In case you're new: Thankful Thursdays is a series in which, every Thursday, I write about one thing I'm thankful for. Whether it's something as grand as the time we live in, or as specific about the way , nothing is off limits. Check out my intro post for more on why I'm doing this, and how it might help you too.
I recently discovered something that changed my shopping forever: Quick sale. Perhaps to the thrifty shoppers among you, this is old news. I honestly don’t know whether this has been around forever and I just didn’t notice, or whether it is indeed a recent thing.
The term “quick sale” may not be universal, so allow me to clarify: I’m not talking about things on special – supermarket items that are temporarily discounted to boost awareness. I mean items that are close to their use-by date and get a new, lower price stickered onto them. And I mean low. Depending on the food type and how close to the use-by, I’ve seen 80% discounts. A whole vine of 6 tomatoes for under $1. 500g of quality coconut yogurt for under $2.50.
I see these in Melbourne, but have also since spoken to people who’ve noticed them in Germany, Singapore, and the UK, although to varying degrees of frequency. There’s a couple reasons I’m grateful that this is a thing, especially one so common where I live.
Let’s start with the obvious: Saving money. There’s the satisfaction whenever I reach new bargain records for my favourite groceries. But on a grander scale, it’s about what the saved money lets me do: in the ultimate feat of delayed gratification, I can invest it now to retire earlier. That way, every dollar saved gets me one step closer to financial freedom.
There are three ways I can save money through quick sale. One, some of my favourite items are on quick sale so often, I can almost always buy a version on quick sale. This includes cheese – it may always be a different kind, but some kind is always strongly reduced.
Two, some items are slightly less frequent, but often enough that I can wait until they’re on quick sale, buy a few, and then hold off on buying until they’re on quick sale again. This includes yogurt. You might think “Hang on Mr. LudeMood, if they’re on quick sale because they’re about to go off, isn’t that risky?”. A good call, but most things last way past their use-by date. Sure, with things like chicken, you may want to be careful, but for the most part, you can use your own senses plus common sense to judge what’s good and what’s bad. And no, I’m not confusing “best before” and “use-by” dates. I’ve had food past both, and while yes, foods closer to their “use-by” will go off quicker than those near there “best before”, it isn’t bad the moment the clock hits that date. You can probably use it.
Of course items will go bad if I don’t use them quickly enough. The way I see it, if I pay WAY less for a good amount of, say, tomatoes, and I end up using four and chucking two, that’s still a good deal. I can mathematically prove it!
At Woolies, Truss tomatoes are currently $1.25 each. So if I buy a pack of six for $1 and only use four, that would still otherwise be $5 (4 x $1.25). But in this example, I didn’t even need the math, BECAUSE THE PACK IS CHEAPER THAN A SINGLE FULL-PRICE TOMATO!! And while it’s always a shame to have to throw out two of them, I still saved four!
Finally, many items aren’t on quick-sale that often individually, but a lot as a collective. For example, I may not find spinach on quick-sale very often. But there’s almost always some form of leafy green on quick-sale, including rocket and kale. By using a broad view of what I’m after (e.g. any root veggies as opposed to insisting on turnip), plus a good dose of adventurousness, I save a lot.
That brings me to grateful reason #2: variety. Some may play it safe and just pay full price for things that don’t weird them out. But I like to experiment and learn by trying. Not only have I discovered new favourites like certain organ meats this way, but those pieces are often the most nutritious. Variety, being the spice of life, keeps things interesting: every time I shop, especially in new areas, is exciting as I can’t wait to find out what’s on quick sale. Sometimes, it’s enough to make a meal of. If not, I can then top up full-price things that go with it for a nice recipe I may never otherwise have tried.
I don’t just try items I wouldn’t have otherwise considered, like unusual veggies or weird cuts of meat. At up to 80% off, I also get to try the fancy brands I’d never otherwise dish out on! Whether that’s premium cheese, bougie hummus, or fancy yogurt brands, I can live the high life while spending less than I’d spend on middle-class, but full-price groceries.
There’s even an entire food group that quick sale makes accessible to me: Meat. Since 2017, I’ve been flexitarian: My shopping and restaurant choices were mostly vegan, but I’d have meat at friends’ places if it was being served, or if it was otherwise being thrown out. Since quick sale items are about to be thrown out, I can buy quick sale meat without supporting the meat industry.* If you’re thinking of reducing or stopping your meat intake but having a hard time, you could try this as a first step.
Whatever your dietary needs, it’s not just about not supporting the meat industry. It’s about not supporting any industry: Every single thing you purchase uses energy and resources to be produced. We live in a world in which these are running out, which causes problems. So even if your purchase of instant coffee the other day barely makes a dent, it all adds up.
Unlike clothes and other items, you can’t re-use food. But with quick sale, you can at least buy things with a reasonable chance that you won’t be contributing to more energy and resources being spent. In fact, there’s a double whammy here, in that you’re reducing food waste.
Food waste is a significant generator of greenhouse gases. So by focusing on the foods closer to going to waste, which simultaneously prevents more food from being overproduced, we can at least take a step in the right direction.
So there you have it. I personally benefit from quick sale while simultaneously having a clean conscience – which benefits me even further while benefiting others. Sure, it’s a bit more work sometimes; I go on smaller, but more frequent shops now to get as much of what I need on quick sale as I can. I also need to stay vigilant in cooking a bit quicker before things expire, but I was doing that before anyway, so I’m just a bit more conscious of it now. Sometimes, it means more frequent cooking, which I admit can be annoying. But with all I get in return, it’s worth it, and I’m incredibly thankful that quick sale is a thing.
*Assuming that shops don’t use the data about items sold through quick-sale to determine what to stock more of. I’ve spoken to people who worked in supermarkets and similar stores, who said that, indeed, items on quick sale are just there to make a bit of a buck before it gets chucked out. Nonetheless, I realise not every shop may operate the same, so I’d love to hear from anyone who works at or even managed a supermarket whether you do things differently.