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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Thrifty Thanksgiving 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 contents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 When thinking about holiday spending, most people 10 typically fast-forward to December’s big budget busting 11 holidays. However, it pays to think thrifty all winter 12 13 long—starting with Thanksgiving. While a turkey alone 14 might not tip your financial scale, holiday food, travel, 15 decorations, and entertainment can really add up (throw 16 in Black Friday and you’ve got a recipe for a financial 17 18 fiasco)! Thankfully, the educators at Money Manage- 19 ment International have a lot of ideas to share about 20 how to have a Thrifty Thanksgiving. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 contents 1 2 3 4 Table of Contents 5 6 1 Front Cover 7 8 2 Intro 9 3 Table of Contents 10 4 Thanksgiving Dinner on a Budget 11 12 6 Four Ways to Stretch Your Thanksgiving Day Dinner 13 8 Thanksgiving Checklist 14 10 Go ‘Home for the Holidays’ on a Budget 15 16 11 Five Ways to Keep Tradition and Your Money this Thanksgiving 17 14 Five Ways to Break Tradition this Thanksgiving without Breaking the Bank 18 16 Frugal Decorating Tips for Turkey Day 19 20 18 Décor on a Dime: The Kids’ Table 21 23 Décor on a Dime: The Adults’ Table 22 26 Put the “Thanks” Back into the Thanksgiving Holiday 23 24 28 Leftovers: Another Reason to Give Thanks 25 30 Keep Your Finances in the Black this Thanksgiving Weekend 26 32 The True Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner 27 28 33 Your Thanksgiving Traditions 29 38 About MMI 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 contents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Thanksgiving Dinner on a Budget 8 9 10 11 12 13 Thanksgiving is a time of 14 remembrance, to give thanks, 15 16 and appreciate those near and 17 dear to you. While the holidays 18 are a joyous occasion it can also 19 be stressful and cause a lot of 20 21 pressure on your wallet. 22 This Thanksgiving Day don’t worry 23 24 about how you’re going to pay 25 for the feast. Following are some 26 ways you can have a budget- 27 friendly Thanksgiving dinner. 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Have a potluck. Thanksgiving is a holiday when friends and family gather 36 at one location. So why not make it a potluck and invite relatives to bring 37 a dish? Not only will you save on the cost of food, but you won’t have to 38 worry about cooking the entire meal yourself. Scale back on the quantities. Often when you think of Thanksgiving dinner, you think of large quantities of food. If you scale back portions and cut out foods people typically don’t eat, however, you can save a lot on your grocery bill. contents 1 Thanksgiving Dinner on a Budget 2 3 4 5 Shop sales. During the holidays you can find many of your favorites on sale for low prices. Get 6 organized by creating a list of items and ingredients. Look for coupons and shop early so you 7 don’t have to buy more expensive brands because the store ran out of less expensive options. 8 9 Buy in bulk. You can always find savings when you buy in bulk. Potatoes and apples are 10 cheaper by the bag. The same is true when purchasing big blocks of cheese, as well as herbs 11 12 and spices. If you don’t need large quantities of food, consider purchasing items together with 13 friends or neighbors and share the savings. 14 15 16 17 18 Finally, the turkey is usually the center- 19 piece for most traditional Thanksgiving 20 21 dinners. You can save a lot by buying a 22 store-brand frozen turkey instead of a 23 fresh turkey. Fresh turkeys usually have a 24 shorter shelf life and are more expensive 25 26 due to the means of packaging. If you 27 buy a frozen turkey, just make sure you 28 allow enough time to defrost. 29 30 31 32 33 Thrifty Quick Tip 34 35 Instead of spending a lot on new (and rarely needed!) 36 kitchen items, check thrift stores or borrow from 37 38 friends, family, or neighbors. contents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Four Ways to Stretch Your Thanksgiving Day Dinner 9 10 11 12 The best part of Thanksgiving is devouring all the delicious food. Mouths water at the sight of 13 pumpkin pie. Stomachs leap for joy at the very mention of turkey and stuffing. This Thanksgiving Day, 14 feed your family foods that are sure to fill their stomachs, but won’t take a big bite out of your wallet. 15 To stretch your Thanksgiving meal and your budget, consider the following low cost foods. