When Frugality Goes Too Far... - Page 9

[EviesMom]

Originally Posted by sarasprings

Funny thread. After reading this, I sort of feel like most of you are going think this is not right, but I return "bad" produce to the grocery store. Once a week usually. I never did it until we started buying all organic. Our boys eat mostly fresh fruits and vegetables (the were SCD for a long time) and it's inevitable that there a spot of mold on the cucumber side that's facing down in the container or the avocado we just bought is half bad. I feel like we're the only people that do it, but man, that's expensive food. :

If it's rotten when you buy it, then DEFINITELY return it! If you waited a week and then returned it because it had spoiled, then that would be wrong! (And I feel the same if it's rotten when you buy it but you can't get back to the store for a week or something; you bought it and it was inedible when you bought it; they should replace it.

[sarasprings]

Originally Posted by EviesMom

If it's rotten when you buy it, then DEFINITELY return it! If you waited a week and then returned it because it had spoiled, then that would be wrong! (And I feel the same if it's rotten when you buy it but you can't get back to the store for a week or something; you bought it and it was inedible when you bought it; they should replace it.

We only return stuff that was definitely bad when we bought it, though we don't always open the packages right when we get home.

[Lynn08]

Originally Posted by sarasprings

Funny thread. After reading this, I sort of feel like most of you are going think this is not right, but I return "bad" produce to the grocery store. Once a week usually. I never did it until we started buying all organic. Our boys eat mostly fresh fruits and vegetables (the were SCD for a long time) and it's inevitable that there a spot of mold on the cucumber side that's facing down in the container or the avocado we just bought is half bad. I feel like we're the only people that do it, but man, that's expensive food. :

I worked at a natural food store (a family owned operation - not a nat'l chain) and we would take back bad produce and milk all the time. We never thought poorly of the customer (even tho the store had to eat the loss). We even had one pain in the butt customer who would regularly buy a gallon of raw milk and bring back the unused portion on the expiration date because "it went bad before I could finish it" according to her. We would just apologize for the inconvenience and replace it with a fresh gallon (she spent a ton of money, so it was worth it for us to keep her happy ).

Then there was the woman who would try to negotiate discount prices for the makeup testers. So many levels of wrong.

[josybear]

um.... i still use bags in my boots when they're wet but i still have to go out. i hate the rustley, slidey feeling, but if the alternative is frozen, soggy toes i can live with the bags. where i live (in the 'hood, super duper low income) kids often have bags in their boots. the ones i feel bad for are the ones that don't have the bags, ya know?

and as for condiments, i take them. not all of them, but a small handful. maybe 4 ketchup packets per trip? flavoured creamers from the 7-11 coffee bar when i go there, too. i don't stuff my pockets, but i take a few. some of you would call it stealing, but it's a level of dishonesty that i can live with. i bring them home and refill my ketchup, vinegar, salt, pepper, soy sauce... and bring the creamers to school with me for when i use my travel french press.

also frugal - using dirt from the yard instead of potting soil. the surprise plants that grow from whatever was in the soil are annoying, but not as annoying as walking home from the far, far away store, carrying a heavy, fragile plastic bag of dirt.

[sugareemoma]

I used to have a roomate that would go to WinCo & miss-label bulk foods. The would put the code for something that was only $1 or $2 per pound on something that was $10+ The worst part was they were using food stamps so it wasn't really costing them money anyway!