Estimated reading time: 16 minutes
Hosting a garage sale is a simple way to clear clutter and earn extra cash, but the items on your tables do not have to be your only source of profit. Offering inexpensive food and cold drinks can give shoppers a reason to stay a little longer while adding another small income stream to your sale.
These garage sale food and drink ideas are inexpensive, easy to serve and simple to price. I’ll also show you how to work out your cost per serving so you can decide what makes sense to sell at your next garage or yard sale.
Teach Kids About Money Selling Garage Sale Food
It’s the best opportunity to get your kids set up to learn the value of buying and selling with their own little business while you do your thing.
When there is food and drinks, people will come and only say this because I watch people who go to Costco shopping and how they dive into the free samples.
People LOVE food, and if you have something good to sell and it’s in demand, there is money to be made, so why not offer garage sale food the next time you host a sale?
Even if you don’t have kids who are eager entrepreneurs, there are benefits to having garage sale food and drinks at your next sale.
- Extra Cash
- Draws in the crowds
Essentially, you want to sell everything you put outside for your garage sale because no one wants to haul it back in.
Morning Garage Sale Food and Drink Ideas
The idea behind having a garage sale of food and drinks is that it draws in customers and adds an extra edge to your garage sale advertising.
Early-morning shoppers may appreciate simple breakfast options such as coffee, muffins, and other sweet treats, especially when they are visiting several garage sales in one morning.
Most people who go to garage sales are up very early, including the hosts, and often, it’s a mad rush out the front door.
There have been plenty of times Mrs. CBB and I have gone out looking for weekend bargains and found garage sale food and drink available.
For those talented in the kitchen, try to make savory keto egg muffin cups with ham and cheese.
Perhaps you’re hosting a breakfast and lunch garage sale, allowing for even more money to make.
Use The Grill To Attract Customers To Your Garage Sale
I’ve also been to a yard sale that hosted garage sale food that included a BBQ with hotdogs and burgers run by the husband, and the wife was doing the selling.
It was terrific because they played fun music in the background, and people were hanging around eating, drinking, and looking at what items were up for sale.
That’s the kind of garage sale you will want to host, or that people talk about, and trust me, they do.
When Mrs. CBB and her friends would text each other about garage sales to visit, they were “worth it.”
The reason behind that is when someone hosts a garage sale without much thought, they don’t sell as much because it’s evident that it’s a sale just thrown together.
You’ll have far more luck selling your stuff at reasonable prices when you host a vibrant garage sale with all the fixings.
Negotiations will come in from all angles, and you can profit from selling your favorite garage-sale foods and beverages.
Last month, we went to a Maple Syrup Festival where the streets in a small community were shut down for a parade and all the vendors.
Would you believe there were homeowners out hosting garage sales and selling beverages along the end of their driveways for a buck each?
I thought, what a brilliant idea. Here, you have thousands of visitors to a small community for a huge event.
Even if you sell 300 bottles of water for a buck each, that’s a huge profit.
The same goes for pop and juice, although more than enough vendors were selling food.
Making A Profit From Garage Sale Food and Drinks
Let’s look at some garage sale food recipes and drinks that I think would be a hit with frugal customers.
Here’s the thing: frugal is the keyword here because even though shoppers don’t mind donating a bit more money when it’s kids or desperate for convenience, pricing matters.
The last thing you want is for your garage sale food and drinks to sit, and no one buys them because you’re asking for too much money.
Price Garage Sale Food and Drink Reasonably
Keep the prices simple and the goals for offering garage sale food and drinks.
For example, here are a few questions you will want to consider if you decide to have a garage sale of food and drinks.
- How much did it cost you to bake or buy what you are selling?
- Will there be a profit?
- Are you just selling food and drinks to draw in the crowds to sell your stuff?
Before setting a price, add up the current cost of the drinks, ice, cups, napkins and any other supplies you need. Then divide the total cost by the number of servings you expect to sell to find your approximate cost per serving.
For example, if your total supplies cost $15 and you have 30 drinks to sell, your cost is about $0.50 per drink. Selling above that amount creates a gross profit before accounting for anything left unsold.
