Helping yourself to family-sized savings
Thanksgiving can be a wonderful time of the year when many families come together after long periods apart in order to show their gratefulness for each other and for the opportunity to indulge in what’s likely to be the biggest meal of that year.
Taking all of that into consideration could make Thanksgiving one of the costliest holidays when it comes to getting food, but it doesn’t need to be a budget shredding experience.
There are plenty of options around to help you prepare for a cheaper-than-expected family dinner. It’s also a good idea to be open to the possibility of replacement dishes for what you had planned as well.
The first and simplest things that’ll send you down the path to savings are coupons and discounts. It’s likely that you pass by dozens of deals without realizing it. Whether they’re in the aisles you’re browsing or in advertisements that have been sent to you by mail, there could be a deal for almost anything you want if you keep your eyes open. Look out for digital deals as you browse a company’s app or site since there’s the chance that you’ll see similar bundled offerings to ones from the physical store.
Some stores also offer memberships and loyalty programs that sometimes let you join for free. This can give you the opportunity to see if there’s any exclusive offers that you could be missing out on. There’s also paid memberships like with Sam’s Club where you’ll get access to a wide range of items including making purchases of items in bulk at a better price than if you bought them elsewhere. This can be useful for stocking up on favorites that quickly disappear during Thanksgiving.
If you can’t afford to stock up on the popular foods, then there’s no shame in using substitutions that can be equally as filling and delicious.
Potato based dishes could be substitutes, since potatoes are a good and cheap base ingredient for many meals. Baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, potato salad and more can make for nice replacements for anything you had forgotten to get or simply couldn’t set aside the money for.
If you’re willing to hold off on celebrating for a couple days, then you can get everything after Thanksgiving. There will likely be sales for products that are going out of season.
The meal may be delayed, but you make up for that time with the money you saved. Be sure to keep tabs on what coupons are eligible when doing this because there could be exceptions for the goods that you have your eye on.
These ideas may not save every penny you own but keeping them in the back of your mind may help you save a dollar here or there.
