One of my favourite money savers is buying food and drink items that have been reduced due to being on or near their sell-by date. i find I can get some real bargains this way, either for items I will use straight away or that can be frozen to use later. I live very close to my local Tesco and know the times of day when they reduce the most items, so go most days to hunt for a bargain! I save a fortune on bread - rarely paying more than 30p for a loaf which is a really significant saving. I know some people turn up their noses at buying this way but I think it is a great way to save money and treat myself to some items I would otherwise not be able to afford.
I agree, it is a fantastic way to save money and as you said, if it's something you either wanted to use straight away already or something that you're okay freezing and then using at a later date, why not? There's nothing wrong with it except for the fact that it needs to be used or frozen quickly, and especially near the end of a shopping day you can pick up some amazing deals that way.
There are entire restaurants which specialize in using up produce and other food that grocery stores typically throw out. It's not just expired food, but stuff with minor blemishes on it. It's such a shame for all that food to go to waste when there are people all over the US and all over the world who are starving each day with nothing to eat. One of my favorite things to save money on is fresh mushrooms. I can usually get them for anywhere from $1 off to half off just because they are starting to brown a bit. I am going to cook them down anyhow so the browning isn't a problem at all. It would really only matter if you were serving the mushrooms raw, which people seldom do anyhow. With bread I would be a little more cautious, especially bakery bread since it doesn't have all the preservatives in it. If I don't feel I can finish the bread before it gets moldy I will not bother buying it. However for large parties, when I need a bunch of bags of hot dog buns or hamburger buns, I always go to our local bread distributor and buy day old stuff. I can get several bags of buns or loaves for less than $1, vs. paying more than a $1 or two for each of them separately.
I think it is perfectly fine to buy frozen, canned or dried foods that are reduced, since their true perishability is not really linked to their expiry date. I would have second thoughts about buying raw meat or similar fresh produce on the reduced section though.
My parents are very good at buying at the end of the day and getting fresh fish for pennies. It's not that they can't afford it, but if they can get a bargain why not. It saves money. Some people are snobby, but times are hard and even in Tesco I heard a posh father tell his son to pick up all the reduced items so that they could freeze them. Food is a necessity and to be able to get good food cheaply is worth it. In some places people wait for the store to reduce the prices. Attitudes are changing, but I don't care what other people think. Saving money is clever!
