In our kitchen, there is a change in what we buy during the fall and winter. We tend to cook soups, crock pot meals, beans, roasted meats and vegetables in the oven, and of course other hearty meals such as chili or pastas. One thing I have noticed in our city is that there are a few grocery stores that unload pastas and rice at discount prices. Da Vinci pastas were on sale so I backed up the truck and bought some of the pastas we like: twists, linguine, bucatini, dumplings, and orzo. I also bought two bags of Goya black beans that were on sale for well below regular price.
The stores you need to be familiar with for this type of sale are the traditional local grocery stores (i.e. IGA types, etc.), rather than the new model of “everyday low pricing” (i.e. Wal-Mart, ALDI). Many people avoid these traditional stores because they usually have higher prices on meats, milk, or a particular item you might buy on a regular basis. I make it a point to watch a few local grocery stores’ circulars and then go in and snatch up bargains such as Da Vinci Linguine for $0.77, 5 lbs of white rice for $3.49 or other such deals like the black beans I mentioned earlier. These stores will also run specials on other winter type items such as broth. Stock up on beans, broth, and pasta in July and August when the stores are desperate to move them! At one local store, I found a huge display of 1 lb Skinner spaghetti packages for $0.79 each. Another out of season bargain I found at our local store was Goya Adobo seasoning for only $1.39.
There are a few key concepts to buying discount staple food out of season:
- Target local or regional stores that do not use the “everyday low pricing” concept
- Make occasional trips to these stores only to purchase staples that are running at deep discounts
- Focus on “out of season” items during the summer and those items on sale. For example: pastas, beans, winter cuts of meat such as roasts, and of course canned soups (Chunky Soups aren’t exactly moving off the shelves in July)
- Use coupons at these stores wherever possible and avoid purchasing anything they sell at higher prices
- Look for gourmet items that these local stores have gambled on and lost. I bought a great Jalapeno and Lime bean dip and a salsa by Original Juan (Micro Batch) for only $1.50 each on clearance when the store couldn’t sell their huge inventory. This is a boutique brand.
As with all of my strategies for saving money, every bit of money you save adds up. Once you get going with this type of thinking, you will find that all of a sudden your money is going further and that you have more of it left over.
