NFCC Financial Education Blog ? Save Time and Money this ...

By Lauralynn Schueckler

If you?re like most people then you?ve probably been looking forward to Thanksgiving for a while now. Food, football, family, friends, and lots of fun always go along with this wonderful holiday. However, the cost of Thanksgiving dinner may already be causing you some heartburn. Between the big turkey, mashed potatoes (2 kinds for my family), stuffing, green beans, and cranberry sauce you might be wondering if you can afford the pumpkin pie this year.

You can have a nice traditional Thanksgiving dinner on a budget by following a few simple steps. So, here are a few suggestions on how you can save time and money on dinner and still have enough left in the budget for a few desserts:?

1. Remember to keep your side dishes simple! Don?t try new dishes that require expensive and exotic ingredients that you are unlikely to use in other recipes after Thanksgiving. Stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, and vegetables are always classic side dishes.
2. Use frozen vegetables instead of fresh or canned ones. Frozen vegetables have more nutritional value than even most fresh veggies, and they?re a lot less expensive.
3. The days left to shop for your Thanksgiving meal are quickly dwindling down, but before you head to the store see if you can find coupons for any of the items you need. Check newspapers and even online for some great savings!
4. If your guests offer to bring a dish to dinner take them up on it. Also, consider asking your guests to bring something even if it?s a bottle of wine or a pie. If your guests can contribute to the meal it won?t cost them much, but it will save you some money. Potluck dinners are becoming more and more popular each year.
5. If you are hosting the dinner, but don?t have all of the pots and pans required to prepare a meal of that size, see if you can borrow cookware from family and/or friends rather than buy it.
6. Let?s talk turkey! How can you save on turkey when everyone?s buying them at the same time? First, start thinking about portion size. Everyone likes to look at a large plump turkey on the table, but big birds can get expensive. Ideal portion size is 1 pound per person (1.5 pounds per person if you want some leftovers).
7. Speaking of leftovers! Now is a perfect time to put a plan together for them. Turkey soup, turkey hash, and even turkey tetrazzini are just a couple of options available. A quick online search will produce unlimited recipes.
8. Thanksgiving isn?t really known for elaborate lights and decorations like Christmas is, but a lot of us like to put up festive decorations for our guests that are coming over. An added bonus of fall decorations is that a lot of them are available in abundance for FREE. Leaves, branches, acorns, and seasonal plants can be put together to make a pretty fall centerpiece for the dinner table.
9. If you?re looking for more decorations they?re going to be expensive in the couple days leading up to?Thanksgiving. Cups, paper plates, napkins, and tablecloths are just a few of the types of items that stores will mark up the prices on right before a holiday. You should stock up on these items for next year by purchasing them after Thanksgiving.

Lauralynn Schueckler is the Online Marketing Specialist at Advantage Credit Counseling Service. She is the author for Advantage CCS?s Blog called Dollars & Sense. Advantage Credit Counseling Service is a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Contact Advantage Credit Counseling at 866.699.2227, or visit them online at www.advantageccs.org.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author, and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

Source: http://financialeducation.nfcc.org/2012/11/19/save-time-and-money-this-thanksgiving-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=save-time-and-money-this-thanksgiving-day

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