Thanksgiving on a Budget

During the holiday season, popular items run out quickly at stores and sometimes aren’t replenished fast enough.

To dodge that potential problem, you should start your shopping for Thanksgiving cooking or hosting early. 

Avoid the last-minute rush and possible shortages by starting your shopping as soon as you can.

It allows you to make your favorite meals at home instead of going to the fall back option to buy Thanksgiving dinner.

Many large retailers start putting out the key Thanksgiving staples early.

So, it would help if you kept your eye on prices offered by different companies to get the best deals.

If you are not too rigid about the menu, you can even plan the menu according to the ingredients that have the maximum discounts and better deals.

Another useful tip that can help you make cheap Thanksgiving meals is to keep an eye on the sale flyers for the local grocery stores near you.

A few weeks leading up to Thanksgiving usually offer the best sales on staples like pumpkin pie filling, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and many other delicious ingredients.

It is also smart to choose generic products rather than branded ones, as the former costs up to 25% less than the latter. You also need to make the most of the price-matching policies companies offer at this time.

For instance, Target has a list of competitors on its site, which includes but is not limited to Amazon.com, Apple.com, HomeDepot.com, and Bestbuy.com, among others. 

So, if you get a lower-cost item from one of the stores, Target will refund you the difference. Similarly, Walmart also has a policy that can help you save more.

If you are a planner who has created a list of ingredients you might need for Thanksgiving cooking, you need to spare some time to compare prices.

The weekly ads of most stores begin on Sundays. So, it’s wise to be prepared to shop on Sunday to maximize your savings.

A wiser move to save money during Thanksgiving event hosting is to buy non-perishable items in bulk a few weeks before Thanksgiving. 

For instance, you can buy marshmallows in bulk and freeze them, or you can go for frozen vegetables that can stay in your freezer for up to a year.

If you have leftovers, you can use them during other events you plan to host, like Christmas.

In case you think that you can’t afford to host an event like a Thanksgiving dinner yourself, you can ask your guests to contribute too. 

You can choose a potluck-style holiday meal where your guests will bring in a dish or two.

When opting for this idea, make sure that you create a menu in advance so that people can sign up for the dish or dishes they bring and there are no repetitions.

For instance, one person can bring roast turkey, and another can take care of the stuffing. Similarly, a friend can take care of mashed potatoes while you prepare a healthy green bean casserole.

And yes, don’t forget the Cranberry sauce. Doing so will ensure that there is plenty of variety and no waste!