The Bargain Store

Yesterday I went shopping. It was time to stock up on some staples. And, after writing about the bulk chicken, I was craving barbecue chicken sandwiches. I did grab a bag of chicken quarters and tossed them into the crockpot last night. I make a habit of beginning my grocery shopping at our local bargain store. I think they are popping up in towns everywhere. They are stores that buy the dented boxes of cereal, the overstock food before it expires, etc.

I'm able to stretch my budget and have some "luxury" foods through my strategic use of the bargain store. Since I never really know what I will find there, it helps to start my shopping there and then go to the other store. Sometimes my cart is overloaded and other times I only have a few items. Yesterday it was overloaded.

My youngest daughter is a senior in high school and captain of the swim team. As the captain's mom, I'm to provide swim team snacks for some of the meets. When trying to find healthy snacks for 25 swimmers, it can get costly. But, yesterday, I hit the jackpot at the bargain store. They had an overstock of Planter's Honey Roasted Peanuts individual 5 oz. bags 5 for $1.00, rather than $1.59 each. I also found that some of their fruit snacks were not only inexpensive, but because they had such an inventory they'd also marked them 2 for 1! I managed to get individual bags of apple chips, the honey roasted peanuts, propel powder and yogo rollers, a total of 30 individual servings of each, for about $13. Oh yeah!!!

My oldest daughter is in her freshman year of college. She lives in the dorms and has the meal plan, but this only provides brunch on the weekends... and no late night snacks. They have a decent kitchen in the dorm and she knows how to cook. So, I was on the lookout for stuff to send her. She loves asian food (actually the whole family does). When looking for ethnic foods and healthy foods, I often get lucky at the bargain store. It seems they just aren't that popular here in the Ozarks. I picked up some Simply Asia Thai meals for $1.29 each, some Far East Couscous for $.50 a box and some other miscellaneous items. She'll be happy when she receives this care package!

You do have to shop wisely at the bargain store. Look at the expiration dates and have a good idea what's okay if it's expired and what's not... and what's a reasonable time frame after the expiration date. For example, the 1 lb bag of Archway ginger snaps I picked for $1.29 had expired in mid-December. I'm eating them right now and they are fine. But I passed on the 6-months-past-expiration-date pancake mix... I don't like to find bugs in my flour products and weevils seem to thrive here. It just wasn't worth the risk. Although, the local bargain store will accept returns with a receipt should you find such a disappointment.

It's worth the effort to shop there. I find little treats and rewards I wouldn't otherwise purchase. Tonight I'll enjoy a bowl of Ben and Jerry's Vermonty Python ice cream (a pint for $1.19!) and I won't even care that the container has a dent at the bottom!