• About
  • My Favorite Blogging Tools
  • Archives
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Terms & Policies

Family Balance Sheet

where family, life, and finances meet

  • Home
  • How to Budget
  • Finances
    • Our Debt Freedom Plan
    • Christmas Savings Club
    • Debt Free Stories
    • Marriage and Money
    • Medi-Share
  • Grocery Budget
    • Saving Money on Groceries
    • Freezer Cooking
    • 31 Days to Slash Your Grocery Spending
  • Recipes
    • Freezer Cooking
    • Recipes – Appetizers & Snacks
    • Recipes – Beverages
    • Recipes – Breakfast & Brunch
    • Recipes – Desserts
    • Recipes – Grilling
    • Recipes – Main Dish
    • Recipes – Sides & Soups
    • Recipes – Slow Cooker
    • Cooking ‘How-To’ Series
  • Family
    • Frugal Holiday Fun
    • Frugal Family Activities
    • Travel Destinations
    • Camping
    • Budget Travel
    • Giving
  • Frugal Living
    • How We Frugal-ed
    • Saving Money on Groceries
    • Saving Money in your Home
    • Saving Money during the Holidays
    • Gardening
  • 31 Days to Find $1000

How to Save Money on Meat

This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you sign-up for services or make a purchase after clicking on a link below, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Also, I am not a financial advisor. I'm a blogger who LOVES to share how I manage the finances for my household.

November 5, By Kristia 2 Comments

I’m on a mission to eat well and serve my family tasty food on our limited budget. Meat can be one of the largest grocery purchases, but with these ten smart tips on how to save money on meat, you can have your meat and eat it too!

10 Smart Tips to Save Money on Meat

 

10 Smart Tips: How to Save Money on Meat

1. Know Your Prices and Stock Up when you find a Good Deal

The ‘buy’ price is the price per unit that you are willing to spend on food. My price might be different than yours depending on location, brand loyalty and taste differences. I don’t keep a price book, but I do know my buy price for our meat staples, such as chicken, ground turkey, sausages, and ham. A typical sale for chicken breast is $1.99 a pound, so when the price dips below that I’ll stock up for the freezer.

If remembering all of those numbers is too much, create a note on your phone or write your ‘buy’ price for your staples on a single sheet of paper that you can keep in your bag. Record the item, price, unit size, price per unit, store name and date.

2. Buy Marked Down Meat

Many stores mark down their meat 40%to 75% off about 1 – 2 days before the use or freeze by date. Think of it as the clearance section of the meat department. I have been buying marked down meat for many years and have never had a problem. In fact, I recently scored 16 lbs of meat and paid just $17.20.

3. Buy in Bulk and Freeze in Portion Sizes

Many stores offer value packs of meat. For example, the price per pound is lower for a five pound package of chicken vs. a one pound. Take advantage of the value packs, especially when they are on sale, and break the pack into smaller portions and store in your freezer.

4. Stock Up on Seasonal Meat

The holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter are a fantastic time to stock up on meat. At Thanksgiving, Turkeys can be as low as 29 cents a pound and many grocery stores will offer a free turkey if you spend a certain amount of money within a time period. It’s not hard to spend $400 in a 4-5 week time frame, so I earn a free turkey every year. Ham will be on sale for Easter and I’ve found great bargains on sausages around St. Patrick’s Day. Also, you’ll find some of the best deals on hamburgers and hot dogs around the summer holidays. If you have freezer space, stock up.

example of Free Turkey Certificate

example of Free Turkey Certificate

5. Buy Cheaper Cuts of Meat

Often bone-in cuts of meat will be less expensive than boneless varieties. For example, a good sale price in my area for chicken thighs, drumsticks and whole chickens is 99 cents a pound, but the sale price for boneless chicken is around $1.99. Yes, you are paying for the bone, but those bones give you a lot of flavor and juiciness. There’s a reason why boneless chicken breasts dry out quickly.

6. Add Beans to Taco Meat

I make tacos quite a bit and one way to stretch the meat further is to add a can of black beans. After browning the meat, add your taco seasoning, water, and a can of black beans that you’ve drained and rinsed. This will add extra servings to your taco meat for less than $1.

