How To Save Money On Meat
It’s no secret that grocery prices have been increasing. Luckily, your grocery bill is one of the easiest bills to reduce! There are tons of tricks you can use to lower your bill, but today I’m going to teach you how to save money on meat.
Find Your Stock Up Price
The most important thing you need to know in saving on anything is to know when it is a good deal. Think about it, if you don’t know what a good sale price is, how can really know it is a good deal? This might seem a little intimidating at first, but just take it a few items at a time! Next time you are at the store, pick a few items that you regularly like to purchase and write down the regular price of each item. Then, write down how much they items were on sale for (if they are on sale). Each week, when your store circular ads gets delivered write down the new sale price (again, if they are on sale). After a few weeks, you will see begin to see how to store prices go in cycles.
Knowing your stock up prices and how often your store puts items on sale will help you determine when to buy and how much to buy until the next time that prices will hit your stock up price.
Which brings us to the second tip to save money on meat.
Buy in Bulk
Sometimes I feel like a stockbroker, buy low! When your stock up price comes up stock up!
– Many stores also will sell ‘Family Packs’ that are cheaper per pound. For our family, we just take them home and divide them up.
– Consider buying your meat from a farm. You can purchase a whole or a half of a pig or cow. If that is too much for your family or you don’t have access to a large enough freezer ask family members or friends to go in with you!
– Order online! Did you know you can purchase online? Zaycon Foods is a great place to get really fresh, great meat! You simply sign up and check which products they have available in your area. Then you place your order and drive to your local location to pick it up on delivery day! They seriously have TONS of locations – I bet there is one near you! (You can check here.)
Items are sold by the case (so again, if you need to go in with a friend!) and lots of times you can volunteer to work a few hours on delivery day to earn a credit on your next order! (In the past I’ve seen credits for $15 for each hour worked! Not too shabby!) The meat is fresh (their chicken is no hormones or additives added – LOVE that!) and at whole sale prices. You do have to go home and portion it out and freeze but you save a bundle!
(For more information and to see what foods are currently available in your area visit here.)
Be On The Look Out For Discounted Meats
Even though we buy in bulk, while I’m at the store I like to keep my eye out for discounted meats. You know the ones, with the sticker that says best if used or froze by tomorrow? You can get great deals out there on mark downs! Just be sure to use them that night or pop them in the freezer!
Ask your meat manager if they do their mark downs in the morning or in the evenings. Knowing when to shop can save you a bundle!
Try a Different Cut
Buying boneless, skinless is nice but did you know you can often save a BIG chunk by buying bone in and skin on? Or that if you buyer a cheaper cut of meat and cook it in your slow cooker it will come out nice and tender? Don’t be intimidated by the different cuts of meat. And if you have questions or want suggestions just ask your meat manager or butcher! They are always great for giving advice!
Make Enough – But Not Too Much!
We have a small household – just 3 of us. And I’m going to be honest – we are horrible about leftovers. They get packaged with the best intentions. And then they get thrown away. For us, we don’t need a whole big tenderloin. So when I get home, I cut it in half and freeze it! We have plenty for dinner, but not enough for leftovers. Which means nothing gets wasted! Which means you not only save money on meat, but you save money on all of your food!
Shopping at night?
If you find yourself making a dash to the store at night, check to see if the rotisserie chickens have been marked down! Since these are made daily stores often marks them WAY down later in the evenings after the dinner rush. Our stores will mark them down to 99¢ or $1.99! They are perfect for taking home and shredding to add to salads, tacos, etc for lunch the next day or even dinner!
Cut Back On How Much Meat You Eat
Try implementing a Meatless night or serving the meat as a side dish rather than the main course. (Think spaghetti with a side of meatballs or a yummy salad with some chicken.) You can also try using less meat and adding things like beans or rice to your burgers. Many times no one can tell that you added them!
What are your best tips for saving on meat?
Make sure to check out all of our articles on How To Save On Everything here.
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I definitely buy in bulk. I got a BJ’s membership specifically for the meat. We have 5 people in our house, so I need to save when I can!
These are great tips! I try to buy some meat in bulk and freeze it. Sometimes you can get some great deals on supermarket specials.
Love these tips! We buy a ton of meat, so this will come in handy!
I try and buy hamburger meat and turkey in bulk.. I just need to make it freezer ready … often times I am bad and it gets freezer burn.
What a great post! This is very helpful to us who always wanted to save some money.
Cool, what great suggestions! I love the idea of having something like meatless mondays at home. I’ve been wanting to try Zaycon too, I need to get on that 😉
I can’t wait until we get a bigger freezer! We are planning on using Zaycon more often when we get moved into our new house. It is such a great deal on chicken all the time.
I also track the prices of meat at each grocery store and when one location has it a lot less than the others; or regular price I stock up a lot of it at that time to tide us through the times when it is regular price.
Wednesday nights are when my bakery marks down… I need to learn when the meat department does it, too!
These are great tips on how to save money on meat. We have been eating less meat and more fruits/veggies to try to save money on our grocery budget and it has been working really well for us.
I keep hoping that Zaycon will come closer to my area. I buy in bulk. I also buy meat when the store is clearing it out at a reduced price because it’s sell date is the next morning, then I freeze it.
Amberlee Cave says
Thank you for the great tips! I hate how expensive meat it. I will definitely have to start doing this. I know we usually buy family packs, but like you said , I really don’t know what a great price is on meat.
