Sixty-one cents

I just finished cutting up over 75 pounds of meat, and I realized that I haven't done a cost post is AGES!

Yes, I am a bit tired, thanks for asking :)

I've had a few large cuts of beef and pork in the freezer, that I bought on sale a while ago, as well as two turkeys and one whole chicken.  And chicken legs are on sale this week for $1/lb, so I picked up ~20 pounds yesterday.

And I decided to portion everything out today, re-package and re-freeze it, in an attempt to organize the freezer a bit better!

One night in cold water (the meat, not me!), and 3 hours later of cutting and bagging later...

I have almost 11 weeks worth of meals for both dogs.  And I still have 3 huge pork shoulders in the freezer, and will be going back to get more chicken this week.

I didn't realize I had quite that much meat in the freezer :)

And after adding everything up... each meal costs 61 cents.  (Actually, one of the turkeys was free, and I estimated that is would have cost $15 to buy.  If I take that $15 out, then each meal works out to an amazing 51 cents!)

Sixty-one cents.

I can't even get a box of Kraft Dinner (Kraft Mac & Cheese for you Southerners) for 61 cents anymore.

In all honesty, I haven't been keeping track of the cost any more, but I do know all the meat I have bought since starting this has been $2/lb or less, and some of it was free (some venison from a co-worker, so freezer-burned and/or old meat from others, plus the turkey).

I am WELL under my target of $1 per meal :)


I started keeping track of costs, mainly in order to dispel one of the myths of raw feeding, that it is more expensive than kibble.  Obviously, it depends on the kibble, but I think I've shown how cheap raw feeding can be!

Gotta love it!

SCORE!!!!

This is why I desperately want a freezer.

Chicken drumsticks and thighs - $1/lb.

Pork shoulder - $1/lb.

Beef liver - $1/lb.

Whole chicken - $1.50/lb.

Beef roast - $2/lb.

I bought over 42 pounds of meat for slightly just under $55.

That averages out to ~$1.30 a pound, and brings my running average to around $0.93/day.

Counting the meat I already have in the freezer, I have enough meat to fed Kip until September, and really cannot fit one more ounce in the freezer. But I am SO tempted to go back and get more - really, $1/lb!!!!!

(And yes, I actually bought some meat for me too!)

I heart independant butchers!

We have a great independent butcher in the area, and I recently got a uncured "ham" (shoulder? leg? I don't really know my meat cuts!) for $1.19/lb. I portioned it out, and it ended up costing a whopping $0.80 per day - cheap, and boneless too! The only thing, it has a lot of skin and fat, which in small amounts, are great for dogs that can tolerate it. Some dogs can't tolerate too much fat, so I'll have to keep an eye on Kip when he eats this meat.

The running total to date: approximately $1.15 per day to feed raw. (Without those cursed "bargain" turkeys, I'd be at $0.98 a day!!!!) Yes, it's more expensive than cheap kibble, but it's about the same (or less) than premium kibble, and I feel a lot better about feeding Kip real, unprocessed food. And Kip likes it too!

My costs are going to go up a bit though, as Kip is getting a bit skinny, and, as the warmer weather is finally here, we will be more active. So, I've increased the amount he gets daily. He is getting ~3% of his weight per day now (~8 oz of meat, plus ~2 oz of organballs mixed with an egg or sardine to make it irresistible to Mr. Picky Dog), and I'll keep it at that for a bit, and see how it goes.

I think I'm getting better at getting cheaper meats, and figuring out which sales are really a bargain, and which aren't. I'd also like to start sourcing some alternative meats, like rabbit and fish, but, until I get a real freezer, buying those in bulk (generally the most economical way) just isn't an option.