Keep the math simple and leave yourself enough room between your cost and selling price to make the effort worthwhile. Remember that doubling your cost is a 100% markup on cost, not a 100% profit margin.
Think cash for selling for profit or fundraising money to give to a charity.
You would do the same math with your garage sale food as well.
Use the same calculation for cookies, muffins, freezies and other garage sale food. Divide your total ingredient or purchase cost by the number of portions, then choose a simple selling price that covers your costs and leaves room for profit.
Round prices to easy cash amounts when possible. Simple pricing makes transactions faster and helps you see at a glance whether you are covering your costs.
If children are helping with the sale, this is also an easy way to teach them the difference between revenue, costs and the money that is actually left over.
Best Garage Sale Food and Drinks to Sell
Below is a simple list of garage sale foods and drinks that I believe would drive customers and bring in a profit for the seller.
Ideally, buying the products on sale will yield higher profits from your garage sale of food and drinks.
Keep an eye on grocery flyers and sales when buying drinks, packaged snacks and other supplies. The lower your cost per serving, the more room you have to set a reasonable price while still earning extra cash.
Garage Sale Drinks To Sell For Profit
- Cans of pop
- Bottled water
- Flavored Sugar-Free Waters
- Juice boxes
- Hot Chocolate
- Jumbo Freezies, Sugar-Free Freezies, and Welches Jumbo Lemonade Freezies.
- Homemade Lemonade, iced tea, and other juices. Make a lemonade sale sign or whatever drink or drinks you are selling.
- Coffee and tea can work well for an early-morning or cool-weather sale, but remember to include the cost of cups, lids, sugar or sweetener, milk or cream, and any other supplies when setting your price.
Food Ideas For A Garage Sale
Below are some easy foods to sell and make money, or you can buy them pre-made and still make a profit based on the selling price described above.
Some shoppers may be more comfortable buying sealed, store-bought items, while others enjoy homemade treats. If you sell homemade food, keep it covered, label it clearly and identify common allergens such as peanuts or tree nuts.
Offering a variety of store-bought and homemade might make a difference to your overall sales.
My one big tip is to keep the messy garage sale food to a minimum and offer simple treats to eat.
I also suggest you keep some paper towels or napkins handy for your customers. (another cost to add to your sales pricing).
- Homemade cookies include chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisins, or keto peanut butter cookies. Always label if there are nuts in the recipe.
- Scones: Try my Chocolate Chip Scookies, part scone, part cookie.
- Pear and Chai Scones or plain scones
- Keto Butter Tarts
- Fruits such as bananas and apples or even watermelon slices
- Homemade or store-bought muffins or squares (including brownies)
Sweet or Savoury bread includes banana bread, chocolate chip banana bread, cheese bread, and keto zucchini bread. - Hotdogs, Hamburgers with buns and basic condiments, ketchup, mustard, and relish.
- International food – Sell finger foods or sweets that are popular within your culture such as spring rolls.
Chicken Samosas
Perfect Chicken Samosa – Recipe
Baked Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Simple Fudgy Brownies
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Famous Peanut Butter Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Homemade Lemonade
Sweet Homemade Lemonade
Orange Carrot Breakfast Muffins
Yummy Orange Carrot Breakfast Muffins
Alternatively, you could offer your customers iced tea and lemonade for free just to put a smile on their faces, and perhaps they might buy something from your garage sale.
I was hoping you could look at my Free Recipe Index for loads more recipes from Keto to Low-Carb to everyday frugal meals, snacks, desserts, bread, and more.
Discussion: Have you ever sold food or drinks at a garage sale? What sold the fastest, and what would you add to this list?
Please leave me your comments and recipe suggestions below.
Mr. CBB
Home and Blog Update
What a wonderful two weeks we’ve had since our last update.
No one has been ill, and nothing significant has broken down.
I’ve been busy like most homeowners outside, getting ready for Spring and lots of sunshine.
So far, I’ve planted all our herbs for the summer, hanging baskets are up, fertilized the lawn, added mulch to our front yard flower beds, and fixed up our rock garden (no weeds still).
Garden Update
The basil is already peaking out like the dill and garlic, so we are very excited.
