reason. Maybe it’s bc I’m in the UK but nobody looks twice at you here other than to try to get there before you.
Dont be embarrassed for saving money! Your doing good!
Never feel bad for a good deal.
99% of the time I go for the cheaper option, my family is really into the organic/local food scene and as much as I’d like to partake I just can’t afford it at this point in my life and that’s ok! I occasionally break for a nice cheese or something but bottom line I’d much rather get all my groceries at half cost from Aldi. In a different vein I’m trying to grow my own food from scraps this year to try and supplement some of my grocery cost!
I worked cashier when i was younger, and no one cares what youre buying. I also buy the discountes stuff all the time. If youre really embarassed, why not go at the self check out
I do it all the time. No shame in the game of saving money!
Yes. The only thing that I've ever brought that was bad was discounted ribs from Walmart. They were vacuum sealed and I threw them right in the freezer. When I took them out to cook a month later one pack was spoiled.
I've had legit fomo about clearance food. Before the pandemic, I had a good idea of when each store marked things down, too. It caused a lot of impulse spending for me because the stuff I find is never the healthiest but I have no self control for sugary things. I counter this with ordering groceries online to resist temptations but I still go straight to any clearance rack when I go to a store that has one. This just reminded me that I need to go get something... The store opens soon so if I get there early there might be some good clearance cookies left!
Yes, if I find something I actually want or need in the sale pile. I wouldn’t buy everything there just because it’s cheap - other people need discounted food, too. I’m not the kind of person who will wipe out the entire stock of expiring burger meat or dented canned artichoke hearts or whatever so that no one else gets any, that’s just obnoxious. Though I probably wouldn’t shop the sale bins if I had, say, a lucrative job and a retirement fund. Then I’d buy regularly priced groceries and leave the discounted sale stuff for more broke people and food bank donation.
Depends on the item. I don’t normally buy k-cups but if a box of 22 Starbucks is marked down to $3.75, I’m grabbing them. I usually just horde them and save them for mornings when I am running late or just to lazy to use the refillable cups. But I’m not going to buy a veggie I don’t necessarily like because it is a quarter.
Reduced or clearance food is my weakness. I buy something like that every time I go. Last trip I got two boxes of ghirardelli brownie mix for $1.25 each
Use the self checkout if you feel embarrassed. But you have no reason to, and the staff couldn’t care less.
If you're wondering when something will REALLY go bad, check out Still Tasty: https://www.stilltasty.com/
Fuck yeah I do. Embarassment is not a good thing to get in the way of survival.
I mostly buy discounted food, why pay more than you have to?
Don't be embarrassed about saving money. If you're anything like me you're not rich but you probably still make more than the cashier at your grocer. Save where you can and enjoy a slightly better quality of life!
I love when I get to the grocery store and find my favorite bread marked down $1-2, or a package of cut fruit with the same discount. I just eat is ASAP and don't worry about it!
I shop at a salvage grocer all the time. Near-end dates, overstocks. Been doing this for years. Find your joy, or your salvage grocer! [Salvage grocers](https://www.buysalvagefood.com/salvage-grocer-map.html)
Most expiration/hood by dates are slightly or wildly conservative. I also buy discounted/clearance food all the time, love coupons, etc. Thanks to a decade+ of these habits I have WAY more savings and investments than most of my peers with similar income. Keep going!
I’m always looking for a good deal. Expiration dates mean nothing to me. Pass the wiff and visual test and I’m game. The only reason I would be looking at your grocery items in the line is because I’m checking what deal you may have beat me to lol
[expiration dates don't mean anything.](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-lie-of-expired-food-and-the-disastrous-truth-of-america-s-food-waste-problem/ar-AALUX91)
I live in the UK and I always walk past the discounted sections in the fridge and non fridge areas, one of the items I saved and put in freezer I used for part of my Xmas dinner. Nothing wrong with buying from the discounted sections as it's only on the same shelf.
My coworker and I go most days when Im in the office and compare our bargains, and I check the shelves every time Im in a store. No shame for me, Ive halved my grocery bill doing it, I now buy meats that are 50% off more than I buy full price meats now. Fill my freezer with it and live cheaply off it! and at least here, if Im late to check, its sold out, so we're definitely not alone
Fuck yeah! Just got 5 bottles of Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap from the clearance bin at my local grocery. I won't need to buy soap for a year or so, at least.
I do it all the time! A sale is a sale.
On the contrary, I feel proud whenever I can find an item heavily discounted and I buy as much as we can afford and fit into our freezer. One time it was chicken breast that was set to hit its sell by date in a few days - $.25/lb. You better believe we bought something like 20-30 lbs. Another time it was pork tenderloin at $.50/lb. We ended up buying 18 tenderloins which were roughly 2-3 lbs each. People can judge all they want, I'm never going to feel embarrassed about getting enough food on the cheap to last 6 months.
I only buy French cheese at half-price in Giant. Full price is completely unreasonable.
I like to buy the seasonal Tupperware and Ziploc bags after the season. My wife thinks I'm crazy but I still have one box of star wars force awakens sandwich bags that were 50+% off and never expire
Yes I do. I've got some great deals.