Do you have a habit of throwing food away if its expiration date has passed? With the cost of food on the rise, you may be throwing your hard-earned money away as well.
Let us know how you decide what’s safe to eat and what’s best to toss!
I do not, but check to see if the sweet stuff has turnd sour, the brown stuff has turned green or the green stuff turns brown. If there is bloating in the packaging, I do toss stuff. I have a sensitive stomach so I really don’t take too many chances, but use common sense. If in doubt, I leave it hidden in the refridgerator or freezer until well past the date, then I KNOW it is bad and throw it out 
I buy COSTCO sized 3-packs of lactose-free milk. I freeze two of them. Although ultra-pasteurized, I thaw and use the frozen ones after their best date. Many expiration dates I think are actually best-used-by dates and are quite conservative so that the company is not sued by being too loose with that, and it also does not hurt to have a product that is still good thrown out only to have the consumer buy another one.
Depends on what it is and how far from the expiration date it is.
Dry and canned foods – I don’t worry about it so much.
Even milk (they say) can be used past the date, if you have a taste for buttermilk!!
Eggs-- in the fridge they’ll last a while, but if I’m not sure, I place them in a pot of water. If they float, don’t use them (H2S gas).
Bread – I freeze it if near the exp date – use for toast, etc.
Even medicines like Advil, Benadryl, I’ll take past the date – they won’t kill you! They might be 85% effective instead of 95%.
Some people I know are manic about the dates – as if you’ll die if you eat something past the date, and they won’t eat it if it’s near (before) the date!!
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I also do the same: check the appearance, odor, and smell. My stomach isn’t sensitive, but my wife’s is a different story. I didn’t know about the eggs, thank you, @NancyM, for the tip. I will be doing that from now on.
Most dates on foods are SELL BY dates, not expiration dates. That said, if an item is months past the posted date, it does in the trash. If close to the date, i use the smell and look at tests.
I noticed it says not to freeze eggs but if you fear they will spoil, just break them open, and beat them a little, then freeze in an airtight container in the quantities you would use; maybe two or four at a time. Voila! No waste!
I also hard-boil them. Some for me, a couple for my dog who loves them!
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Eggs can’t be frozen??? While stationed on Guam, frozen eggs were the only eggs available as they were air transported. It limited how you served then as “sunny-side up” wasn’t an option as the yolk would be broken, otherwise they were fine. I’ve consumed MRE’s (meals ready to eat 10-15 years past the date on the package). Everyone knows the US government would never do anything to put their personnel in harm’s way. Color, smell and taste are the guides for most of my decisions about “past date foods.” One exception: swollen canned goods get tossed without opening.
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Washed eggs, like the ones you get from the store, will spoil rather quickly if not refrigerated.
If not washed, with the dried slime on them like they came out of the chicken, eggs will last up to a couple of months at room temperature.
You can apply petroleum jelly to fresh store-bought washed eggs, wipe off the excess and store them at room temperature for a couple of months.
The natural slime on an unwashed egg plugs the pores in the eggshell and prevents oxygen from penetrating and spoiling the contents. The petroleum jelly does the same thing.
It’s a technique I learned from my cruising sailing days.
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Heck, I think I’ve eaten some foods whose expiration dates are expressed in Roman Numerals. 
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That’s a good point, never realized it. I know in most countries eggs are stored unrefrigerated, I guess they are probably unwashed.
Thank you so much for these helpful tips! 
I had never heard of these before, and the explanations are much appreciated.
You shouldn’t freeze an egg in it’s shell. You you can break it open, and freeze the contents…either separated, or yolk and white together. An ice tray can be used.
The “slime” referenced is properly called “bloom.”
Does that make the hen that laid the egg a “bloomin chicken?”