Blogging for Change

Trim the fat from your meat budget

by Kim McGrigg on
9/8/2010
in Budgeting and Building Savings

I'm at the grocery store so often lately that the employees are starting to look at me sideways.  The reason I can't stay out of the store is because there are just so many opportunities to save money.  In fact, your grocery bill is one of the easiest budget items to manipulate.

I've already covered how to calculate an item's unit price and the importance being aware of what you are getting for that unit price. Taking these ideas a step further, today I set my sights on the meat and seafood section. 

A quick interview with the butcher taught me a few new money saving tips:

  1. You can ask the butcher to trim the fat from prepackaged meat, but you will still pay the original price.  However, if you ask the butcher to trim the fat from meat in his or her case, you will only pay for what you purchase.
  2. When buying frozen items from the counter (think crab legs), ask the butcher to knock off any excess ice.  Ice is heavy and there is no reason to pay for the extra weight.

For more ideas on saving money at the grocery store, download the free Cheap Eats eBook.

Kim McGrigg is the former Manager of Community and Media Relations for MMI.

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