In our house, we love meat. My husband is an amazing chef who loves to try different recipes, but mainly, sticks to smoking meat. The key for this on a budget is finding the right meat at the right price. No matter how you look at it, food right now is expensive. The tri-tip steak we were paying $15.00 for is now double that, if not triple, in some areas.
When it comes to saving on meat of any kind, it may not seem like you are not saving much at first. The key for us, is to buy in bulk. Now, that could mean multiple things for different people. We have purchased a quarter of a beef before and that worked well. But, it was also a lot of upfront cost that might not be feasible to most people now days.
Where to Shop
We have three places that we shop regularly to get the best price for good meat.
First, we like to look at our local butcher shop. Here in Utah we have Don’s Meats. They often sell different items in bundle packages ranging from $150 up to almost $1,000 dollars depending on what you are purchasing. They have chicken, pork, and beef packages; but also have other packages that include multiple cuts/styles of meat. We love this method at our house because it gets us a large assortment of items and not just one particular steak or pork item.
Second, we like to check our local Supermarket, Winco. Winco, is a privately held, majority employee-owned supermarket chain that has low prices due to the fact that they don’t allow credit cards. Because of this, they don’t have any extra taxes and fees on the goods that you purchase from them. Every week when we go shopping, I love to look through their meat section to see what items they have on sale. We often can find a 5Ibs package of ground beef for $17.00 dollars. Also, when I find these deals, I buy a few of them. Spending the money up front can save you the money in the future by having the meat on hand. I love to get the 5Ibs packages and separate them into 1Ibs bags. Then, I throw them in the freezer and use as needed. My husband also likes to look at the UNTRIMMED types of meat. When you find cuts of meat that are untrimmed, they are cheaper because they require more legwork on the prepping side. We have found this to be extremely helpful though on saving money. Nothing that a simple YouTube search can’t assist with. Yes, this makes it more difficult but it can save you anywhere from $10- $100 dollars depending on the meat you get.
Thirdly, and probably the most known place, is Costco. One of the best places for bulk buying food. Here we find our chicken, which is already sectioned into six different packages and sealed for freezing. We also look at sausage links, bacon, tri-tip and brisket. Do we buy all of these every time we go shopping? Absolutely NOT. What we do every trip is make a note of the prices, are they more? Are they less? If they are less than the previous shop then we grab some. Also, we get our CANNED chicken from here. Yes- I said canned. There is nothing wrong with some good back up canned food and we like to stock up on it. The canned chicken from Costco is larger than any store that I have been able to find for the price. On average 6 cans of chicken is $12-$15 dollars. This saves me a lot of money by being able to get more for less.
Our Savings Process
- How much do I have to spend on food for 2 weeks- $250 (my current budget amount) That is $125 for each week. This feeds 3-5 people in our house with leftovers.
- Take stock of what you currently already have, either in the fridge, freezer or in your pantry.
- Think of meal ideas that you have to buy the LEAST for.
- If you have Chicken Thighs in your freezer, broccoli in your fridge and noodles in your pantry then you have a great base for Chicken Alfredo.
- If you have a Roast in the freezer, carrots in your fridge and potatoes in your pantry then you have a great base for Stew.
- If you have Ground Beef in the freezer, bell peppers in your fridge and rice in your pantry then you have a great base for Stuffed Bell Peppers.
My challenge to you is to go to your local stores, take note of the prices and pick the things that work best for you. Remember, shopping can be stressful, but it can also be a lot of fun and rewarding when sticking to your budget.
Good luck and have fun!
Cheers!