Save Money Buying Groceries Before a Public Holiday

There are many ways of saving money on your groceries. Using coupons and comparing prices between rival major supermarkets are a couple of ways, but did you know that you can also save plenty of money just by planning to buy some of your groceries the very night before a public holiday?

You see, major retailers such as Coles and Woolworths close on major public holidays such as Good Friday and Christmas Day. To consumers of these supermarkets, public holidays are a God-send in more than one way. Coles and Woolworths produce or stock large amounts of perishable items each day such as cakes, breads, and deli items such as fresh pastas, salads and roast chickens.

As you know, perishable items have a limited shelf-life and rather than disposing of unsold items, Coles and Woolworths place these items at fire sale prices just prior to closing up shop the night before a public holiday. This is a win-win situation because the supermarkets rake in some last minute takings, and we the consumers go home with greatly discounted items.

The best time to go is about 30 to 60 minutes before the closing time. The nearer you go to the closing time the better.

Granted, there may be limited perishable items remaining because everyone else has bought during the day in a last minute frenzy for the impending festivities. Also, the supermarkets stop producing these goods en masse because of the burgeoning public holiday. But there are certainly still bargains to be had. Often, supermarket managers will slash prices every 10 minutes or so on remaining items up until closing time.

In past public holiday eves, I have purchased items including:

● A full 2 litre tub of pasta salad for just $4
● Whole roast chickens for $5 (still warm)
● Chocolate mudcakes for $2
● Packs of hot cross buns for just $1

You might question how fresh some of these items are, but to be honest, so long as they haven't reached their expiry dates, and were stored properly either on refrigerated shelving or temperature-controlled displays, then I don't have a problem with it.

So next time a public holiday comes around and you're in need of a little more food perhaps for a social gathering the next day or just to feed a big family, consider doing some of your grocery shopping just before closing time at your local major supermarket. I'm in no doubt you'll save plenty of money on a range of perishable items that would normally cost at least twice their fire sale prices!