5 Ways to Save Money on Meat
5 Ways to Save Money on Meat
For our family of 5, our largest expense is meat. While we don’t eat meat every day, the days we do eat meat, there needs to be a healthy portion of it. With a hungry husband, two hungry growing boys, and a hungry teenage daughter (plus myself) we realized quickly that we had to find more ways to cut back on meat costs without compromising on quality. Today I am sharing 5 ways to save money on meat that have helped lower our food bill by hundreds of dollars per year.
Look for in-store meat coupons.
While not all grocery stores have them, many do. This weekend my husband and I were at Albertsons and were able to snag a handful of meat coupons only available in-store. Each brought us a savings of $3 or $4 per package. That adds up! We’ve also found random cash back on both Ibotta and Checkout 51 for purchasing meat from certain stores.
Check for the “Manager’s Special”.
We are usually able to find some great deals on meat by buying the manager’s special. These meats are typically on their “last leg” so-to-speak but are still perfectly good to freeze or prepare the same day. We either use it right away or we freeze it for future use.
Buy in bulk.
We often find we can get good deals on choice meats through warehouse club memberships such as Costco or Sam’s Club. As a family of 5 with 3 growing children, buying in bulk is a great option for us. We use what we need for the week freezing the rest.
Batch cook your meats.
We save a ton of money by making sure every last portion of the meat we purchase is assigned to a meal. Often time we batch cook our meats and this ensures that every last piece of meat gets used avoiding waste and saving us money.
Divide and freeze your meats.
This goes hand in hand with buying in bulk as well as batch cooking. We often do freezer meals in our beloved crock-pot and this saves us so much money. It saves us money because no meat is wasted and it also saves us money by having meals already prepared eliminating trips to fast food or expensive restaurants.
What is your best tip for saving money on meat?
I think buying in bulk is one of the most effective ways to save money on meat! We take ours home and divvy it up into 1lb sections or 2-3 breasts per bag and freeze. It’s kind of a pain to thaw out, but saves us a ton!
I hear you! For our family of 5 thawing out meat has become a regular part of life the past 15 years 🙂 But I remember when my husband and I first got married, I would always forget to thaw out the meat and be stuck trying to do it at the last minute. Ha! Thanks for stopping by 🙂