We even have a stray onion we are nurturing, although Mrs. CBB thinks she planted it last season from her kitchen cut-off.
Oh, and the rhubarb is on its way to making magic again this summer.
We get so much rhubarb that we are stuck on what to do with it.
Goodbye Propane, Hello Charcoal
I also went ahead and gave our big stainless BBQ away for free and bought a Kamado charcoal grill, which we do not regret.
The taste of the meat and vegetables far surpasses any propane or gas grill.
We love the extra space and can bring it out of the rain and winter without a hitch.
Besides, I managed to clean out part of the garage, but I have more to do.
The backyard is next on my hit list. I’ll update you on that for next Saturday’s blog post.
Blog Design and Update
I’ve been working with my fantastic designer, Sara, on the blog to improve the look and layout.
We’ve also become publishers with Mediavine in hopes of bringing in more revenue for CBB.
This blog doesn’t run on coal, I’m afraid. Hehe!
You may see some changes as the weeks go on, but they may be subtle.
Thanks again for your support, reading the blog, commenting, and sharing our posts with your friends and family on social media.
I started this blog for the people in 2012, and look at us all now.
Here we are in 2019 and still helping people out of debt, even if it’s only through experience and motivation.
Have a great two weeks!!
Mr.CBB
CBB Posts You May Have Missed
These are the blog posts I’ve written over the past two weeks that you can catch up on if you’ve missed them.
- How to write a financial hardship letter (free sample) and our April 2019 Budget Update
- 15 Important items worth storing in a fireproof safe
- Mexican Taco Cauliflower Rice Stir-Fry (Keto, Low-Carb, Gluten-Free) It’s fantastic!!!
- How to write a simple reference letter (free sample)
- Supermarket sales tricks that you fall for
Finance Read Of the Week
This week, I’d like to draw your attention to Million Dollar Journey, where the Frugal Trader discusses what happens to your RRSP and TFSA after you die.
To start off with the good news, RRSPs can generally “rollover” tax-free to qualified beneficiaries such as:
- a spouse/spousal trust/common-law partner;
- financially dependent children/grandchildren under 18;
- or disabled children/grandchildren of any age.
So, if I were to die, we’d roll over the investments into my wife’s name or vice-versa.
Excellent read.
Related: What happens to your TFSA when you die? – Canadian Budget Binder
Garage Sale Finds
If you have some fantastic deals you’d like to share from your garage sale outings this spring and summer, email me your photo and tell us what you found and how much it costs to be featured.
Hi Everyone,
Here are today’s fabulous finds :
- 2 packs of swimming goggles and moisturizing lotion $5 (asking was $7)
- Shave gel, skunk spray, and chewing spray (for my new puppy) $1
- Bath bombs are $1
Total spent: $7
Jen P.
Frugal Recipe Find
Fiona at Just SO Tasty has these White Chocolate Brownies I couldn’t turn away from seeing once my eyes found the recipe.
I just knew I had to share with you brownie lovers out there.
As you know, I have a sweet spot for brownies, with thousands of Pins on my Brownie Pinterest board.
This recipe is next on my list, especially since I have a bag of white chocolate in our freezer.
Mr. CBB’s Motivational Corner
Gardening 101
When preparing for our spring and summer vegetable garden, I always wondered how many seeds you should plant in each hole.
Honestly, I would play it by ear, but there is an actual amount that you should use to avoid wasting and overcrowding.
For radishes you only need 4 seeds as do peppers but I had no idea, now I know.
Oh, and look at squash, only 1 seed is needed.
How to avoid overplanting your vegetable garden
Saturday Search Term Giggles
Every week, I get people visiting Canadian Budget Binder because they have searched my blog online. (SIC) This means I’ve copied the text exactly, but it has spelling errors.
Most times funny, sometimes serious.
- How much should I charge for new birthday cards at a garage sale?– Depends on what they are worth and how much someone will pay them.
- Budget template for owning a dog– Hey, even Brian the dog gets his budget template, haha!
- When not to retire– When you’re broke
- Maturnity Leave– I see this far too much. Maternity, not Maturnity, although being mature is a big part of being a parent.
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