There is a big misconception that you cannot save money on meat and seafood. I wanted to show you how we manage to keep our budget in check and still enjoy a wide variety of meat. Of course, meatless meals help to keep the budget in check, but you don’t have to go meatless to save. Last fall, I did a general buy price list for meats, you can check it out here if you are curious as to what I pay for meat. (prices may vary by region)
The meat pictured about was a total of $14.37. There are pork loins, pork cubes, 1 flank steak, 1 sirlion steak, boneless pork chops and 2 ground chicken breast. The total weight of the meat is 9.82 lbs. making my cost effectively $1.46/lb. This meat is about 10-11 days worth of meat for my family, since we will do some meatless meals too. (Now if you have a much larger family, this may not be enough)
There are two ways to get your meat and seafood for less.
Many grocery stores offer a discount on meat that is close to it’s sell by date. Usually the savings are up to 75% off depending on how close the date is.
- Shop earlier in the day for the best selection.
- Don’t be afraid to ask your store butcher when they mark down the meats.
- Look at different stores than normal. You may find that one store marks down meat faster or has better price cuts.
- Be open to trying different cuts of meat. I normally only look at the 85% lean ground beef because of the price — to my surprise 96% fat free was less after the coupon.
- Make sure the meat is fresh – most stores have a guarantee on meat that they sell.
Look for Buy One, Get One Free Sales at your store. Many stores have BOGO promotions, cutting the cost per lb by 50%.
- Check out your store’s regular prices for meat and be sure that during a BOGO sale they aren’t just increasing the prices.
Keep an eye out for store coupons on meat purchases as well. Stores like Giant PA offer discounts on meat purchases from time to time. If your store allows overage on coupons, take that opportunity to use the overage to decrease your cost of meat.
What are your suggestions to get good prices on meat?
Check out these great finds from the meat dept. at Target this week.
MMcKenna says
We do really well with our Stop & Shop all naturall hormone free meats. You are definitely right about getting them early in the day! I find I do the best on the chicken. I have 4 whole chickens in our freezer at the moment :) I also save by buying turkey burger when we use burger. I have found that on mangers special and filled my freezer up too!
Dizzy Mommy says
I was a winter summer girl, spent my winters in Detroit and Summer working cattle on the family ranch on my moms side. Then when I lived on my own I still bought a quarter cow every year. Sadly the family had to give up the ranch due to the economy.
Diane says
I buy “previously frozen” ground beef to use for meatballs, tacos, lasagna, etc. It’s usually $1.00/lb less than the fresh ground beef. I always keep it stocked in my freezer.
Anonymous says
where do you get previously frozen? I have never seen that…
Michelle Z. says
I’ve been so disappointed by the meat in my local Weis that I’m about to give up. I’ve paid full price for meat there, and when I get it home and open it to cook (the same day!) it smells awful. Once, the chicken I bought there reeked of bleach.
If you buy meat that has been marked down because it’s close to the sell date, and you don’t plan to use it right away, I’d just recommend opening it and checking it out, then repackaging it for the freezer. I’ve gotten my money back because I returned the meat right away, but I’m not sure how willing they are to refund money on meat that’s been in your home freezer for a few weeks.
Shannon says
@Michelle Z.,
I always repackage my meat — sorry that you haven’t had luck with Weis – ours always has a great selection and the meat is never rancid.
Niecie says
I don’t have a super Target by me so I went to Kroger and found a lot of ther meat marked down I got pork loin butterfly chops for BOGO free so 2 packs for $6.79
Kathy says
I have picked up gold’n plump chicken marked down to $1.99 a pack for the boneless skinless chicken breasts and with the $1 mfr coupon that makes it a great buy at $.99/lb. I have found this deal several times at Targets in my area. (Mpls) They put the instant savings peelies on steaks too!
Auriette says
A number of years ago, when we were living on one part-time salary and trying to pay off thousands of dollars in debt at the same time, we lucked out and hit the grocery store when the meat dept. was marking stuff down. We got some great deals, and we froze what we couldn’t use immediately. My work schedule at the time meant we couldn’t take advantage of it all the time, but whenever possible, we’d certainly take advantage of it.
Candi says
Giant gives very good marked down meals as well. I like it when something is on sale, in a family pack, and THEN it is marked down again. I purchased packages of mini sausages for $1 a pack. I got 85% ground beef for $1.79 per pound. Last week I purchased sea scallops. For seafood, they put the “$ off today” sticker on it like weis. Original price of the sea scallops – $13/lb. After the (4) $2 off today coupons, I paid $5 per pound.
I think that meat is the best area for our family to save money in because this is where we spend the bulk of our food budget every week.
Harry Martin says
I am a big advocate of shopping the Hispanic markets for chicken. I normally can get full legs on sale for 39-49 cents a pound. Then I freeze ’em in twos for our our 2-person family.
Gwen says
I love those stickers from Weis! I wish Giant did something more like that. I see the yellow stickers they put on, but it always feels like I get a better deal from Weis. Maybe it’s just subconsious because there is an actual coupon. lol.
couponchallenged.blogspot.com says
I always buy meat that is marked down and we have never been sick from it. I just cook right away or pop in the freezer. This is a great way to cut down on meat prices in your budget and we use a lot of recipes where meat is an ingredient or condiment as you might say. Better for our health too.
Rachel says
At Acme (Albertson’s) this week their hormone free all natural boneless chicken breast were B1G1 and all of them had $3 manager’s coupons, so I bought 12 packages and got $99 worth of Chicken for $15!!!!!
The meat manager was actually putting them(just the ones with the manager’s coupons) in the back because he said: “they are to good of a deal” so I asked him if I could have them all and he didn’t look overly happy but he gave them to me:)
Kim Swieder says
Krogers occasionally sends me $2.00 off $10 fresh meat purchase which paired with mark downs can make for some good deals. Also, Publix baby and toddler clubs sometimes send $1.00 off Meat, Produce, and Deli Coupons that help out quite a bit too.
Lynn says
These are great tips. I agree you can find some great prices on meat if you look around and are opening to trying different things than you might be used.
Michelle says
Luckily my brother raises all his own beef so every fall I buy a 1/4 beef from him. I paid around $250 and it was enough for my family of 4 for a whole year. I don’t necessarily think it’s cheaper but I know I’m getting a high quality meat.
Terri-Ann says
Our Smith’s is real good at have marked down meats in the mornings.