Inside: Does your grocery bill keep growing? Meats can get very expensive. Check out these 6 ways to save on meat. You can save money each month without sacrificing.
Meat can easily use up a good percent of your grocery bill, but there are some ways to save. You can easily spend less money by using a few tricks. Check out these 6 ways to save on meat and never overpay again.
Buy In Bulk
Sam's Club and Costco often have good prices and you can buy in bulk. You can save a lot of money by purchasing your meat this way. If you don't have a club membership you can shop at Sam's Club during their open house. They usually have them once a month for non-members. Another great way to save is by using Zaycon Foods. You can place an order and pick it up at a certain place. Their prices are significantly cheaper than the grocery store prices. This is one of my favorite ways to save on meat.
Smaller Portions
Eating smaller portions of meat is a great way to save on meats. Instead of serving sliced ham consider a soup with a small amount of ham in it. Have pasta with a couple of slices of chicken instead of a whole breast. Don't make the meat the main part of the meal. If you are looking to save a lot of money on meats this is one of the best.
Buy At The Right Time
I like to buy meat right after the holidays. I have found that you can get some fantastic deals on turkey after Thanksgiving and after Easter is a great time to buy hams. I often find meats can go over 50% off after the holidays. I buy a lot and then cut them up into smaller portions and freeze them. This is such an easy way to save on meat. You don't have to sacrifice or eat less meats, just stock up to save.
Expiring Meat
Kroger and Target often have meat deeply discounted before it expires. Keep in mind their dates are sell or freeze by dates. You can buy the meat and bring it home and freeze it. You can get about three to six more months from the meat if you freeze it. I just look at the markdown tags when I am shopping and pick up what I know my family will eat.
Buy A Cow
If you have a deep freezer or a second freezer you can get a whole/partial cow or pig. This can be another great way to save on meat. If you don't think you can use a whole one see about splitting one with a family or two.
Go Meatless
You can easily save money by going meatless. Every meal doesn't have to be meatless but consider a meatless Monday. Have fettuccine alfredo or quinoa stuffed peppers. Beans and rice are a cheaper alternative than buying most meats. We love mac and cheese with a can of tuna. Just one night a week can make a difference in your grocery bill.
Meats don't have to make up the largest part of your grocery bill. There are plenty of ways to save. How do you save on meat?
Want to save more money on your grocery bill? Check out how I grocery shop for only $50 a week.
Abigail @ipickuppennies says
We'd go to Costco for good rates on boneless, skinless chicken. It's a steady $2/lb I believe.
I think the portion issue is the best way to save money. People probably forget that a serving of chicken is about the size of a pack of cards. So... about half the size of most frozen chicken breasts.
Julie says
Great tips! Thanks for sharing.
Brita Long says
One insight I discovered recently is that in many counties, chicken thighs are more expensive than chicken breasts! I've never really thought about buying thighs before, but I did recently. I found them skinless and boneless, and they were half what I paid for the chicken breast (there was only one package of thighs left, and I needed more). If your family is picky about cuts, save thighs for casseroles. I was doing a two-for meal with the Crock-Pot the first night and a casserole the second night. Both meals were delicious and happily eaten, even with the different cut of chicken.
Julie says
Great idea! I will have to try buying the thighs sometime. Thanks
Shelly says
These are great tips Julie!
I purchase my chicken breasts from Zaycon foods and love it. If I'm buying chicken thighs, I can usually find a good deal from time to time at the grocery store. I used to buy meat packs at the meat market, but I've fallen out of that practice. With beef prices being so high, I might buy a quarter of a cow. My mom used to purchase our meat this way every year.
I've found Costco to have a good price on pork loins. They are great for cutting up into pork roasts and pork chops, it's so much less expensive than the pre-cut pork chops.
Julie says
I haven't tried the pork loins before from Costco. I will have to try them sometime. Thanks for the tip!
Charissa says
I like to buy whole chickens by the case at Costco and then freeze them. Once I have roasted the chicken and pulled off the meat, I will then make homemade broth which a stretches
my money even further.
Another tip, if meat is on sale and there isn't enough left in stock, get a rain check. That way you can still get the sale price at a later date when the meat is back in stock.
Julie says
Great tips! I haven't made homemade broth for a while, but I used to love making homemade chicken noodle soup with it. 🙂
Melissa French, The More With Less Mom says
I like to substitute half of the meat for something else, like portobello mushrooms, lentils, or black beans. Thanks for posting. Hello from Homemaking Link-Up.
Julie says
Great Idea! That probably makes it much healthier too.