Which Kind of Ground Beef is a better value?

Have you ever wondered if the higher fat ground beef is really cheaper? I mean, it cost so much less per pound but after you have browned it there seems to be so much grease and so little meat left. Could it be that all that savings is being thrown away as grease?

Well I have, so I decided to find out...and I made it a science experiment for the kids (with help, of course). We followed the scientific method, wrote down our data and observations, and are now sharing our results and conclusions with you.

This experiment is assuming that we care ONLY about the price. I am assuming we don't care about the fat content or possible health affects of eating higher fat meat.

We measured out exactly 1 pound 0 ounces of each kind of ground beef. We had 7%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 27%. I didn't notice at the store, but the 10% was ground sirloin instead of ground beef. With each one, we browned it. Once it was completely cooked, I strained it pressing the meat against the strainer until it was as thoroughly strained as I could get it. Then we weighed the beef again to see how much we had left. Here's what we found:

7% yielded 10.75oz
10% yielded 11.875oz
15% yielded 9.75oz
20% yielded 10.5oz
27% yielded 9.375oz

I was surprised at how close they all were.

This is how much raw ground beef you would have to buy if you wanted a pound of cooked meat.
7% -1.49 lbs
10% - 1.35 lbs
15% - 1.64 lbs
20% - 1.52 lbs
27% - 1.69 lbs

To find out which package of meat gives you the better value, multiple the corresponding number above by the price per pound for each package you are comparing. Buy the package that gives you the lowest answer.

In our experiment, which compared full retail price at our local Safeway, the 27% fat was the best value by far.

This was our adjusted costs:
7% was $7.43 for one pound of cooked meat.
10% was $6.72 for one pound of cooked meat
15% was $6.55 for one pound of cooked meat
20% was $5.32 for one pound of cooked meat
27% was $4.27 for one pound of cooked meat

I tell you, this problem has bugged me off and on for years. Now I know.

Do you think I'm a total geek now? LOL

Excited About Our Heating Bill

Our heating bill is really high in the winter. It gets up to $230 in our coldest month. And that is gas only for our water heater, dryer, and heat. That doesn't include electricity, garbage, and sewage which cost us $155 every month in a separate bill. With money being tight, we decided we had to try to lower it.

We didn't have the money to make the home repairs usually suggested for saving money on heat. We couldn't replace our 17 single-pane windows. We couldn't replace our leaky doors. We couldn't install insulation. Even without doing these things, we saw significant savings, as you will soon see.

I've been waiting for the first bill to come since making some changes. I wanted to see if the things we did made any difference and I'm happy to report that we've seen significant savings this first month. Here's how this month compared to the same month last year.

Last year: 29 days included in the bill
This year: 30 days included in the bill

Last year: 51 degree average temperature
This year: 52 degree average temperature

Last year: $130.36
This year: $90.98........a 30% savings!

Considering that this year had an extra day and was only one degree warmer, I think the bills would have been comparable if it wasn't for my savings efforts. I'm excited and expect to see continued savings as we hit the colder months.

Here's what we did:

We have three sets of three large windows in our main rooms. I bought heavier curtains from IKEA to cover them. The ones in the room I'm sitting in right now are even double layered. They look nice too.

We covered some of our draftiest windows with plastic. The window kits you buy at home improvement stores won't stick to our window trim so I come up with the oh-so-tasteful solution of taping clear painter's plastic with blue painter's tape to our trim. You can see it in the chicken mummy photos I posted yesterday. It's beeeuuutiful!

I began washing our laundry in cold water. I still use hot water for towels and bedding.

We lowered our thermostat from 70 to 66-68 during the day and 64 at night. We have to unplug our microwave most of the time because it doesn't like being cold. We began wearing warmer clothes or comfortable layers at home. I taught my kids to wear a tank top or t-shirt under a sweater to stop the cold that comes through the holes between the knit stitches. I showed them how to layer a long sleeve t-shirt under a short-sleeve t-shirt or to layer two t-shirts together. We haven't been cold with these new dressing habits.

I cut my showers to every other day rather than every day. With my new hair care routine (I'll post about that on another day), I find that my hair doesn't get greasy anymore so I no longer need to wash it every day.

