News Years Eve-Cheap food from supermarkets

ti1980

I'm putting the link to a thread I put on the Shop But Don't Drop board as I know its against the rules to double post a thread.
Here it is:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=337981

Thought this might be useful to Old Stylers particularly as I know a lot of people here are on really tight budgets so any chance to lower them where possible is appreciated.

Also this could be the time to try new food that can be incorporated into any meal plans that you already have or to treat yourself and get some items that are normally out of the question because of price.
I'm thinking of things such as butternut squash, sweet potatoes, mangos, papaya, organic/free range meat and The Finest/Taste the Difference (other so called 'best' brands) products.

Queenie

A reminder that it's not just Bank Holidays that supermarkets reduce their goods.

If you have the time to experiment, go to your local supermarkets at various times to discover the most likely time that the reduced goods are marked up.

Don't forget that items such as cream can be frozen (will need to be lightly whipped first) as can other goods that are reduced in the chilled cabinets.

Herbs which are reduced in price can also be frozen for future use. Also, raw foods can be cooked into a meal and frozen for another time so you can make full use of any bargains to be had even if you can't use them up that day (this would also employ fuel economy if you cook up the reduced foods into a meal at the same time as your usual evening meal for example).

Do double check the use by dates, some stores reduce items that *must* be used that day and could prove a false economy if you buy them for the sake of it, only to find that the meal you had planned in advance gets wasted because you've grabbed too many "bargains" Yes, I speak from experience Other stores have items reduced which still have a couple of days before their expiry date and those goods are obviously more flexible.

Be clear on the difference between sell by and use by dates.

Oh and as a quick reminder .... buy your Christmas Pudding for next Christmas NOW!!!! They are all at least half price and some have a use by date for March '08!! Not all of them do, so again, check those dates.

Alcohol specific gifts are all greatly reduced at this time too, so snap up those gift boxes for next Christmas - I picked up a lovely whisky gift set for a fiver the other day, 1/3 of the normal retail price.

Queenie

Toxic ... I bought the pudding for gifting to the family we stayed with over Christmas ... it is absolutely DELICIOUS!!! No point in me buying up the half price Waitrose one's, I'd never last out :rotfl:

Good for you :T :T Great bargains

ellie14

Went to local asda blackpool had very little reduced or had taken very little off,got 18 free range eggs long dated £1 15 shops wiseing up then went to tesco both days not much better there only cream or gifts still not much reduction and could have done with some ,must have picked wrong stores

Queenie

ellie - personally, I don't find Asda or Tesco very good when it comes to reducing their foodstuffs. My preferred store for reductions is Sainsburys, but at times their reductions don't always tempt me. Co-op can be good too, as can Waitrose.

Timing is a crucial factor if large mark downs are what you are looking for. For fresh goods, it would need to be nearing the end of the day or very early.

Cream can be lighly whipped and frozen so worth getting if you eat it. Equally, you can make a very speedy homemade icecream by whipping it up and adding orange juice, so I do tend to buy those occasionally (but no good if you are lactose intolerant!).

Wishing you better luck in your future attempts .. they don't only reduce at Bank Holidays, so keep your eyes peeled whenever you visit the supermarket and sniff out their regular "reduced" counters.