Extreme Couponing Tip: Buy Close-To-Expiration Foods to Save Big
One thing I am never scared to do is look for close-to-expired food that is being sold at a reduced price that I know I will use before it expires or goes bad. This is a great way to save on your grocery budget! Many times we find close-to-expired deals on store-made items such as bakery items, pre-made sandwiches, etc. which if purchased at the proper time, can work out to be a great deal. My local ShopRite always has a huge selection of reduced bread and bakery items and I make it a point to look through it each visit.
What’s even better than just looking for clearance prices on close-to-expired products is being able to pair a coupon with a close-to-expired deal! I love when this happens because you are able to save a huge amount!
Just this week I was browsing the refrigerated section for a Jell-O Deal. I had $1/1 Jell-O Refrigerated Snacks, exp. 7/7/13 (SS 06/09/13 R) coupons on me and I was determined to find a good deal. Jell-O Products are one of the participating items in the Kraft Spend $75 Get $25 Gas Gift Card Deal at ShopRite. The Kraft Offer is the only offer of the 3 brands I’ve been buying for. I had a ways to go still to hit $75 so I was happy when I found 8-packs of Jell-O Refrigerated Pudding on clearance for $3.49 (shelf price $4.49) because it was expiring in just over a week. My coupon brought the cost down to $2.49 or just $0.31 per cup and $4.49 tracked toward my gas card deal. Even though the savings seemed minimal in this situation, pairing with a coupon brought my savings to 50% plus I was buying a product I knew would help me earn even more savings down the road.
Be sure before you buy close-to-expired products that you know you will be able to use the item before it does expire. If you ever find an item close to it’s expiration date that isn’t already marked as clearance, consider bringing the item to customer service to request a discount.
What types of items do you buy that are close-to-expired?
If you are new to couponing, you may want to check out the Couponing for Beginners section where you will find a lot of answers to your questions.