I found out last week that going backwards financially can mean moving forward. Hubby and I dipped into our reserve funds at the Food Lion closeout last week. We made a few purchases earlier but decided to go back. There wasn't much left but what was available was marked down to 75% off.
Seeing what types of items that were left surprised me. I figured that most people would go for the more expensive gourmet food or luxury items. No so. Many of those products were still on the shelves.
There are some products that my family enjoys but are too expensive for us to purchase regularly. I decided to dip into our reserve funds to buy a few things. Starbucks iced coffee packets, spices, some camping supplies and pet goods also found their way into the shopping cart.
Using the reserve funds did feel like we were going backwards. In reality, it moved us forwards.
My daughter will use the Starbuck's coffee packets in her reusable bottle instead of buying a more expensive bottled drink. The camping supplies and pet products are needed no matter if they are on sale or not. Stocking up at 75% off is definitely the way to do it.
Our big purchase of the day was several cans of sterno for the wedding. The spices that we purchased were also for the wedding day meal. Making certain that the products I bought are ones that we will use helped me feel better about utilizing our reserves. It seems like we went backward but the clearance items are definitely a financial move forward.
When we got married, I had been taught by my parents to unit price buy AND to buy in bulk if something was on sale. My husband had not been taught those techniques and if a recipe called for 1 c. of peas, he bought a small can of peas, which probably cost more than twice the larger can. Through the years, he's been converted and shops the same as I did in the beginning of our marriage. We've saved loads of money that way, and some weeks, it has taken more money to shop wisely, but it always pays off in the end.
ReplyDeleteGreat going, Gayle and John!
Sharon & Larry
Great job! Even name brands at 75% off can be a great deal. Wish some of the stores around our place would have such close-out sales.
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