This year, I need to do Thanksgiving dinner on the cheap. The word in the news is that the cost for a Thanksgiving dinner is higher this year than last year. I beg to differ. So far, my food costs for the meal have been much less than last year.
The items below were all purchased on sale. Most of the time I also used a coupon. This combination does wonders to drastically reduce the cost. Our turkey required an additional $35 purchase. Hitting the total wasn't difficult. Several other Thanksgiving dinner items were on sale. Plus, they had the store brand chicken on BOGO. The chicken was a steal and put me over the threshold.
$10 Turkey .59 lb x about 18 lb.
$1.60 Sweet potatoes .27
$2.99 Potatoes 5 lb bag
$2.00 Oil on BOGO plus 2, $1.00 coupons
I already had the rolls (1.19) corn meal (2.49), green beans and corn (total $1.00). These were purchased on a previous sale at Ingles. (I think.)
$1.25 cake mixes.
$1.00 medium eggs
$2.00 2 cans of crushed pineapple
$2.00 BGOG margarine with coupon
$3.50 Cheese
We're serving at least five people. My total cost for doing Thanksgiving dinner on the cheap is $30.52.
Two things are worth a mention:
Flour is the one item I need that is not on the list. I already had it. It's been in the cupboard for a couple of months. My swiss cheese memory thinks that it was around .80 cents but really, who knows?
Even though I purchased them as a way to do Thanksgiving dinner on the cheap will there are items that be used for multiple meals. These are the potatoes, oil, eggs and margarine. We're also planning on having leftovers from the turkey for several days. These will help stretch the grocery budget a little farther.
So, what are your tips for doing Thanksgiving dinner on the cheap? We all learn from each other on this blog. Let us know how you are cutting costs by leaving a comment below.
I always make my own cranberry sauce. Boil one bag cranberries, 1 c. of sugar, and 1 c. of water. Boil until most of the cranberries have "popped". Pour in a container and wait until it gels. I do this a day ahead of time. (Shop around for cranberries. The price varies greatly depending on where you buy them.)
ReplyDeleteI also make a cranberry relish by using a bag of cranberries, 1 navel orange peeled and cut into chucks, and 1 c. of sugar. Put all in the blender and blend (pulse) until the berries and orange are relish consistency, Yes, you'll have loads of leftovers, but we love it at our house and eat several leftover turkey meals following the Thanksgiving meal. Yummy!!
That sounds great. I may have to try your recipe. After all, Christmas is just around the corner. :)
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