We have a freezer in our garage.  It's where we keep what I call, "our frozen assets".  When I see meat, fish, butter, bread, milk in cartons, or frozen foods on sale I try to get two or more.

With a family of six, it pays to grab good deals and stock up.  My goal is to have three to six months worth of backup (we do rotate the stock-- nothing seems to last indefinitely frozen).

It is also important for us to maintain the freezer because a large part of my income is variable-- there are slow months, good months, and great months.  Variable incomes are EXTREMELY hard to budget-- so a freezer is one way to handle the slow times (paying some of your regular bills 1-2 months ahead is another way).  Having food in the freezer, frig, and pantry is like money in the bank.  Hence the phrase, "our frozen assets".

The impact on the electric bill is small compared to the peace of mind and satisfaction of taking advantage of a good deal on certain items (See Basic Food Staples Never Seem to Go on Sale).