Ways to Save Money on Your Thanksgiving Dinner

Saving money is a very big deal these days with the cost of gas, winter coming on, and the holidays. Everyone is looking for bargains and trying to save extra money. With the way the economy is, everyone is looking for the cheapest ways to go.

Saving money on your Thanksgiving meal is pretty easy. Many people have lots of ideas on saving money, but in the long run, they are actually spending more than they normally would.

First you will want to plan ahead. What are you going to have, how many are coming, and who is bringing what. If you are the one responsible for the entire meal, you will want to be as savvy as possible when it comes to shopping.

Have you heard about the people who travel miles out of the way to save a few cents on a gallon of gas? Does that make sense? Of course it doesn't, but many still do it. They actually end up burning up more than they saved. You can actually do the same when it comes to your meal.

Do you have any farmers markets around? If so, now is the time to buy your squash and cabbage. The cabbage will last a while, but the squash you may want to cook up and freeze ahead of time. Any other vegetable you may want to use can be done the same way, with the exception of potatoes, as these will probably turn brown or gray after freezing. And the quantity you may want will be too much to have in your freezer.

And do like the song says. Shop around. Find the best buys. Watch the ads, and plan your attack. It seems that the closer to a holiday we get, the more expensive things are, and then they go on sale, but at the price they were to begin with usually, or sometimes more.

What kids of vegetables are you going to buy? Are you going to use brand names? Check the internet for websites. You can often find coupons for things you want, and the websites are full of recipes. Check these out! For Libby's vegetables, just type it in the search and it brings up the sites. The same with Ocean Spray and Mrs. Smiths. Sometimes you can find lots of information, and get some pretty good coupons. If something is already on sale, whats better than to get even more off with a coupon?

Don't just settle for shopping at your local Wal-Mart. There are so many other stores. Wal-Mart may advertise somethings on sale to bring you in, but when you are there, you end up spending more than you would have at another store. Check your prices out while shopping these next couple of weeks so that you can plan your shopping and where to go.

And if you can, find someone else to shop with you. This will also save you on gas, and you can share the cost of it. You could end up eating lunch out, but not really spending anything extra, as you had help with gas!

You don't need to go overboard either. Just shop for those things you need. It's nice to have ham too for those that don't care for turkey, but hey, it's Thanksgiving, get over it! Eat the turkey! And you may think, oh, Auntie loves harvard beets, and I know everyone else wants cabbage salad, so pick one. I am sure that Auntie will get over it, or maybe she will bring the harvard beets with her! It never hurts to ask! So make it simple, price and plan ahead of time, print or cut out coupons, and get someone to share the cost of gas and go with you! It will be fun and much less painful to the wallet!