Enjoy Thanksgiving and Save a Little Money

Store managers know that you will be buying extra food this next week.  Look for a store that is offering a free turkey if you buy all the sides, or if you have a small gathering just get the turkey breast.  All of the Thanksgiving sides and desserts are very special, consider having a vegan dinner.

Think outside the box when it comes to leftovers. Try different flavor profiles to spice up what you have on hand. For example, you can make: quick curry turkey salad; turkey tacos with a delicious fresh corn salsa; slow-cooked turkey to BBQ pulled-turkey sandwiches; Chinese turkey salad with mandarin oranges/slivered oranges/red onions/ginger dressing; green Thai turkey with curry paste/basil/coconut milk; or even a cold noodle bowl with turkey/peanut butter/salsa /sesame oil/green onion.

Cranberry sauce: If you actually eat it, splurge and buy the cranberries fresh and make the sauce from scratch – it’s super easy and is delicious. If you don’t eat it, but can’t stand the thought of Thanksgiving without it, buy canned: It goes on sale for about a buck around Thanksgiving time. If you don’t really eat it, just skip it — a dollar saved is a buck and a half earned before taxes.

If you can bring yourself to buck tradition and serve something else altogether on Thanksgiving Day, you can load up on Thanksgiving goodies the day AFTER Thanksgiving really cheap. This is a great idea if you want to celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday.

Speaking of after-Thanksgiving sales, buy a few non-perishable items right after Thanksgiving for next year if you have the pantry space: canned cranberry sauce, stuffing mix and canned corn, for example.

Frozen pies: If you are not much of a baker, you’re in luck. Frozen pies usually go on sale around the holidays for more than 50 percent off. One might argue that you could perhaps make a better pie, but you probably can’t make a cheaper (or easier) one.

Do a pre-holiday cleaning and fill boxes with clothes, toys and household goods to donate. Yes, it’s a nice tax write-off, but this habit also curbs any overconsumption tendencies, even at the grocery store.