If you clip coupons you know that rare are the meat coupons. Sure, on occasion you can find coupons for sausage, bacon, hot dogs and there may be a couple of coupons a month for lunch meat, but where's the beef?? Let's face it, you don't find coupons every month for staple items like chicken breasts, ground beef, pork chops, or seafood. So, how do you get the deals on these items? Take a look at your grocery store's flier for any given week. The meats on the front page are generally the most discounted. But to be sure you're getting the best deal, start keeping track of the prices of meat on a weekly basis. Pretty soon, you will start to see a trend and you'll know when the sale price is at rock bottom prices. When they hit rock bottom, plan on buying enough to last you for a week or two, if you can afford it. Another way that you can save some cash is to look for unadvertised sales. Most often, what happens is right before the meat gets ready to expire, they will slash prices on that product. If you find a product that is with in a few days of expiring and hasn't yet been marked down, ask the store if they will discount that item. They may be willing to do this, as they would rather make a profit off it than throw it out. You will need to use or freeze these items right away, but the savings make it all worth while.
The holidays, or right after them, are also great times to get add some meat to your freezer. Right after the holidays, grocery stores generally discount items like hams and turkeys to get rid of them. Look at it this way, on Black Friday, I seriously doubt there will be a fight over all those frozen turkeys that didn't sell! Right after Easter, check the ham prices. Chances are you're going to find a bargain!
Want better quality meat that the grocery store has to offer? I know I do! Especially, when it comes to beef. I've been spoiled my whole life with really good meat. My grandparents, who raised my sister and I, were butchers and owned their own meat processing plant. I was brought up on good quality, home raised, beef and pork. Today, my aunt and uncle own and operate the place. While the upfront cost my seem like a lot, you're getting the whole steer at a certain price per pound. Don't want a whole beef, but just the maybe just the hamburger? You can generally get more meat for your money by ordering just what you want than paying for a whole beef. For example, a whole beef may cost you $2000 including the processing fee. But, purchasing 200lbs. of ground beef would cost $600, still cheaper than the $1000 cost of a half of beef. Here is a list of local butchers & meat processing facilities in our area for you to check out:
Knudsen's Meat Processing
730 E. 1st Ave.
Otis, CO 80743
970-246-3201
Mike's Meat Market
624 S. 10th Ave.
Sterling, CO 80751
970-521-0430
D&L Meat Co. Inc.
115 Main St.
Ovid, CO 80744
970-463-5657
