Your food budget is among the most easily controlled of your family?s variable expenses ? unless you?re cooking dinner for two dozen of your closest relatives, like during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Try these simple techniques for reducing the bill without skimping on the holiday celebration.
1. Get an Accurate Head Count
Thanksgiving leftovers may be a holiday tradition, but cooking too much food comes right out of your wallet. Get an accurate count of who?s coming to dinner, and make a reasonable projection for how much food you?ll need.
2. Watch the Sales
This includes both seasonal deals like holiday discounts and the tradition of canned goods going on sale every November, as well as coupons you clip or find online. Plan your feast ahead of time, so you can take advantage of the best prices as they appear.
3. Go Pot Luck for Side Dishes
Have each family eating with you come with a side dish. This splits the cost of dinner among everybody who?s participating ? taking the bulk of the financial hit off of your plate. Bonus points for organizing the pot luck so everybody brings something different.
4. Use Smaller Plates
Studies show that people given smaller plates will eat less in a sitting,?even when the serving dish is within easy reach. This one might be hard to calibrate for this year?s feast, but you can use the technique and information to save on groceries season by season.
5. Scratch Cook the Snacks
It?s tempting to buy processed or pre-packaged foods for your appetizers and other holiday nibbles, but that?s one of the best ways to double or even triple the bill. Instead, take an afternoon to prepare your snack foods from scratch.
6. DIY Decorations
Much like the snacks above, you can spend a lot of money by picking up some Thanksgiving decor at a local party supply store ? or off the endcaps at the supermarket. If you feel you need a centerpiece or other decoration, make them yourself from simple craft supplies or items you already have around your home.
7. Plan Your Leftovers
This tip won?t do you much good this year, but can help you save money on Christmas dinner and Thanksgivings going forward. As you pack away the leftovers, note how much extra food you had, and use that information when planning future menus. While you?re at it, track what dishes were a hit, and which ones got mostly passed over.
How do you save money when planning Thanksgiving dinner?
Photo Credit:?Rhett Sutphin
Source: http://www.payoff.com/blog/index.php/2012/11/7-ways-to-save-money-on-thanksgiving-dinner/
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