Amongst other things on another thread earlier this month, the cost of meat was discussed. I've just come home from my one and only supermarket this afternoon and I was horrified to see what used to be the cheapest cut of meat "neck chops $13. 99 kg" and "shoulder chops $15. 99 kg on special, usual price $17. 49 kg". What has happened to our meat industry? We can't afford to buy fish, (at least not locally-caught stuff - I don't fancy that Vietnamese stuff) we are almost at a point where I can't afford to buy meat, and the vegetables are too expensive also, $1. 47 for a head of broccoli not much bigger than a brussel sprout. Any suggestions as to how to stretch the food budget a bit further would be appreciated. It's becoming more and more difficult to live within my limited budget.
deus701,
Aug 13, 5:38am
Buy the cheaper cuts like shin beef, oxtail, neck chops that goes for $6. 99/kg upwards. Sometimes pork can be cheaper starting from $8/kg
buzzy110,
Aug 13, 5:43am
I think #1 already said that the 'cheaper cut' (neck chops) were $14 a kilo already.
Maybe you could look at buy only meat on special. Or look around at other shops. You don't have to buy just from the supermarket.
kuaka,
Aug 13, 5:45am
I've just said that today at my one and only supermarket scungy old neck chops were $13. 99 kg. I think that's an outrageous price for what is mostly bone, fat and gristle. My sister in the UK buys fresh NZ legs of lamb for 3. 99 sterling, that's three pounds 99 a kg, which is less than 10 bucks a kg at today's exchange rate. How come I have to pay nearly twice that for a leg of lamb, and more than that for neck chops. Something doesn't add up!
lynja,
Aug 13, 5:46am
best thing we ever invested in was a big freezer. with careful planning you can take advantage of specials. i never buy meat at full price but multi buy meat when on special. for instance sliced rump steak was $6. 99 a kg at new world yesterday. spent $40! but this will keep in the freezer, sorted into meal size packs. i so the same with mince etc etc. you can use your freezer for things like the apples which were 10c a KG at pack and save last weekend and stew and freeze them. well worth the investment of the freezer, especially if you have children.
valentino,
Aug 13, 5:47am
Do you have a freezer, quite often it is worth locating a home kill and have a few of you together splitting a homekill to suit... .
Paihia is quite remote from the main centres which would suggest a freezer should be one of your main appliances... . as if one had a decent size freezer then travel further to buy bulker lots... . . at a far better discounted prices.
Cheers.
kuaka,
Aug 13, 5:47am
buzzy - that's probably half the problem. Living in "paradise" (aka Paihia) where the powers that be think everyone is rolling in it (which is actually not true as the biggest majority of residents are pensioners) we only have one supermarket, no butcher, the local Four Square does keep some meat, but it's all vacuum packed and even more expensive than the supermarket.
kuaka,
Aug 13, 5:48am
lynja - yes I do that too, the last time rump steak was on special here it was $12. 99 kg.
kuaka,
Aug 13, 5:53am
lynja - apples at the supermarket today were over $4 a kg,
beaker59,
Aug 13, 6:16am
There is some very good shore fishing around Paihia get into some of that even yellowtail are very very good eating and far superior to Basa.
A friend of mine who comes down to visit about twice a year always drives home with about 3 or 4 chilli bins full of meat she has bought while here in auckland the savings pay for her trip and then some.
uli,
Aug 13, 6:26am
kuaka - I feel with you - Paihia is a tourist rip-off nowadays. Have you got a freezer? If yes why not get together with a friend or two (share the petrol) and do a shopping trip to the freezing works shop in Moerewa, or to Kerikeri - or even Whangarei.
Whangarei has all the supermarkets (New World, Woolworth, Countdown, Pak'n'Save) plus a mad butcher shop. If you can buy in bulk and then freeze it would be worthwhile.
manthy89,
Aug 13, 6:43am
When I lived in the uk, it was cheaper to buy a leg of nz lamb there than here. And on a recent trip to aussie, I also found the meat to be a lot cheaper :( I have a chest freezer for our own home kill now
kuaka,
Aug 13, 6:43am
I know uli - trouble is right now I have a sick hubby and I really can't leave him to go gallivanting to buy meat even if it saves me some $$$. It is so frustrating. I've always thought I was a good "housekeeper" being able to purchase wisely and make the best of not much, but it really is a struggle at the moment.
nfh1,
Aug 13, 6:51am
Absolutely.
I have been shocked at home much food costs here - it must be very very tough living on a budget in NZ. Wages are so low and costs are really high, to any young couple with children it must be a definite struggle.
lynja,
Aug 13, 6:53am
wow that must be very hard to work on a budget. even though we are in a provincial town we do have the usual big chain supremarkets only 1/4 hour to half an hour away. are there others in your situation who could get each other things when you are at one of the bigger supermarkets? just a thought.
sossie1,
Aug 13, 6:56am
the rule is:
we don't buy it, the price goes down.
