Even if you’re just wanting to feed your family of four, and skip having extended family over this year, we all know Thanksgiving dinner or lunch as you might have it, is always expensive, not to mention time consuming! With these tips and tricks, it doesn’t have to be that way, though! Start planning now, so your not scrambling at the last minute.
The very first thing that you need to do is plan if you are going to have a big family meal or not. If so, who all is coming. This part on it’s on can actually be a big help on staying under budget. Why, you may ask, Pop Mom(as one of my followers on YouTube (subscribers, I know, lol) fondly refers to me. Because, Aunt Sue can bring the green bean casserole, Missy can bring the dumplings, Jay can bring the pie, and yes, one must be pecan! I am from the south, and one must be pecan, apple and sweet potato!
We can do all this and stay under budget? Yes, Ma’am (or Sir?) According to Google Analytics, all of my readers are women, but I’m not so sure they know that 100 percent, so let’s go with Ya’ll! It’s a southern thing! Here’s how you can save money, even on a big family Thanksgiving meal!
-
- Buy store brand items. I do this anyway, even if I’m at Publix, which is one of my favorite stores, you can do this and save money. Sometimes a dollar, or just a dime, but those dimes do add up! You can even buy a store brand turkey! (Gasp, did she just say STORE BRAND TURKEY. Yes, I did, you heard me right! Especially at Publix, it taste just as good as more expensive ones.
- DIY the easy stuff. What do I mean by this. Make your own pie crusts, I will link some videos here for you. Or if you make banana pudding, I have an awesome recipe that doesn’t costs a lot of money to make. If you already have the vanilla flavoring, I would say under $8 easy to feed my guys, and myself. They eat a lot. Growing teens, omg. Ya’ll probably already know, smh. Like where do they put it all. The green bean casserole, or just a big pan of these scrumptious Glory brand green beans. If you haven’t had them, you should, they are simply amazing. I will have to do a haul and show you guys.
- Casseroles are easy, especially this crowd favorite, the corn casserole. Takes 5 minutes to whip it up, and it’s probably under $5. Don’t knock it, until you try it. I will leave a recipe here for you.
4. Greens – either Aldi, or Food Depot, or Walmart if you don’t have the first two stores. Don’t not price out your Publix, or I may have some shopping list with prices for you soon in the Printables Hub! That would be most awesome, PopMom. Let’s do that! I have an easy recipe that you can make, even if you haven’t made turnip greens before, they aren’t hard, just a little time consuming. Which you can even prepare the night before. Must wash and rinse, and repeat. I will link a thanksgiving the easy way pdf back here next week.
I did find this salad spinner that actually comes in very handy when washing veggies and fruits! I found it on Jen Chapin’s YouTube channel. She is so awesome, I just love her. One of my early favorites that inspired me to start my YouTube channel. There are just a few affiliate links here that I may receive a small commission on, if you use that link and buy something, at no additional costs to you.
I will be linking some recipes and to do lists back to this post, but I did want to go ahead and publish it, so you guys can get the info!
5. Depending upon the size of your crowd, you can potentially buy some items at Sam’s club. However, let’s be honest, I don’t always save money there. So many temptations, and you have to do the math! Taking a minute here and there and see if you really are saving money! Load up on the frozens though. Especially if you have a freezer, or second fridge. We do that once a month. STICK TO YOUR LIST!!!
6. Generic brands do help you save money, even if the store brands are not available, go Generic, and cut those coupons out, Momma! Digital ones are my favorite, and I can easily “clip” them.
8. Outside of the meats, go to dollar general first. I love going to dollar general. You can save some good money. Even if your doing low carb, or need those low carb red bulls to get you going in the morning, it can save you money!
9. Shopping early can help you save money on non generic items. As it gets closer to the big day, stores may tend to raise those prices.
I’ll be adding some more to this posts, but wanted to share these 7 tidbits with you! I’m all about sharing!
What are your favorite ways to save money? Email me at the [email protected] and I might just share yours here!
