Saving Money on Meat Products

One of the biggest expenses you have in your grocery shopping, outside of personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies is meat products. If you have been paying attention to my shopping trips this month you will have noticed that I hadn't purchased any meat products (don't think) until today.

Had to take two pictures to get it all in there because there is something I want to point out to you. Here's picture number 2 and as you can see I also purchased a bag of Krogers Shredded Hashbrowns. Shame on me but I'll fix that one this next week and show you how to do it also.

Do you notice anything in the picture?

Notice the orange price tags on a couple of the products? Those are discount price tags which means the meat would be expiring (grocery store term) in the next 24-48 hours.

Now I have been purchasing meat this way for a long long time. Two things I have noticed is you can save quite a bit of money and two, as long as you either use the meat within 24-48 hours of bringing it home (or freeze it), the meat is good as can be.

Here's the orignal cost of what I purchased today:

$4.00 - 2 Newspapers (need to start checking for cheaper places for these)

$2.59 - Krogers Hashbrosn

$2.99 - Kroger Sausage (Patties)

$2.99 - Kroger Sausage (Links)

$7.52 - Beef Sirloin Steak

$8.94 - Beef Cube Steak

$5.40 - Beef Chuck Steak

$34.43 Total Origianl Cost

Same Products with Discount

$4.00 - Newspapers

$2.59 - Hashbrowns

$2.50 - Sausage Patties

$2.50 - Sausage Linkss

$5.55 - Beef Cube Steak

$3.77 - Beef Chuck Steak

$4.28 - Beef Sirloin Steak

$25.93 Total Paid Out of Pocket

So I saved $8.50 purchasing meat at a discount. I go to the grocery store first thing on Sunday because this is when the meat guy at the local store puts the discounted meat out. On Thursday, the meat department gears up for the weekend sales and either late Saturday evening or early Sunday morning they will start marking down meat that will no longer be considered "fresh" by Monday or Tuesday. That's when I purchase the majority of the meat products that I purchase.

Once I get it home then I break it down into service size packs that we will use.

Last year I took the plunge and purchased a Seal-A-Meal machine and it is something that I highly encourage you to purchase. You can break your meat products down into smaller packages such as I have done here. It's been a definite savings for me because I don't waste as much money and it cuts down your cost per serving.

For example

$5.55 - Beef Cube Steak - there were 6 so I broke down into 3 packages = $1.85/pkg or $.92/serving

$3.77 - Beef chuck Steak - Broke down into two packages = $1.88/package = $.94/serving

$4.28 - Beef Sirloin Steak - Broke down into two packages -= $2.14/package = $1.07/serving

Now, each of these servings I can pair with a salad or side dish and veggie and I have a dinner for less than $2.00 a person.

I am definitely a fan of Seal-A-Meal and it is definitely something I suggest you consider purchasing. When I purchased mine last year (Wal-Mart), there were 2 different machines. one was $69.99 and the other was $99.99. I purchased the $69.99 one and an extra box of the rolls (cut and seal to make bags). It has definitely been one of the best investments I have actually come out of pocket for. It can be used for so many things: refrigerator items, freezer items and pantry items. I've used it for all of them and it works great.

Purchasing meat products at a discount is something you should consider to help lower your food costs. It continues to go up and will continue to go up as the cost of wheat, grain, etc. goes up. Just another way to save on your groceries.

Hugs,

De