Pre-Plan For Holiday Savings

Thinking ahead to the holiday season and the amount of money it takes to get through even the simplest of celebrations can be intimidating. I’ve been brainstorming ways to make it through the holidays and still stay within my budget. I’ve come up with a few ideas that I’m hoping will be helpful to you, as well.

*Clean out your freezer. If you are like me, your freezer is full of useless items like bags of icy bread slices, unfinished bags of chicken nuggets, raviolis, etc. Take a look at the items and if you can use them, do so, but if they are past their prime, toss them. Very soon you are going to need extra room in the freezer.

*Clean out your cupboards. You are going to need room to stash non-perishables that you find on sale.  Pick up extras of seasonal items like pumpkin or yams for later in the year. 

*Plan ahead….. to a point. Make a list of dishes that you plan to make for holiday meals, including snacks, sides, and main dishes. This will be your “guide.” If you allow for flexibility, you can change your menu if you find a great buy on another food item.

*Scan your ads and when something comes up, like a great buy on turkeys (my local Safeway does this every year), pick one up and stash it in that clean freezer. Some years we have a turkey for both the Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday. When I do that, I buy two seperate turkeys and stash them both in there. I’m lucky in that I don’t need a huge turkey, so I can fit two, at least temporarily.

*Go to the websites of your local supermarkets and sign up for their newsletters. Many of them offer special coupons that are not available in the store.

*If your local supermarket offers a magazine, pick one up. I shop at Raleys in Northern California and the Raleys magazine full of recipes that feature products that are currently on sale in the store. In addition, the recipes are great.

*Sometimes you can find better buys on items like canned pumpkin, canned vegetables, or canned milk at a drug or discount store. Stores like CVS have a smaller selection of grocery items to chose from, but those that they do have are usually great buys. Sign up for the store’s newsletter for additional savings.

Image credit: Sxc.hu