I love the convenience of grocery pickup, but at least once a month I pop into Ingles (grocery chain) at 8:00 AM and shop their marked down meat – those “meat manager specials” for things that are nearing their best by date.
Recently I’ve purchased pork chops and a whole chicken for $.99/pound! I can usually find ground turkey and ground beef marked down at least $2 cheaper than any other store, and sometimes even steaks or roasts are on deep discount.
Since those packages are often family sized and nearing their best by date, they have to either be used quickly or frozen. I take them out of the packaging and wrap the size portions I need in clearly marked freezer bags. This makes it easy to see what I have and speeds up the defrosting time.
Right now I make my weekly menu based on what I already have on hand, plus the things I plan to get on sale or at a good price at Aldi or my local grocery store. Sometimes I don’t make my menu until I’ve come home with my haul of marked down meat.
I combine those proteins with the things I have on hand, like the hamburger patties I found for $2/lb (what?!) that worked perfectly for the leftover buns I had in the pantry. We always have the items for burger condiments and I could have made oven fries with the potatoes in my pantry.
If you’ve never shopped the early morning markdowns at your grocery store, give it a try! You might have to figure out what day and time yields the best deals, but it’s worth it when you do.
On The Menu
Breakfast:
- Yogurt and Granola
- Cereal with Fresh Peaches
Lunch:
- Sloppy Joes – We had some left over the last time I made them, so I put individual servings in the freezer and pulled a few out for lunches
- Tostadas with Taco Meat, Cheese, Salsa and Sour Cream
Supper:
- Burgers/Summer Succotash
- Chicken Noodle Casserole/Caesar Salad
- Bacon Cheeseburger Wraps/Watermelon
- Steaks/Mushroom Risotto/Garlic Green Beans
- Paula Deen Fried Chicken Nuggets/Mashed Potatoes/Gravy/Spinach Salad
- Little Caesars Hot and Ready
- Leftovers
How are you saving money on meat? I would love to hear your best tips!
Come Home For Comfort 
Great deals! I haven’t been able to do an early morning shopping with the kids home for Summer break, but my local grocery store has offered digital coupons on a different fresh meat options each week. It’s not super cheap, but saving $0.50 or $1.00 on each item helps with meat prices being so high.
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Yes! Those coupons make a big difference, especially when it’s on things you were already planning to buy.
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Those are some great deals, Whitney! We save money on meat by buying a half-cow from our local farmer. It may cost several hundred dollars upfront, but every cut comes out to about $2/pound (ground beef, roasts, steaks and filet mignon), and it’s packaged and deep-frozen, so it lasts us a long time! Same thing with a pig for bacon, sausage, ham and pork chops.
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That is a great way to save money – and it saves so much work of hunting for good deals on meat. Thanks for sharing!
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