If you walked right past the meat aisle on your last trip to the grocery store, you're not the only one. Beef is starting to feel like a luxury as prices stay at record highs, and there's no end in sight for markups. Ground beef averaged about $6.70 per pound in March, nearly a dollar more than last year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Beef steaks, which cost an average of $12.73 per pound in March, are up 16% from a year ago.