Give Your Wallet A Reason To Thank You On Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching!

What does this holiday mean to you? Are people flying, or driving, in from all over to celebrate it with you? Do you have a family tradition of watching the big city parades, or the two NFL football games, they televise every year? Got a favorite recipe you like to make? Or a favorite story you like to tell everyone? Yes, all these things add up to this nation’s celebration of all things domestic, and what is more American than saving some “dead presidents”?

If you’ve ever had to plan a Thanksgiving Day feast, you know that the cost of everything can certainly add up super fast! If this is your first year planning things, let me tell you this: everything can add up super fast (where have you heard this before? Oh yea, from me — one sentence ago). What to do about this nagging problem? Well, here go some practical tips for saving a lot of green on your next holiday feast (good luck, pilgrim):

Forget the fresh vs. frozen bull crap. Food experts (or any experts for that matter) don’t agree on much, but when they do most will tell you that there is no real difference in taste between a fresh or frozen turkey. It’s all a matter of preference, convenience and how bad the marketers suckered you in! So, why not watch out for the sales and go with whatever is cheapest that day.

Trim the menu’s “fat”. Do you really need five different side dishes and 3 different desserts? Really? Seriously, who’s going to miss that extra vegetable (note: corn on the cob is a staple; why not go with this? The Indians sure did) or a third choice of bread? If someone does, why not tell them the meal will be served at their house next year (that will shut the up)?

Win the grocery game! In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, most grocery stores run incredible specials on traditional holiday foods in the hopes that while you’re in there grabbing the specials, you’ll also buy lots of other full-priced stuff. Beat them at their own little gambling match by taking advantage of each store’s specials, without falling victim to these sneaky traps.

Don’t have any thyme or cinnamon? Then use substitutions. Many holiday recipes call for ingredients that you don’t normally have (unless you’re a chef or something). Before you buy any special ingredients you’ll only be using for one recipe, try something else that’s similar. Just keep your new recipe notes handy, in case it becomes a hit (or someone gets sick)!

Expensive vs. cheap. Mashed potatoes are way cheaper to prepare than a creamy three-bean casserole, and a pumpkin pie is more times than not going to be a lot less expensive to make than a cheesecake. Try to entirely limit yourself from making the expensive dishes (truth is: Thanksgiving is all about family, not breaking the family budget). Pick one good meat (preferably turkey) and compliment it with some inexpensive dishes. T-day, done!

Now that everyone has gone home, the football games are over and you’ve clean up all of the dishes and beer bottles that these ingrates (just kidding) left everywhere for you (or am I?) I hope my advice has helped you to keep some money in your pocket this Thanksgiving holiday. You see, the pilgrims didn’t have supermarkets when they first landed here, and this tradition didn’t start off with the intent to kill your wallet. It’s based on all the things you are thankful for, and I hope that saving money is one of them! Read the rest of this article on Thursday the 27th , after 7:30 pm …

I’ll leave you now, with you beer buzz, sports winning euphoria, and the sleepiness that all the tryptophan in the turkey that you stuffed your face with caused you! I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning … in those 6:00 am, Black Friday lines!