Thanksgiving is in less than a week! Many of us have noticed the rise in price of groceries and so have our pockets. Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends to come together and spend quality time while enjoying delicious food. With the loss of jobs, cut hours and other economic factors we still want to enjoy our holiday. Here are some tips to help you and your family cut cost.

• The first step to cutting food cost is to create a meal plan. Meal plans will help you stay on track and make sure you are not over buying on food. Plan what you would like to have on your thanksgiving menu and what can be cut from the menu this year. When creating your plan, it would be helpful to check your pantry, freezer, etc. to see what you already have.
• Food substitution will help cut food cost as well. There are many great recipes and ideas online to choose from. When searching online check to see if some of your costly items such as a whole turkey, creamers, and cheeses. Some substituted found online will allow your dishes to have the same taste but cut your food cost. In addition, see if there is a new dish you could add using the food you already have.
• Next, make Thanksgiving dinner a team effort. If you plan on having family and friends over see if everyone can make a dish from your menu or create a dish. This will help reduce time, and cost.
• After creating your plan, check your local stores to see what is on sale. Often, stores will buy large quantities of food items they know will be used in a Thanksgiving dinner. When stores buy large quantities, they will often try to get rid of them by advertising bogos and reductions of price.

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