As many of you members may have noticed during your last shop, meat prices have been steadily increasing these past few weeks.

The recent drought and floods, combined with surging oil prices and inflation brought by the war and the pandemic, have all contributed to the huge increase in prices of everyday grocery items, especially meat products such as mince, chicken, pork, lamb, and ham.

According to new data from the grocery app Frugl, the prices of beef sausages in supermarkets have seen the biggest increase, climbing by more than 18 per cent in a year. Next are rump steaks and pork shoulders, whose prices have increased by 11 per cent.

The prices of meat favourites such as whole chicken and regular packets of mince have also gone up by 8 per cent, followed by the price of leg ham which increased by 5 per cent, and the prices of lamb chops and chicken breasts which increased by 4 per cent.

However, some foods such as bacon and salmon have had no price increases, and bacon was even observed to be cheaper in some stores.

​

According to Sean Smith, the chief executive at Frugl Grocery, meat prices are only going to continue rising in the coming months, but the increase "won’t be as drastic" as before.

There are several ways to protect your household budget from rising meat prices. Credit: ABC Rural/Daniel Fitzgerald. ​

Thankfully, we're not completely helpless against these continuous price markups on meat.

Here are a few tips on how to save money when shopping for your next BBQ! (And no, these tips don't involve telling people to become vegetarians and avoid meat completely.)

Buy in bulk and freeze your meat

Smith suggests buying in bulk and freezing meat as an excellent way of saving grocery expenses.

"Upsizing from a 500g product to 1kg or 2kg is a great way to save a few dollars per kilo," he says. "While it seems like you’re paying more at the time, you’ll find that it’s actually cheaper in the long run and you can enjoy more meals."

You should also make it a habit to check for in-store discounts and search for promotional stickers on products that are about to pass their use-by date.

Shop with a list

People who plan ahead of their shop and come up with a list usually save more money because they avoid impulse buying.

By carefully mapping out your meal plans and making a list of everything you need at the supermarket, you can speed through the grocery store without unnecessary expenses.

"Writing down at least five meals for the week will give you a chance to see what ingredients you need for the whole week and can allow you to do your big shop once a week instead of going every couple of days," says Smith.

Talk to the staffers and the butchers

Who knew that simply striking up a conversation with someone can help you save on your shop?

"The people behind the counter have a wealth of knowledge, and they might be able to help you make smart purchase decisions," suggests Smith.

For more frugal tips on saving money, check out one of our articles here!

Or you can also simply visit our Money Saving Hacks forum on the SDC website for more hacks and tricks from us and your fellow members! If you have more tips to share, comment down below or make a post!

 

[Ricci]

I do all that but these days often the markdown prices are more than I'm willing to pay!

 

[TeAnne]

I picked up a few meat packs yesterday, it seemed the prices had gone down a bit.

 

[Senor]

We buy meat in bulk and separate them into bags that are frozen. Each bag is taken out of the freezer when we need to use that meat which lasts us one or two meals.
Meat is way too expensive these days so we also add vegetables to our meat for some of the dishes.