No never eat out of date stuff, the dates are there for a purpose. Some of the food was made 6 months ago and contains preservatives that only last for so long under refrigeration. Thats how I think about it imho.
Yes, most of the time. The only time I won't is with pre-packed shellfish or chicken. Otherwise, if it looks OK (and particularly if the cats will eat a sample), use by dates are just a racket to get you to throw food away.
Have just eaten half a frozen jam rolly poly with a best before date of august 2004.
So yes, I would use out of date products, there's far too much emphasis on useby/best before dates which encourages ridiculous amounts of food waste.