Frugal Living 2014 – Buying Meat Online

The expense in our household that is rising the fastest is the grocery bill. I suspect this is the case with many families.
I hate waste and so have become pretty savvy with using the leftovers however changing the way I shop has made the biggest impact on food shopping costs.

Meat is notoriously expensive however I have found that the most economic way for me to find quality meat is via an online butcher.

Buying Meat Online
I recommend two meat retailers, Clare Barry (check out the “Green” offers especially) and Meatpacks (see below order) and I alternate between the two  dependant on what I need and to take advantage of offers. This week I bought 6kg of meat which I have portioned up into 18 meals and popped in the freezer for £51.22 delivered as you can see below. Yes the delivery seems steep however the meat comes properly packed in temperature controllled packaging and even with this cost my meat still works out cheaper than it would at my local butcher. If you and a family member both ordered within one order you could also divide up the delivery cost.

MeatpacksOrder
My most recent meat order from Meatpacks

Quality Meat
We’ve all seen the shock TV exclusives about the rubbish that is found in processed food and even supermarket meat may be injected with water and who knows what else to bulk it out and preserve it. The meat I get from the online butcher is free from all of the artificial rubbish so you pay only for proper meat. An additional benefit to this is that when you get a chicken breast from a butcher it doesn’t magically halve in size when cooked as the water evaporates.

For between £50 and £60 a month I can fill my freezer with 20-22 meals worth of meat for four (two adults and two children). Our other 8-10 meals are made up with fish or are vegetarian meals.

Where do you get your meat from? Would you consider using an online butcher? If you already do is there someone else that you would recommend?

meatPhoto Credit

 

Google

A Look Back on 2013 – But Not My 2013

I could tell you about my year but if you’ve read the blog or followed me on Facebook / Twitter you’ll have had the highlights. I’ve spent the year with my fabulous family, writing for some brilliant clients, loving living in and exploring my fabulous home in North Yorkshire.

Now, being a keen moneysaver, a fan of all things frugal, reducing waste and plain old common sense I follow a woman called Ms Jack Monroe. If you’ve never heard of her then I suggest you look her up. She shines a light on the plight of many who live below the breadline and has done some fabulous work which has helped many.

Why is Jack such a great person to follow? Asides from her fabulous budget recipes (I’m talking pennies) Jack actually knows and understands what living on a very sparse income means and so writes from a perspective that others perhaps don’t have such a clear insight into.

So, in an effort to highlight her work, share with you the fabulous resource her website is and to open a few eyes my first post of 2013 is not about my 2013, but hers. Read more here, it makes for great reading.

If you are a Tweeter you can find Jack here.

 

*Jack isn’t a personal friend or colleague but I admire the work that she does, applaud her attitude and have fallen in love with her kale pesto recipe. Three good reasons to points readers who haven’t heard of her in her direction.