Frugal Shopping Tips
How To Buy Great Meat On A Budget
Inside tips and tricks of the trade from John Smith, a butcher for many years

Frugal shopping tips can sometimes be hard to come by, but every now and again I am approached by someone who can really save you money by letting you in on some of the secrets of their profession within the industry.

John Smith, a butcher for many years, is one of those people and I was glad when he approached me offering to let my visitors in know about his book.

A book that is rather unique and could save you from either the pitfalls of buying low quality cheap meat or spending too much on quality cuts. Frugal shopping tips don't get much better than this if you are a big meat eater.

I will let John tell you in his own words about his book; after all he is the expert.

Frugal Shopping Tips - Confessions of a Butcher

My name is John Smith and I’ve been a very lusty consumer of meat and meat products for a long time. In fact some 56 years as of February 2009. During this time I not only cooked and ate mass quantities of delicious juicy meat but I have also processed it for all the other meat lovers out there.

Yes I’m a butcher. I’m also a very price conscious consumer and being a tightwad meat loving butcher I managed to learn a few tricks in order to consume high quality meat and provide for my very large family.

You see if you know what you are doing you do not have to spend any where near as much money for meat as one might think. I don’t. If I want a nice tender steak I don’t mortgage the house or sell a kidney. No, I just go grab another cut, that will eat just as well for a lot less money, make an alteration or two and wham! I’m eating like royalty on my pauper’s budget.

When you stand before the beef section of your local supermarket meat case what do you see? Hundreds of shiny bright red packages of all different shapes and sizes. Did you know that there are really only about 4 primal (primal is a big hunk of similar quality meat) sections of beef where most of what you see comes from?

It just looks different because we butchers have been cutting it into all sorts of shapes and sizes and then convincing (con is the key word here) you the consumer that you need just this particular cut of beef and or pork for a specific entrée you are fixing and non other will do. Of course it will cost you more money. Often a lot more money. This is what we in the retail meat business call merchandising.

After years of fleecing the public through these merchandizing schemes I decided to unburden myself and try to right some of the many wrongs that I and my butcher brethren have committed. That’s where my book comes in. Everything you need to know to get a fair shake is in there.

What I have done in my book Confessions of a Butcher/Eat Steak on a Hamburger Budget and Save is to list virtually every cut of beef and pork along with what I like to call their “alternative” cuts. The alternative cuts are the ones that will be of similar quality but for less money. Often a lot less money.

With my book in hand you no longer will be at the mercy of the retail meat industry and their dastardly merchandising schemes.

Besides listings for beef and pork I also have some info on lamb, veal and poultry and other tips, a glossary, and some of my articles and recipes.

If you like meat and you like to save money you will like my book. Maybe even love it, many have!

You can buy this great frugal shopping tips book directly from him at Confessions of a butcher.com

John kindly sent me a copy of his book and I was really impresse with the advice it contained. It is quite amazing just how with a little inside knowledge you could save money adn still eat all the meat you want without compromising on quality or flavour. This book will certainly help you to save money and is one of the best frugal shopping tips I have read for some time.