meat prices are insane. i think that it's affecting pretty much the entire u.s. that said, we all know the value of having a freezer and stocking up when there are sales but i want to share another concept i use that really hit home with savings for us this week-
educate yourself on your preferred stores meat stocking, sales and price reduction practices b/c it can save you A BUNDLE.
by this i mean-both my national and regional chain stores have the same practices:
sales start on wednesday morning at opening
meats are packaged overnight by staff to put into the coolers but before stocking they pull the identical items from the coolers that were left from the prior day and reductions are put on them ($1-$3 off per package, frequently on ground beef/chicken breasts, 30-50% other cuts of beef most often but also pork). those reduced packages are either put into a separate cooler area or on top of the newly packed. both allow stacking a dollar or percentage discount on top of bogo sales.
i have found that the meat department staff are very willing to share this information if you simply ask.
if you can shop their sales at the right time on the right day it can save you tremendously.
here were my savings this week by utilizing this practice (i was doing a restock of my freezer so i took full advantage)-
store #1-
lean ground beef on sale for $2.69 per pound but i got there early enough to find $7 in additional price reductions-net cost $2.23 per pound (got 15 pounds)
store #2-
had a bogo sale BUT they traditionally raise the per pound price when they do this
so i got there as early as possible and hoped for the best-SUCCESSFUL!-
boneless skinless chicken breasts- net price $2.00 per pound (hasn't been under $3 a pound in months)-got 11 pounds.
seasoned chicken drumsticks (big value pack)-no bogo but marked down from $1.99 a pound to $1.49 a pound-got a 4 1/2 pound pack.
BIGGEST SAVINGS-
london broil, normally $6.49 was marked down to $4.99 but had a 30% off coupon for a net price of $3.67 per pound (got the largest double pack on that deal-3 3/4 pounds).
loin tip steaks, normally $10.49, was bogo but i also found a 30% off on one package (they honor it along with the bogo offer) so the net price was $3.82 per pound (2 packs totaled 4 1/2 pounds).
i saved close to 50% by virtue of knowing when the stackable savings were available to take advantage of.