When shopping at the grocery store, I’m always looking for a good deal. While I’ve never gotten into coupon clipping, I do scope out the weekly ads online before I shop. I try to plan my meals around what’s on sale, particularly at the meat counter.

Apparently, a lot of you Family Living readers like to stretch your grocery dollar too.

According to the Iowa Farm Bureau Food and Farm Index™, an online survey conducted by the Harris Poll  in November and December 2013, nearly eight in 10 Iowa grocery shoppers cited price and taste as the most important factors when buying meat, poultry and dairy products. (Read more survey re­sults at http://bit.ly/1ue4n8M.)

My husband and I like to grill most nights during the summer. But we've noticed that the prices for ground beef patties, steaks and pork chops are higher than what we paid last year.

Indeed, retail prices for beef and pork cuts have pushed into new record territory, said John Anderson, deputy chief...