Cubed or Presliced Meat

“Meat markup is up to 60 percent and much more for precut or precubed meats. Since meat has a refrigerated shelf life of just five days and must then be thrown out, most meat departments in grocery stores aim for a minimum 30 percent markup, and often much higher, to make up for losses.

“Steaks, for instance, are marked up 40 percent to 50 percent; some cheaper cuts, such as round and chuck meat, are marked up as much as 60 percent. Lesser cuts of meat, those typically cut into pieces for stir-fries or stews, are marked up as much as 300 percent and should never be bought at full price because they’re always discounted at some point (look for markdowns on meats that are near their sell-by date or hit up bulk stores like Costco for savings of up to 30 percent off larger slabs of meat; you can refrigerate that which you don’t use for later).”