Tips For Hosting Thanksgiving On A Budget

American Investment Planners LLC

500 North Broadway, Suite 260, Jericho, NY 11753

(516) 932-5130 / (866) 932-5130

Whether you have a large family or small, chances are you have plans to get together for Thanksgiving - after all, it is a totally family friendly holiday. But with that comes someone needing to be the holiday host. Are you volunteering this year?

Between the food, the place settings, potentially even decorations like centerpieces, we know it can get pretty costly for the family in charge of Thanksgiving dinner. That's why below, we've put together a few tips that can be used for your night to be a success even if you're on a tight budget.

Have a menu in mind: Before heading to the grocery store to pick up your appetizers, side dishes, desserts, and of course, the turkey, put together a menu that lists all of the food you'd like to have. If you don't, chances are you'll wind up bringing more home than you actually need, because, let's face it, all holiday food just looks too good. To avoid buying more than necessary, make sure to enter the grocery store with a list in hand.

Ask guests for help: It's only natural for guests to bring something with them to Thanksgiving dinner, so don't be afraid to suggest a dessert or side dish. Not only will this make things easier on your wallet, but it will also help eliminate some of your holiday stress since you won't need to do all of the work!

Be aware of sales: As we get closer to the holidays you can bet that stores are going to start having sales. That means it's your job to be on the lookout! This also goes for coupons - if you usually throw out coupon books or toss newspapers to the side, you need to start spending more time paying attention to the special offers they contain.

Plan ahead: Nothing's worse than leaving all of your holiday shopping until the last minute, especially when a budget is involved. While there are some food items that may need to be purchased closer to the day of, there are tons of others that can be bought in advance so that you don't find yourself scrambling. If you wait too long, you can bet all of the items on sale will be gone!

Think about leftovers: If you have to spend more than you wanted to on food, remember that you can always save leftovers for a few days after the festivities are over. In this case, you may be able to reallocate some of your funds since you won't need to spend money after the holiday if you don't have to worry about dinner for the nights following! 

Although the holiday season can be an expensive time of year, don't stress about how you'll cover costs as the host or hostess - there are always plenty of opportunities to save, you just need to know how to find them!

American Investment Planners LLC offers tax planning, estate planning, retirement planning and more to generations of families throughout the United States. More information about the services offered is available at www.americaninvestmentplanners.com.