Thrifty Thanksgiving Tips!

Hello Money Masters!

Welcome to the holiday season! I like to define “The Holidays” as a trifecta consisting of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The least expensive of these, in my opinion, is Halloween. But, Halloween and all its spooky glamour has come and gone. Next up… THANKSGIVING! This holiday has the potential of becoming quite financially burdensome, however, it doesn’t have to be!

Whether you are hosting a party of 30 people or only 4, or if you are a guest and need to bring a dish or beverage, there are ways to scale down the cost of this bountiful holiday. Let’s break this day down into categories:

FOOD

Grocery stores are experts at strategy. Certain brands or products are placed throughout the store at various vantage points. The whole store is actually strategically planned out for a specific purpose. It is easy for a shopper to become distracted from his/her goal and buy extra goods that were not on the list 😉 So, stick to your specified list!

Also, buy generic brands when possible. They tend to be less expensive than name-brand products. If you compare the list of ingredients on the labels of name-brand and generic products you will not find much difference. Keep in mind, seasonal foods are typically less expensive as well.

Another way to save is to make your get-together a POTLUCK! Each person brings a dish to pass= simple, easy, economical.

BEVERAGES

You really do not have to break the bank on this one. If you are serving alcohol, you may want to consider “cheaper” bottles of wine. Do your research as there are many brands that are low in cost ($6-10 per bottle) and still taste great. Some retailers (Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods for example) sell their own brand of wine for $3-4 a bottle. Don’t be afraid to ask a guest or two to help you out on this one and bring a beverage to share.

DECORATIONS

The whole family can help here! Gather leaves, pine cones, acorns, etc. and design your own festive creations. Or a decorative bowl of different colored mini gourds set out makes an elegant and frugal centerpiece!

No matter how you spend the holidays, just remember to focus on your BLESSINGS– I know I will!

For more thrifty Thanksgiving tips, click here!

-Helen