I've posted in the past in some of my budget breakdowns about shopping in unconventional places. This is an example of how that can pay off. I realize this isn't going to be exactly repeatable for anyone, even me...but hopefully it will serve as an example of what you can do when you think out of the box a little. Everything shown was purchased from a dent and ding/out of date vendor at my local flea market. I'll end up donating most of this haul, but I will keep enough that it costs me a fraction of what I would pay at retail.
I normally eat whole non processed foods, but I do occasionally incorporate some processed foods like you'll see here. As processed foods go, most of this is still on the relatively healthy side. I tried to shop around to get the cheapest retail examples I could find for comparison...mostly from Amazon bulk pricing.
Picture 1
22 oz Vega plant based protein powder $8 ($40 retail directly from Vega)
5 various "designer" granolas @ $1.50 each $7.50 ($30 retail from Amazon)
50 Larabar bars @ 10/$1 $5 ($36 bulk price from Amazon)
Picture 1 total $20.50 (retail total $136)
Picture 2
35oz Orgain plant based protein powder $12.50 ($25 retail from Amazon)
6 Enjoy Life soft baked cookies @ $1 each $6 ($21 bulk price from Amazon)
6 Kashi Chewy trail mix bars @$1 each $6 ($32 bulk price from Amazon)
4 XL PRO plant based protein bars $1 ($10 retail)
Quaker Oats flat breakfast bars $1 ($4 retail)
Vendor Discounted to $20 total
Picture 3
FREE!!! retail between $.75 - $2 each
almost 500 protein bars that were slightly smashed or out of date. Vendor didn't want to sell them since they didn't look as pristine as what he typically stocks. He said if I didn't take them they would end up in the dumpster....so ....I'll be giving most of these away to homeless and food not bombs. Same vendor was willing to give away quite a bit of other food, but it was mostly chips that had milk or cheese content. So I notified another homeless shelter that isn't vegan based.
I know this is somewhat "useless" as a specific, but I have other examples in my post history of shopping for less than $100 a month at typical nation wide retail stores with little to no processed foods. So be sure to check if you have a local vendor that also does this sort of dent and ding/out of date thing and see what vegan products you can find. Even though this haul was mostly processed, this is also where I buy raw uncooked pinto beans at less than $.50 per lb, along with other non processed grains for cheap...so it isn't JUST processed food you can find at these vendors! Feel free to ask any questions!
Edit: Sorry if the pics don't show on the main post...something broke the link. I edited the text to contain the link.
May 15, 2021 at 07:56PM
