Refrigerator: 3-5 days
Freezer: 6-12 months
Tip: At the shops, get the non-perishable food first and shop for meats last. Use an insulated shopping bag and if travelling for more than half an hour, place the meats in a cooler for the trip home.
Take the meat out of its plastic packaging (unless you are planning on cooking it that day), and store in a non-plastic dish loosely covered with foil/plastic as plastic packaging will make the meat sweat. Place this in the meat compartment/bottom shelf of your fridge to ensure there is no spillage on your other food. Remember to not put raw meat and cooked meat near each other in the refrigerator in case of cross contamination.
When freezing, put beef in the freezer within 3 days of purchase. If freezing for more than 2 months, wrap the packaging tightly in foil or plastic wrap and then within a heavy-duty freezer bag.