Saving Serious Money: Proteins

 

 I recently posted about saving money on proteins, specifically meat products, by always purchasing them via a deeply discounted sale or from the "reduced for quick sale" bins. ( link )  In my neck of the woods, groceries, especially animal products and fresh produce, are significantly more expensive than down home on the Gulf Coast.  Up here on the Montana prairie, the regular price of ground beef is $3.69 lb.  When it goes on sale, we are expected to pay around $3.29 lb. About once per year we can find it for $2.99 lb. with a 5 lb. limit. 

 When purchasing beef on a tight budget, ground beef seems to be, by far, the first and most economical choice for most families.  However, I have found a way to eat ground beef for only $2.15 lb.  That is a 40% savings off the full priced ground beef and more than 25% savings off the once per year (5 lb. limit) sale price!

How do I do this?  Prior to making any meat selection at the grocer, I always check the "reduced for quick sale" bins.  For example, the above pictured sirloin steak was marked down

50% from $4.29 lb. to $2.15 lb. It took me only five minutes of extra time to grind that same sirloin steak into a full pound of ground beef.  The result was 4 very lean and generous 1/4 lb. sized hamburger patties ready for the grill at a cost of less than $0.54 per patty.  If our buns & pickles are homemade and our lettuce, tomato and onion, are homegrown, our hamburgers cost us significantly less than $1.00 per person. 
I hope this example provides you with one more strategy for getting the most out of your grocery budget.