Check the Dates Before You Buy
September 13, 2009 by Karen Weideman
Filed under food, groceries, saving money, shopping
One way to save on your grocery bill is to check the dates on the food products before you buy them. Just tonight I was shopping and found shredded cheese and flour tortilla shells that were several weeks out of date. The cheese was moldy and I’m sure it won’t be long before the tortilla shells taste badly.
While many items are still good for a while past their best by date, it’s important to get fresh products so that they’ll last longer and taste better. If you like to stockpile groceries while they’re at rock bottom prices (or buy ahead), it’s especially important that you pay attention to the dates. It doesn’t really help to save money if the products you buy go out of date before you can use them.
One way to get the best date is to look around on the shelves. If you find an item that’s soon to expire, move the items around and look towards the back of the shelf. Stores put the newer items at the back so that they can sell the older items first.
Honestly, there are some products that I don’t check the dates on. These items are usually things with a long shelf life such as cereal, cookies, and canned goods.
Items you should definitely check the dates on are:
- mayonnaise/Miracle Whip
- salad dressing
- cheese
- coffee creamers
- coffee
- premade foods
- medicines
- meat
- dairy products
Do you check the dates on the food while in the stores?
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