I've been trying to encourage the kids to hang their clothes back up to wear again if they aren't obviously dirty or smelly. This is something that I've done for many years so I just need to get the rest of the family on board.

And that's it. Those simple steps saved us $40 in the first month.

Ironically, a Penguin Windows commercial JUST aired and they promised a 40% reduction in your heating bill. My solutions were MUCH cheaper to implement and saved 30%. I think my rate of return is better.

I'm going to finish covering the rest of our single-pane windows with plastic. I'm motivated to do them now.

Saving Money on Groceries

These days I enjoy grocery shopping. It's fun to watch the register as it deducts savings after savings until finally settling at half off or more.

How do I save half off or more? By making the most of store club card savings, coupons, and competitor coupons. However, it isn't as simple as looking at the sales ads. I'm combining the sale price with manufacturer's coupons and/or special promotions and making sure that the price truly is a good price and not just a gimmick to lure shoppers into buying things that are not truly a good value. (Secret: I don't do the work of finding these sales; I pay for the information.) In addition to that, certain items are bought only at specific stores because I know their price will beat the other stores' sales prices. I'll save that post for another day.

I have three goals when I shop each week:

1. To plan my weekly meals around the best sales each week. If whole chicken is on sale, we'll have rubber chicken that week. If beef roast is the big sale of the week, we'll have pot roast and beef burritos. If pasta sauce is a loss leader, we'll be having spaghetti.
2. To stock up on frequently used items. My goal is to stock up enough of our most frequently used items so that we don't run out before the next big sale. If I do run out, I try my best to find alternative things to eat that are on sale rather than buy things at full price.
3. To buy as few things at full price, or barely marked down prices, as I can.

Because I'm buying primarily only things that are on sale, my grocery carts look odd. It doesn't look like a cart of someone buying for this week's menu because this week's menu is not my goal. I shop with a longer term goal in mind. I'm thinking about the next twelve weeks. Each item in my cart is not likely to be on sale again, at least not at such a good price, for twelve more weeks. I'm not worried that much about this week because I can put together a menu using what I've already stocked up on, what I'm stocking up on this week, and a few extra items.

So, here's what my grocery list looked like this week. Items marked ** were bought for immediate needs and were not necessarily the best price available.

At store #1, I bought:
2 bags granulated sugar (5lbs) = $1.65 each
3 boxes Quaker Oat Squares (16oz) = $1.49 each
2 boxes Honey Bunches of Oats (19oz) = $1.99 each
2 snack sized candy packs (8 pack) = $1.50 each (these are stocking stuffers)
**2 English muffins (6 pack)= $1.00 each
**1 bag hot dog buns = $0.89 each
**1 bunch bananas = $0.89 lb (must buy for Josh)
2 bunches broccoli crowns = $0.99 lb

Total Shelf Price = $42.19
Price Paid = $20.31
Amount Saved = $21.88


At store #2, I bought:
10 half-gallons milk = $1 each ( I froze for later use)
**2 cans black beans (14.5oz) = $0.88 each
9 cans Hunts spaghetti sauce (26oz) = $0.66 each
6 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 oz) = $0.50 each
20 cans vegetables (14. 5oz) - $0.50 each
2 boxes stuffing mix = $1.00 each
**1 box Spanish rice = $1.00 each
10 packages of chicken breasts = $1.99 lb
2 beef bottom round roasts = $2.50 lb
6 boneless pork sirloin chops = $1.50 lb
**1 bunch bananas = $0.88 (again Josh won't leave store without them)
**1 large carrot = $0.89 lb
**1 bunch romaine lettuce = $1.69 each
2 bags potatoes = $1.50 each
2 4-roll packs cinnamon rolls = $1.19 each (a special treat)
**1 package 12 double-roll TP = $5.99 (not the best price but needed)

Total Shelf Price = $207.22
Price Paid = $102.92
Amount Saved = $104.85


I now have enough milk for the rest of the month. I simply opened each one up and poured a little into our open milk jug and then froze them. This will give them room to expand so they won't explode in my freezer. Then I froze them to use later.

I bought 20 meals worth of meat this week if I ration it the way I discussed on the chicken breast and whole chicken posts.