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Potatoes 1 26 Potatoes are a great source of vitamin C and potassium and they consistently rank number one as 27 28 one of the most filling food choices. Potatoes come in many varieties and the culinary possibilities are 29 endless. In addition, they are an affordable addition to any meal. 30 31 2 Brown rice 32 33 Brown rice offers more nutritional value than white rice; it is rich in protein, fiber, niacin, vitamin 34 B6, vitamin E, and potassium. Brown rice can be served in a variety of recipes including side dishes, 35 36 salads, casseroles, soups, and stews. 37 38 Thrifty Quick Tip Make it easy to share leftovers by inviting dinner guests to bring their own bags or plastic storage containers. contents 1 Four Ways to Stretch Your Thanksgiving Day Dinner 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 3 Whole wheat pasta 12 13 Whole wheat pasta is an excellent, inexpensive source of fiber and healthier than regular pasta. Foods rich 14 in fiber tend to be more filling, contribute to digestive health, and promote a reduction in cholesterol. Whole 15 wheat pasta is great for both hot and cold dishes. 16 17 18 19 20 4 Salads 21 22 Salads make great side dishes and delicious appetizers. If you choose, you can throw in shredded cheese, 23 bacon bits, cucumbers, or any other inexpensive ingredient to give your salad more flavor. Another alterna- 24 tive is to add fruit to the mix. Fruits salads are healthy, visually pleasing, and relatively inexpensive. 25 26 27 28 29 30 Thanksgiving is a time to chow down. Whether you 31 32 are hosting a large dinner party or a more intimate 33 one, your guests are sure to leave stuffed. It doesn’t 34 have to cost a fortune to serve food that is both 35 36 thrifty and healthy. With the right grocery list and 37 a little planning ahead, you can cook a Thanksgiv- 38 ing dinner that will leave both your guests and your wallet feeling full. Check out our list of some of our favorite vegetarian foods. contents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Making a list and checking it twice isn’t just for Santa Claus this 8 holiday season. Before the holly jolly holiday rolls around, families 9 10 across the nation will sit down for the annual Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving Checklist 11 feast. Use this Thanksgiving checklist to help you plan and execute 12 a Thanksgiving Day feast that is sure to impress your guests. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Four Weeks Before Three Weeks Before Two Weeks Before One Week Before 23 24 25 26 27 • Create a guest list • Take inventory of your • Make a seating chart • Clean out your refrigera- 28 dinnerware tor to make room for the • Write out a menu • Draft a shopping list 29 meal and leftovers • Check your equipment, 30 • Order your turkey • Consider making dinner a 31 e.g., tables, chairs, • Tidy up the house potluck and assign menu 32 • Measure your oven to dishware, silverware, items • Confirm the number 33 make sure your turkey linens, etc. 34 of guests who will be will fit 35 attending the dinner 36 • Send out invitations • Designate serving 37 38 platters and place settings contents 1 Thanksgiving Checklist 2 3 4 5 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 6 7 8 9 10 • Defrost • Do your final • Set the table • Eat breakfast • Remove any 11 the turkey, shopping decorations • Set out Thanksgiving decorations • Enlist helpers to 12 allowing one 13 • Write out a cooking prepare the house for • Enlist family members day of thawing • Clear out the coat closet for guests’ coats 14 schedule and time- guests’ arrival to help re-tidy house 15 for every four • Clean the guest bathroom table 16 pounds of • Remove prepared • Send thank-you cards • Clean entertainment areas including the 17 turkey • Plan time for any side dishes from the to those who attended living room and kitchen 18 religious services freezer and bake dinner 19 • Iron table or volunteer events • Take the gravy out of the freezer and put it 20 linens • Before guests arrive, • Check-out great before the dinner in the refrigerator so it can defrost 21 delegate assign- Black Friday deals and 22 • Prepare and freeze • Decide on a table centerpiece ments to each family specials 23 appropriate side member 24 • Decide what to wear and mentally take • Rest dishes and desserts 25 yourself through Thanksgiving Day • Have a great 26 • Prepare and refriger- Thanksgiving! 27 • Make the stuffing in the morning and stuff ate moist ingredients 28 the turkey right before it’s ready to go in the 29 for the stuffing • Once guests leave, oven freeze or refrigerate 30 31 • Roast the turkey until a meat thermom- any leftovers 32 eter inserted into the thigh of the turkey 33 indicates the internal temperature is 180°F 34 and a thermometer inserted into the breast 35 36 When planning a holiday dinner, reads 165°-170°F 37 preparation precedes participation.