Had a major win when we popped to grab a few things at the Co-op earlier.
We went in with a list, didn’t pick up a basket as we knew that we only needed 3 things which we could carry by hand (if you pick up a basket, or get a trolley, you are more likely to fill it up with unwanted items) so we were very prepared to get in and out and spend very little money.
But…
We then went and wandered past the reductions section. Usually this supermarket doesn’t have much reduced food and what they do have isn’t really reduced at all. There are a few shops locally that do a good deal but you need to go in at around 8pm to get the best value for your money – not just before lunchtime.
So, imagine our surprise when we walked past and the shelves were stacked with food that was near the end date and had upon them lots of red reduced stickers! An Aladdin’s treasure!
After I got over the excitement (yes I know I need to get out more!), I realised that getting all of it would be silly. We hadn’t long done a large food shop and the freezer was half full so, we had to be reasonable about what we picked up.
We decided on a few packs of each of the cheapest meats that would go well in the slow cooker and as I sit here now, I can smell the spices of my Moroccan Beef and Butternut Squash all over the house – yum! We also picked up a reduced mature cheddar and jalapeno loaf – £1.49 reduced down to 50p!
With the rest of the meat I took it out of the packs, put them into freezer bags (as the packaging takes up more room in the freezer) and popped them into the freezer.
As an added bonus, I had a voucher to get £1 off a £10 spend so another bit of a discount too. They gave me another voucher for the next spend. And another and, I even used the loyalty card which pays out in cash to our bank every now and then!
For a bloke that’s only been a stay at home dad a few months, I sure am getting domesticated!
- Do you have room for it?
It’s all well and good buying loads of food but can you put it anywhere? There is usually a very short end date on the food so you will either need to use it straight away or freeze it to use later.
If you don’t have the room don’t buy it – it turns into a false economy.
- Will you use it?
It’s all very well and good buying cheap food but if you aren’t actually going to eat it, it’s a waste of money. Only buy it if you will cook with it.
- Can you afford it?
It’s sometimes best to head to the reduced area of the supermarket first but don’t shop based on what’s reduced. Stick to your list otherwise it could throw you off and you may end up buying other things you just don’t need. It really depends how much spare money you have in your weekly food budget.
One of my favourite rules is – if you can afford to buy two, then you can buy one.
- Do you need it?
Getting things cheap is great, and I know I look at the red label and think it’s an utter bargain, but it’s just impulse buying?
Although it’s a great bargain if you have enough food why not leave it to someone who may need it that little bit more?
- When are you going?
You need to get your timings right. Most supermarkets usually start to reduce foods towards the end of the day and reduce even more as they get nearer to closing.
Why not just ask when they put their reduced foods out to stop you guessing?
Do you buy a lot of reduced food? Is this something you specifically look out for when shopping or do you have the attitude that if it’s there it’s there?
I would love to know 😀
Read next: Co-op Stops Reductions! Is This the End of Yellow Stickers?
Ricky Willis is the original Skint Dad. A money-making enthusiast, father, and husband to Naomi. He is always looking for unique ways to earn a little extra.
Been following your blog and on Twiitter for a while now and picked up some great hints and tips so thank you.
You did really well there with your Co-op bargains, Because or rather thanks to you & other blogs I’ve not actually shopped in a supermarket for couple of weeks now, I,ve a freezer full of slow cooked meals and other bits to last my daughter and me a while yet,
Talking of slow cookers I would the recipe to your Moroccan Beef and Butternut Squash as it sounds rather yummy.
Hello Enid,
Thanks for the comment and thanks for following my blog 😀
It really is amazing the bargains you can pick up if you are savvy enough! Add this to a bit of batch cooking with the slow cooker and you can save a fortune!!
The Moroccan Beef was divine and I promise I will add the recipe to the blog soon.
I just blogged about this the other day after a great mini-haul from Asda. I love that reduced chiller, even if I only get something good once in a blue moon.
I have an intimate relationship with Asda’s reduced chiller, it never gives me the cold shoulder and always delivers the goods 😀
This is great! My husband found this too. The other day he popped to our local Tesco at around 9pm and found the cooked chickens reduced to 30p each! He bought 3, plus 2 BOGOF curry jars, and an onion. Came home, stripped the chickens and made a huge chicken curry to freeze in portions. He is now known in the chicken aisle as he keeps popping in!
In our local Asda they give me my own badge which says “The Best Bargain Buyer” because I am grabbing all the best deals. 😉
In all seriousness though, I notice that Tesco always have good reductions on the cooked chickens, especially on a Tuesday night for some reason? at my local store anyway.
Hi
i have a local tesco an co-op, it can be pretty hit and miss. Tesco have only been open a year, and at first they were seriously over stocking the store- bargains were pretty good, now its pretty pathetic what is reduced. Co-op however have good days and bad days, i have spent £9 on a array of reduce meat and didn’t need to buy any for the rest of the month (lucky i hadn’t gone big shop yet!) I have bought a cooked chicken from their rotisserie for £1 and made that last a few meals plus stock.
I do love a bargain!
Enjoy reading this! Do you know what time in the evening Asda normally reduce their goods?
We love buying from the reduced section, or “Crap Corner” as we heard staff in our local supermarket call it once. My favourite find is when they’re getting rid of gu desserts. Can’t afford them normally, but when they’re reduced I go for them like crazy!
I always get good meat bargains from my local co-op – 9 times out of 10 they have pork or chicken reduced and I grab a bit and whack it straight in the freezer. Never get such good deals at the major supermarkets but then I don’t have time to be sat around waiting for them to do reductions.
Here’s a great song by the band Two Pregnant Men about reduced food!
https://soundcloud.com/two-pregnant-men/reducer-1
Me and my partner often check out the reduced sections. It can be a bit hit and miss depending on the day and time we go. Our freezer is currently full of meat and veg that we bought just after Christmas at either 30-50% reductions from our local Aldi. I’ve had beef, lamb, pork and chickens all with those reductions. Most have a couple of days still on their dates. Bulky items I’d cook and then portion up and then freeze for later use. Bones are used for soup which we use with our reduced veg from our tesco express.
I already have squirrelled away for Christmas next year a Christmas pudding and two jars of mincemeat.