The canned vegetables are also enough for 20 meals. I'll also use fresh produce (like the broccoli) and frozen vegetables when they are on sale. These cans will probably last us about 6-8 weeks.

The spaghetti sauce will be saved to use in spaghetti, other pasta dishes, homemade pizza, and English muffin pizzas (lunch).

The canned tomatoes will cover about 4-6 meals depending on what I end up using them in.

So, the idea here is to have a long term focus. The $120 I just spent covers more than just this week.

**I mentioned above that I pay someone to track the sales for me. Well, that someone is actually a website called The Grocery Game. It runs me $15 every 8 weeks to get the information for both stores. Seeing that I saved $125 in one week, I think that paying someone $1.88 per week to give me this information worth it. Don't you?

If you are interested, you can sign up for a 4 week trial for only $1. I suggest signing up for all the stores in your area to see how each list looks and read the "game rules" for each one; the $1 trial includes them all. Before you are billed (the site clearly tells you the next billing date), remove the stores you don't want. If you do sign up, please consider giving me referral credit. Just this email address in the appropriate form: josemail at thewiredcity dot com.

Save Money by Cooking Thanksgiving Yourself

Are you thinking about Thanksgiving yet? Will you be cooking at home this year? Or will you skip the hectic Thanksgiving cooking marathon and let someone else do it?

If you are planning on skipping out on roasting your own Thanksgiving turkey, I'd like to encourage you to reconsider. Roasting your own Thanksgiving turkey will save you a TON of money this winter if you do what I do.

Start by buying a large turkey when they go on sale. Look at the prices and find the turkeys with the lowest price pound. Now find the largest turkey in that range and bring it home.

Then roast the turkey and follow the steps in my newest eHow article:

How to Save Money Making 20 Meals with Your Thanksgiving Turkey

Thanksgiving is the only time of the year that you can make 20 meals out of $7 worth of meat. The closest you can come is about 6 meals for that price. It's worth doing!

Save Money by Using a Whole Chicken in Three Meals

Ok, I promised you that I would explain a concept called "Rubber Chicken" to you and then life happened. But I promised so here I am up late so that it is waiting for ya'll in the morning.

Rubber chicken is the term for taking a whole chicken and making the meat stretch into three meals. The idea didn't originate with me but I have gotten it down to an art form for our family. Here's what we do....

photo by ninjapoodles @ flickr.com

Meal 1: Roast Chicken & sides

On the first night, I roast the chicken using only simple seasonings. Salt, pepper, and butter is all it takes to get a tasty chicken. With rubber chicken, you don't really want any extra flavors unless you know for sure that it will go well with what you have planned for meals 2 and 3. For us, simple works best.

In order to make sure I have enough meat to last us for three nights, I deliberately serve a smaller portion of chicken to each person. My older children each get a drumstick. My youngest gets some of a thigh. My husband and I both split most of a breast. When I say most of a breast, I'm saying that I don't try to carve out the whole breast. I leave quite a bit of it behind, actually. To make up for the smaller portions of meat, I serve extra sides. We'll have mashed potatoes and gravy (made from the drippings), stuffing, a vegetable, and dinner rolls. It almost feels like Thanksgiving!

To make life easy, I shove the leftover chicken and carcass into the fridge right in the dish I roasted it in. I usually use a corning ware dish.

Meal 2: Chicken and Bean Burritos/Chicken Taco Salad

We love burritos in this house so that's what I usually do for day 2. Our other choice is chicken taco salad. Like day 1, the idea here is for the chicken to be a part of the meal rather than the center of the meal. I pull off and chop up most of the remaining meat from the chicken, taking care not to strip it entirely. I'm usually looking for about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of chicken (not firmly packed). We make the burritos with refried beans, the chicken, lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Yum! Taco salad is made up of refried beans, the chicken, tomato, cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips or strips (see my Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe for how to make homemade tortilla strips in the oven), all served on a bed of lettuce instead of wrapped in a tortilla.

You don't have to make burritos or taco salad; that's just what I do because we like it. You can use any casserole dish that can be made with leftover chicken.