Have you noticed that cheap meat is going up, because people were budgeting more and buying cheaper cuts of meat, so what happens, the buggers put the price up! ! ! !
remember when lamb shanks were cheaps as? , then restaurants used them more, a few articles in magazines, now they are expensive
And you could buy cheap mutton chops at the butchers.
bleh! ! !
the *+#%^#ers!
kuaka,
Aug 13, 7:03am
agree sossie, it stinks! I could happily become vege (or at least partially for a while) but hubby likes a small portion of meat in each main meal, and he doesn't like fat, and it is becoming more and more of a problem for us pensioners (especially the ones like me, who because I don't actually qualify for the pension myself, we get it at a reduced rate - struggle, struggle, struggle)
sossie1,
Aug 13, 7:08am
Hi kuaka, I am pretty fed up with prices here, we try to grow veggies, but are new at it, so not as productive as we would like as yet. i would happily become a veggie, but I have same probs with partner, and he is FUSSY! i got 5 kilos of shin beef at the butchers at a reduced rate and "he doesn't like it", because he saw it when i was cutting it up and freezing packages, and he" doesn't like the stringy bits. "
kuaka,
Aug 13, 7:20am
sossie - I think it's a "design fault" - meaning that men are hard to please, especially when they see how you are trying to do it - they are a bit like my cat - getting fussier and fussier as they get older!
ferita,
Aug 13, 8:47am
Take up fishing and hunting :)
kuaka,
Aug 13, 10:50am
believe me ferita I go fishing whenever I can (see my profile pic - that's me with my Christmas day catch) but unfortunately because of other things I haven't been able to go fishing since January. I really don't fancy hunting - went deerstalking about 30 years ago but got a bit squeamish when it came to killing the poor things, and I don't really like venison so it was a bit pointless in fact.
pamellie,
Aug 13, 11:42pm
I pay $6. 99a kilo for lamb neck chops at our local organic butchery, cheaper than the supermarket and the mad butcher!
stormbaby,
Aug 13, 11:53pm
Its criminal how much its costing ordinary NZrs, not the ones in the "high income" bracket to live day to day. Honestly, I have been married for just about 30 years, have always budgeted and instead of getting easier, its just getting harder. I always listened to what my parents told me, in your 50's things start to ease off, mortgage gets paid, kids getting bigger, food easier. Bollocks nowadays. I too am horrified when I go to the shops. Lamb is just plain off the menu unless its a bag of frozen chops from the Mad butcher to throw on the BBQ in summer. A roast, well, can't remember the last time we had one quite frankly.
So, although I am tired of budgeting, I am good at it. I took a lot of tips off Kob, who posts in recipes occasionally. There are some people here who truely can live off the smell of an oily rag. A couple of years back when hubby was on ACC I actually rang the young chickie babe in charge of the purse strings and told her "I can run the house off the smell of an oily rag, but I need the damn rag! ! "
When I can, I go to the Mad butcher and buy up a load of basics, mince, stewing steak, steak (if well priced) chicken thighs (never the breasts or pieces) etc. I make up stuff like stews in the crockpot, I chop up ham steaks for use in macaroni, on pizza's etc. I cut up the chicken pieces for stir frys and do the same with pork strips bought on special. We certainly don't starve (Mum used to say the food is bought first, which I believe in) and we eat a very varied diet. But, its certainly takes some juggling.
Its bad enough that food, the actual basics, like milk, butter, meat have gone through the roof, but add mortgage rates, school fees, rates, power (don't get me started on that one) it takes some wicked creative budgeting to raise families nowadays.
BUT we have never been in debt (save the mortgage), never been behind in a payment and the kids are well dressed (factory shops, op shops and good old TradeMe), and we live well. We certainly don't go out a lot, we don't have flash cars (but not old ones either).
Wouldn't it be nice though, to go back to my Mum and Dad's day when the weekly meat shop involved a trip to the butcher, the menu for the week discussed (meat every day) and everything lovingly wrapped in brown paper and eaten "fresh" and in great quanties, and cheap enough for every family.
alebix,
Aug 14, 1:08am
I got a massive bag of frozen lamb spare ribs for $20 at the mad butcher on Thursday. I can get about 4 very large meals out the bag.
I can roast them or casserole them, tasty too.
greerg,
Aug 14, 1:12am
The really annoying thing isthat the farmer's aren't getting much for meat either so the middlemen are doing really well. The "cheap cuts" that budget specialists arealways saying that today's young cooks need to learn to deal with are often more expensive at the supermarket than rump which is often on big specials but is not nearly as nice in the kind of dishes where a small amount of meat can be bulked up with pulses and vegetables, An arrangement with a local farmer andlocal butcher who does homekill can be a win-win for all. Maybe advertise on a local noticeboard, kindy or palycentre for people who'd like to form a coop?
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