Great tips recently our local store have chicken legs for .99 a pound we bought enough to last 2 months this way we can be prepared till next sale.
These are some great tips. I follow a paleo/primal eating lifestyle for the most part, so I do eat meat every day.
We do buy in bulk. That’s a great tip on the rotisserie chicken, I didn’t know that!
Great tips! We have found a lot of great deals on meat by buying in bulk at Costco.
We’re in Iowa, so we’ll buy a whole cow and have it butchered!
These are really great tips. Cutting back would definitely help with cutting costs and improving your health. I do buy my meat in bulk at the local Costco.
I always stock up when the prices are low to save. We tried the Zaycon thing once and it was not for us so we will not do it again as we ended up trashing what we received. I will definitely stick to my store that I know has the quality I am looking for and just wait for the sale price.
Great tips! I love buying meat in bulk then breaking it up to freeze. Great idea to stop by at night and check out the chicken prices.
Fantastic tips! Setting your price point has been super helpful for us. And I am bad about leftovers too, we are also a family of 3.
shop at a butcher
and make friends with the meat guys at your grocery. 😉
Those are some great tips. I hope to get a large freezer so when meat is on sale I can stock up.
These are great tips! It’s sometimes difficult to buy something fresh without hurting your pocket. I love buying in bulk and this helps me save not just money, but time as well. 🙂
I wish I could cut down, a lot, on the meat we buy. I like meals without meat a lot of times, but the husband is pure carnivore.
I’m all about finding the stock up price- but unfortunately we only have our tiny fridge freezer which doesn’t hold a whole lot, so I have to make sacrifices if I find a really great deal!
What great tips, thank you for sharing. I need to look into finding new ways to save money. I really enjoyed reading this post. Thank you
I try to buy bulk when organic chicken is marked down and then freeze it but sadly this doesn’t come around as often as I want it to!
We always buy in bulk. Every Sunday we head to Costco and buy a big package of ground beef. We take it home and put it in zip lock bags, roll it flat with a baking pin, and freeze it! This saves so much money and it’s conveniant!
We used to buy our meat in bulk at Costco – great value and the quality was excellent. We’ve given up meat this year so we don’t have that expense. I’ve heard that products go on 6 or 12 week cycles as to when their items are on sale. I’ve noticed it with Snapple cases, I only buy them when they are half-price and then I stock up!
With meat prices going up, any savings is great! Thanks for sharing
Good tips! Sometimes I get lucky and go shopping on the days Target marks down their meat ($1 off, $2 off, etc) before it goes bad. I stock up on those days and freeze them!
So glad to see we’re not the only house that’s horrible w/leftovers. That wasn’t the case when I had a teen boy at home, but it certainly is now, so we have to be careful w/how much we (haha, we, you know I mean “I”) cook. Thanks for sharing your tips.
I like the idea of buying in bulk. We drive to the meat market 30 minutes away that has great deals on meat occasionally. We tend to spend about $200 on that trip, but it’s enough to fill the freezer and we don’t need meat for many months after that!
Thanks for the tips! My meats are the biggest portion of my grocery bill and I would love to save in this area.
I like to buy meat in bulk and then put it into packages based on what we typically use for our family size. I also check for markdowns whenever I’m in the store. Great tips!
I always buy a leg of lamb AFTER Easter. My store usually doesn’t stock it, so I get a great deal.
Natasha Mairs says
i’m a vegetarian so don’t eat meat, my husband eats it but not very often. veggies are much cheaper
Buying in bulk is the best way to go!
Great tips! I have done a lot of comparison shopping at the stores around me as well as taste testing and still find my best bet to be buying in bulk at Costco and using my deep freezer. However, once we purchased from Zaycon Foods and it was seriously the best chicken, ever. Now that they deliver to my neck of the woods I need to do that again!
Such great ideas! We actually have a place in town where you can buy meat in bulk for super cheap! I bought a freezer to go in the garage just for that purpose LOL
I love zaycon chicken. It is so good. I’m making italian chicken with my zaycon chicken tonight.
We don’t eat much meat at our house, but it’s good to know how to save money. Will share this post with my in-laws.
I’ve done the buy in bulk. The key is to make sure you have storage. We had a deep freezer already so bulk buys was a no brainer.
You make some great points. It is very valid as many have meat as the most expensive part of their shopping list.
I do fairly well on groceries with the exception of meat. Hopefully I can use these tips to save some money!
Lately, we have been shopping at night and I agree meats has discounts at night. Thanks for this awesome grocery shopping tips.
That’s a great day about the rotisserie chicken deal! I need to check that out next time I go to the store. Thanks. 🙂
Buying in bulk definitely saves a ton of money! We tend to buy at Sam’s Club for that.
These are awesome tips! I’m definitely going to check in later in the evening to see if my local grocer has any markdowns!
I shall now do my research & be on the look out for great deals 🙂
All Natural Chicken goes on sale at least once a month at our local ALDI. we always buy a ton of it at $1.49 a lb! We then freeze portions of it!
These are some great tips!! I’ve not found rotisserie chicken on sale that low, but I am so jealous! I want to! I’ll have to keep my eye out!
We haven’t stocked up on meat since our refrigerator floated away during Haiyan, but I’d definitely follow these tips when we do buy one!
We like to buy in bulk too! Saves me money and time!