We only have it as a treat, when the budget allows.
same here (both), most of my life. But there are lots of delicious things you can make from ordinary (and very cheap) minced meat =)
I usually make meat patties with 1/2 beef 1/2 pork, minced, about 1/3 of the meat's volume in finely chopped carrots, celeriac, leeks onion and parsley-stalks, an egg to bind all, but no bread, and season the mass with a little paprica, some curry, salt and pepper and marjoram or thyme and more or less garlic, depending on my mood and social schedule. With the veggies in them they tend to crumble a bit when frying them, so it's better to make them rather small.
These are ok for diabetics (hence no bread), rich in fibres so that you don't go hungry that soon again, and rather versatile: you can use them for hamburgers, or eat them as a main dish with veggies, or with Kraut and potatoes, or cold.
You can use the same meat dough to fill bell peppers and simmer them in tomato sauce or a cup of soup. If you add some leftover cooked rice, the filling gets fluffier and sucks up more sauce later.
Or do you know Koenigsberger Klopse (meatballs cooked in a mustard sauce with capers)? They are very tasty and rather cheap.
Or the good old pasta with meat sauce (mine never tastes as good as my mom's, even though I use exactly the same ingredients, which is utterly frustrating).