7.  Use Smaller Portions

It is typical for recipes to call for one pound of meat, but you can often get away with using as much as half that amount. For example, use a half pound of ground meat for your spaghetti sauce, instead of a full pound, and cut a larger chicken breast to serve two people instead of one. Also, you can use less meat, but add fillers, like beans, rice, or oats as I suggested in #6.

8. Freeze Your Leftovers

Americans waste as much as $600 a year on food. That’s about what a typical family might spend on food in a month. Don’t forget about the food in the fridge. If you know it won’t be eaten in time, place leftovers in a freezer container, label, and store in the freezer. You’ll be thankful later.

9. Make Meat Stock

As I stated in #5, the bone is where the flavor is and making a bone stock from a whole chicken or turkey, bone-in ham, and bone-in beef is very easy. Anytime I roast a whole chicken or turkey, or buy a rotisserie chicken I make homemade chicken stock. You can also do the same with a bone-in ham and beef.

Stretch your dollar further by making bone stock. Read Two Ways to make Homemade Chicken Stock for my methods.

10. Find Coupons

It is possible to find coupons on meat. I have found them on brands’ websites, Ibotta, the Sunday newspaper circular, on meat packages, and grocery store websites. To save even more, stack store sales with any available Ibotta offer, store coupons, and manufacturing coupons.

Recently, I found a coupon in the Sunday circular for $1.50 off 2 packages of name brand sausage. I was so excited to find two packages of this brand marked down to $1.50 each.  I used the coupon and was able to buy both packages for a total of $1.50. I think 75 cents for one package of sausage is the best deal I have ever scored.

Do you have any additional tips to save money on meat? Please share in the comments.

Want to save even more on your grocery bill? These posts will help:

  • 4 Simple Grocery Apps that Earn You Cash Back
  • 11 Simple Meal Planning Tips
  • My #1 Simple Tool that Saves Me Hundreds
  • How I Use Pinterest for Meal Planning
  • 8 Freezer Meal Recipes
  • 10 Paper Products to Avoid

10 Smart Tips to Save Money on Meat

 

Filed Under: Saving Money - Groceries

Get a Free Family Balance Sheet Excel Spreadsheet download

Comments

  1. Jodi says

    November 5, at 3:43 pm

    I keep a Kosher home, and it is very rare to find sales on meat. However, I have secretly started adding TVP (texurized vegetable protein) to my ground meat for use in burgers, meatloaf, etc. I reconstitute it with water and a beef boullion cube. Add to meat and cook as usual. I inwardly laugh each time I hear how my meals have “gotten better”!! I label my packages with TVP in the freezer as “Ground Beef +” so no one knows but me. Once cooked, you really can’t tell a difference, but it helps spread the meat. There is an IP available for $1 from Bobs Red Mill right now, too.

    Reply
    • Kristia says

      November 6, at 6:42 am

      Hi Jodi, Thanks for the tip. I had never heard of TVP, so I Googled it. I love how you stretched your meat dollar and made your family happy at the same time. That doesn’t always happen, so kudos to you. Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

WELCOME!

SEARCH

Get a Free Family Balance Sheet Excel Spreadsheet download

recipes

Recent Posts

  • Our 2023 Financial Goals
  • 3 Smart Steps to Pay Cash for Christmas
  • 30 Free but Thoughtful Christmas Gift Ideas
  • 10 Ideas to Find Cash for Christmas
  • How We Frugal-ed in September 2022
Follow Kristia Ludwick's board Best of FamilyBalanceSheet.org on Pinterest.

Amazon Associates Disclosure

Kristia Ludwick is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

COPYRIGHT

I love it when you share! Please keep in mind that all images and text on this site are property of Family Balance Sheet. Feel free to use one or two photos provided that a link back to my original post is included. Please do not remove any watermarks, crop, or edit any of my images without first obtaining written permission from me. Please do not replicate or copy any content from Family Balance Sheet without written permission from me. All free printables & spreadsheets offered are for personal use only. Pinning is always welcome and appreciated! Thank you!

Disclaimer

FamilyBalanceSheet.org is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a financial professional. I’m a girl who loves to talk and read about personal finance and how it relates to hard working families. If you feel you need financial advice, please seek out a competent professional.

Disclosures

  • The content on FamilyBalanceSheet.org may contain affiliate and/or referral links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and services that I believe in.
  • Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in