Stay Connected

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Not Too Late to Pick Up a Few Clearance Bargains on Pantry Goods



The more perishable holiday foods were marked down to clear in the first week of January. Foods like eggnog and refrigerated holiday cookie dough were deeply discounted by the 5th of January in my stores. Those items are obviously holiday foods and not as interesting to many consumers once the holiday season is over.

However, there's another group of "holiday" foods that are very useful year round. These foods could be used at any time of the year. They're non-perishable and, in most cases, don't look so holiday-ish. Most of these items do not have images of snowmen, Christmas trees, or Santa on the package label. It's their use on holiday menus that associates them with the entire holiday season. 

By the middle to the third week of January, I find these food items on deep discount in my stores. As non-perishables, they often have expiration dates over a year away. And they're all foods that I could use in my menus almost all weeks of the year.

So, this is what I found last weekend at Walmart:

  • jarred turkey gravy for 50 cents -- great not only on turkey but also for chicken or to have over mashed potatoes or rice. Exp. date: March 2021
  • Libby's canned pumpkin for 75 cents -- pumpkin bread, muffins, soup -- YES!! Exp. date: Sept 2021
  • Great Value turkey stuffing mix for 30 cents -- can be used as a quick side with many dishes, not just turkey. Exp. date: May 2021

It's amazing how far into the future some of the expiration dates are on these items, yet stores don't want to keep them on their shelves any longer. This just means more great deals for me and my grocery budget.

When I was running errands on Saturday, I also stopped by an import store that carries a food line. In their holiday section I found the above holiday-themed pasta shapes for 74 cents, or 67 cents/lb. The expiration date on this package is in 2022. While the price per pound is a good price for pasta for everyday meals, I think I'll hang onto this package for next Christmas, either for my small family or as part of an Italian gift basket to my son and DIL.

The deals are still out there!

8 comments:

  1. The deals are still out there in some stores. All you have to do is look, and you've given us a good reminder to do that. I love theme-shaped pasta. It's so much fun. Aldi's has carried it in the past for different holidays, but I didn't see any this year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I found a canister of those sticks that smell like pine tree at Aldi this year and they were very cheap so I bought those. Another thing was their seasonal coffee that was discounted. Toasted coconut tastes so good so I stocked up on those. I found sesame oil discounted there also. All after Christmas sales.

    Alice

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great shopping bargains! I think it's a fun idea to save the Christmas pasta to make up into a gift basket next year. I recently bought themed pasta on sale, too--a box of ocean creatures, one of dinosaurs, and one of planes/trains/automobiles. I made mac and cheese Friday with the ocean creatures pasta and you would have thought that I had made a fancy gourmet meal--my family loved it. It's nice that simple things can bring such joy!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lili, you can probably use your gravy in pot pies.😊

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Live and Learn,
    I sure wish Aldi would hurry up and open stores in my area. Their deals and variety sound amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Alice,
    you got some great items on clearance! I'm sure you'll really enjoy that coffee. It sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Kris,
    I'm leaning toward saving the pasta for a gift basket next year. I think it would be really appreciated by my son and DIL, if paired with some homemade sauce, olive oil, and a loaf of Italian bread or some breadsticks.
    I've never seen ocean creature pasta. They sounds like fun! I saw heart-shaped pasta at the same store that I bought the holiday pasta. Heart-shaped pasta in cheese sauce could make a fun Valentine's family dinner.
    It's the little things that bring a smile to a face!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great idea, Lona!
    With some chopped, leftover turkey, and some veggies, a jar of gravy would make for quick pot pie filling.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for joining the discussion today. Here at creative savv, we strive to maintain a respectful community centered around frugal living. Creative savv would like to continue to be a welcoming and safe place for discussion, and as such reserves the right to remove comments that are inappropriate for the conversation.

FOLLOW CREATIVE SAVV ON BLOGLOVIN'

Follow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be a voice that helps someone else on their frugal living journey

Are you interested in writing for creative savv?
What's your frugal story?

Do you have a favorite frugal recipe, special insight, DIY project, or tips that could make frugal living more do-able for someone else?

Creative savv is seeking new voices.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

share this post