Meal 3: Chicken Soup

For the third meal, I boil the carcass with any remaining meat to make chicken stock. After a few hours, I strain the stock and pull the meat off the bones before discarding the bones. Usually, I only get about a cup of meat (sometimes even a little less) but I have found that soup doesn't need a lot of meat in it. I then use the meat and stock to make some form of chicken soup. Some choices include Chicken Noodle, Chicken and Rice, Chicken Vegetable, and our favorite Chicken Tortilla Soup. Chicken Noodle is also good with a cup of salsa tossed in. It spices it up and adds a lot of flavor without a lot of salt. We like to have homemade rolls or grilled cheese sandwiches with our soup.

I use this method of stretching chicken regularly and find that one regular-sized whole chicken provides plenty of meat for our family of five when I am not centering the meal around the meat. Because meat is usually the most expensive part of the meal, reducing the amount you serve at each meal is one way to save money.

One thing that can help when it comes to stretching a chicken into three meals is to look for the largest chicken you can find. That will give you a bit more meat to work with.

I know that large families use this same technique for stretching whole chicken into three meals except that they start with two chickens.

One of the great things about this set of meals is that it actually makes more than three dinners. I usually make up a big pot of homemade beans for meal 2. After using some of them with dinner that night, I have enough left over to have burritos, tacos, or salad for a couple of lunches or another dinner. I've already done the work making the beans and just have to add a different meat to it. I usually use beef the second time. Or, the beans can be frozen for a later time. The soup usually has enough left over for another lunch or dinner if I served it with bread, sandwiches, or salad.

To keep us from feeling like we are eating the same thing every night, I usually will cook meals with other protein sources in between these three meals. A meal plan might look like this:

1. Roast Chicken with sides
2. Pot Roast in the slow cooker
3. Chicken and Bean Burritos (leftover chicken)
4. Pork chops and sides
5. Chicken Noodle Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (leftover chicken)
6. Beef and Bean Taco Salad (leftover roast and beans)
7. Leftover Buffet with simple add-ons as needed

There you go...a whole week's menu utilizing only one chicken, one roast, and pork chops. And...you can serve few pork chops if you cut them up into bite sized pieces, just like the chicken breasts.

Rubber Chicken Anyone?

Soon (probably Saturday evening or Sunday), I'll be showing you how to save money cooking rubber chicken...

photo by wili-hybrid @ flickr.com

Well, NOT that kind of rubber chicken. More like this kind...

photo by ninjapoodles @ flickr.com

So, if whole chickens are on sale at your local store this week, go ahead and pick one up because I'm going to show you how to make that chicken streeeeeetch. While you are there, might as well buy two so you have one waiting in the freezer for the next time you have it.

We'll be making three meals with this one chicken. If you have a large family (or extremely hungry eaters, you may want to adapt and buy two chickens).

Saving Money with Chicken Breasts

I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in my cooking a lot and have found a few tips for saving money with them.

1. Always buy them on sale and stock up if you can. It's better to buy them on sale than to pay full price later. Albertson's sells them fresh at the butcher's counter for $1.88 a pound on a regular basis. I ask them to wrap my chicken breasts with two breasts (the photo below is one breast) per package. This saves money for me because I don't have to repackage them at home. Safeway sells them for $1.99 a pound when they are on a good sale but they are prepackaged in sets of 8-10 breasts. This means I spent a little extra repackaging them. Costco sells the flash frozen chicken breasts in a bag for $2.15 a pound. Most people think Costco is a good deal!

2. Cut them into bite-sized pieces whenever possible. About 1 inch pieces are good. When serving a whole breast, most people serve an entire breast for each person. When you serve them in bite-sized pieces, you can easily feed 4-5 people with only two breasts.


3. Many pasta and rice recipes that call for chicken breasts can be adapted for chicken pieces instead. Chicken Fetticini Alfredo (homemade recipe coming soon) can be served this way. I have a recipe called Southwest Chicken and Rice (recipe coming soon) that is served this way, too. Tonight I cooked a recipe called Easy Chicken Paprika from the can of Chicken and Mushroom Soup that called for four chicken breasts to be cooked, added to the sauce, and served over noodles. I used two breasts and cut them up into pieces before adding them to the sauce. It worked out fine.

4. Popcorn Chicken goes a long way. Try following my recipe or any fried chicken recipe only use half the amount of chicken you'd normally use. You'll be surprised at by the size of the pile of chicken.