The Daily Money: Retailers toughen return policies

As inflation continues to squeeze Americans, a growing number are buying outdated and short-dated food items at deep discounts. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

The Daily Money ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW   Monday, December 12 Good morning, Daily Money readers! It's Paul Davidson here to bring you Monday's top headlines. As inflation continues to squeeze Americans, particularly low- and middle-income households, a growing number are doing what some people might have considered unthinkable: buying outdated and short-dated food items at deep discounts. Outdated foods are past their expiration dates while short-dated items have 30 days or less to expiration. The practice is actually safe and Continental Sales in the Chicago area says it gets 1,000 customers a day for such goods, especially groceries, up 20% from last year. Buyers beware – of stricter return policies Here's a new wrinkle for your holiday shopping ritual. Six in 10 retailers have changed their return policies by shortening the time window to return an item, charging fees or saddling shoppers with the shipping costs. Over the past decade, many stores widened return time frames to several months to compete with online rivals like Amazon. During COVID, many retailers gave shoppers extra time to send back items they couldn't try on in stores. But many are shrinking those windows, typically to 30 days, to reduce the flood of returns and give stores a better chance to sell them before they're out of season. Many stores are providing some reprieve for the holidays. At Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic, purchases made from Nov. 1 through Christmas can be returned through Jan. 15. Still, policies are generally stricter than in the past. 📰 More stories you shouldn't miss 📰 The 10 most stressful jobs in the U.S.: Judges, retail managers, and gynecologists rank among top. Flight delayed or canceled? What you need to know and what airlines owe travelers. Apple users will pay more for Twitter Blue: What to know about the revamped subscription Recall alert Subaru, among hundreds of thousands of other vehicles, was hit by new recalls last week. Tesla, Kia, Hino and Porsche also reported recalls. The recalls were reported by the carmaker or the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the week of Dec. 4-11. About the Daily Money Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from USA TODAY. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you. Value shoppers snap up expired and nearly expired foods. Is that safe? Shoppers pinched by soaring inflation stretch their dollars by buying expired or nearly expired foods. Why this could be a healthy strategy. Holiday shopping 2022: Store returns policies are changing The 10 most stressful jobs in the US: See which ones made the cut Twitter Blue relaunch: Apple users to pay more for subscription... 270,000 Subaru cars among latest recalls: Here's what else is on... Sam Bankman-Fried, ex-crypto exchange CEO, to testify before Congress... Supreme Court to hear second case on Biden's student loan forgiveness 'Tis the season for holiday scams. How to avoid becoming a victim Job growth set to slow in 2023 as inflation, Fed hikes risk recession A lifetime ban for an old drug conviction? Airbnb policy angers users   Problem viewing email? View in browser Unsubscribe • Manage Newsletters • Terms of Service • Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights • Privacy Notice • Do Not Sell My Info/Cookie Policy • Feedback © 2022 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22102