Last Sunday morning my fiancé and I drove to Ralphs grocery store on Hollywood Blvd.  I had perused the online ad earlier that morning and had my handwritten shopping list tucked safely away in my purse. 

While at the store I added some goodies to our basket: a $0.99 French baguette (although my fiancé has deemed this "prison food"), a 2-liter bottle of Diet Cherry 7-Up w/ Antioxidants for $0.89, and some extras like canned potatoes.

We also needed bread, but didn't want to pay the non-sale price of $4.29 for a loaf of our preferred Oroweat Double Fiber bread.  I left the task up to my lovely fiancé to find something cheaper.  He proudly found Pepperidge Farm Double Fiber bread on sale for $2.99.  This was acceptable, since it was better than paying full price for the other stuff.  I'm sure marketing teams have a hell of a time with sale-finders like us, as we are not brand loyal.

While he made a turn into the ethnic foods aisle, I proceeded to the back of the store.  Ralphs stores often have a rack of discounted bakery items tucked away near a set of double doors.  I look at this as a treasure tray of an array of clearance goods varying from near-expired cookies and cake to bread and rolls.  A couple of weeks ago I even found a slice of red velvet cake with delicious cream cheese icing discounted to $0.79.  It was no Sprinkles cupcake, but it was a cheap sweet delight.  This time I saw whole cake with butter cream frosting for $3.00 (marked down from $13.79!), but resisted temptation and thousands of calories.  I also spied loaves of Pepperidge Farm bread for $0.79.  Perfect!  I grabbed a loaf of the honey wheat and went in search for the cart.

My hope was to replace the $2.99 bread with the $0.79 bread that had an expiration date of 7/5, two days away at the time.  He could eat that for at least five days then freeze the rest.  Healthy, fiberfull bread for less than a dollar?  Great!  Truly, a rare find.

Once I found my fiancé he reluctantly allowed me to set the bread in the cart.  I guided him to the clearance rack so he could examine the varieties of bread on "Manager's Special."  He took a lazy look and waited with disinterest at the side of the rack.  I suggested (or demanded?) swapping out the other bread, but he refused.  "It expires in two days anyway, and once I put it in the freezer, it will get hard,” he exclaimed.

After I stressed the need to save money when possible, and that the bread would probably be gone before we'd have to worry about freezing it, he proceeded to return the $2.99 bread.  We made a bit of a scene, tugging the pricier bread from this end and that.  Was I being unfair?  Not only did I feel like a cheapskate, but like a person that had spent $4 on breakfast out earlier (coffee and cake) without a comment.  After my victory, though really the victory was his, I returned the $0.79 loaf of bread to its rightful clearance spot.  Some other deal seeker would have to take advantage.

I wonder: In order to save a buck, should we all be willing to sacrifice freshness or convenience for a lower price?