Author Topic: Thanksgiving and food budget  (Read 1982 times)

djadziadax

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Thanksgiving and food budget
« on: October 17, 2017, 12:24:30 PM »
Thanksgiving is coming and with it the "turkey problem." How do you keep your Thanksgiving budget form ruining your Food Budget (according to MMM, $100-$150/pp per month). Turkey alone is about $30-40!!

I am always tempted to get "heritage turkey" but that will run me about $50 more than a regular turkey...the meat would be better though.

Discuss.

ixtap

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #1 on: October 17, 2017, 12:38:14 PM »
If you are getting a whole turkey, won't you be eating the leftovers?

Also "budget" does not mean you spend exactly that much each month. If your food budget is $100, you should spend less than that some months, to account for spending more other months.

marielle

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #2 on: October 17, 2017, 12:41:33 PM »
Don't buy a turkey.

acroy

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #3 on: October 17, 2017, 12:44:12 PM »
what problem?
squash is cheap (those decorative pumpkins are very edible, and free in huge numbers from neighbors after t-day!)
Rice & taters are cheap
Turkey is cheap. under $2/lb iirc.

we buy a huge bird, i have fun smoking it, and we eat on it for weeks. Great stuff! America Feck yeah!!

Khaetra

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #4 on: October 17, 2017, 01:14:23 PM »
Start shopping sales now for things you'll need.  Broth, flour, spices, etc. are all shelf-stable and buying a little each week won't be such a hit on the wallet.  For turkey, keep an eye out for sales (my stores usually have them for $.49/lb), or you can always go non-traditional (I've made lasagna/stew/stir-fry).  Also, I know each family has their favorite dish, but do not feel you have to serve every single one of them, especially if you are the one hosting.  You don't need three potato dishes, four stuffings, etc. just make one.

Caoineag

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #5 on: October 17, 2017, 01:43:23 PM »
Your kidding right? Ruin my budget? November is historically my lowest spend month of the year, year after year. We have massive sales in my area and this is the one time of the year that I try to buy butter for freezing. Every dish I make for Thanksgiving is from scratch so my ingredients tend to be ultra cheap because of the sales. Flour, sugar, butter, pecans, etc I try to buy what I can use during the year before it goes bad ( I usually allow it to run out early rather than risk throwing food out). Usually not the week of Thanksgiving though, its usually the 2 weeks prior.

Course, I make my own broth from scratch as well so that's not a cost, I make my cinnamon rolls from scratch and there is a couple of other high priced items that since I make them from scratch cost me pennies instead of dollars. I am actually about to start my annual thanksgiving menu list where I decide what to make this year...

None of my turkeys have ever set me back more than $20 though. How big a bird are you buying? And I refuse to buy ones with weird ingredients so I am not even getting a cheap bird at that price...Last time I priced a heritage bird, it would have been $30 total so guessing you are going really big or live somewhere really expensive?


terran

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #6 on: October 17, 2017, 01:51:00 PM »
Turkey should go on sale pretty soon. Stores use it as a loss leader to get you in the store, so it should end up being one of the cheapest meats you can buy all year. I usually buy a spare to stick in the freezer.

djadziadax

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #7 on: October 17, 2017, 02:01:35 PM »

None of my turkeys have ever set me back more than $20 though. How big a bird are you buying? And I refuse to buy ones with weird ingredients so I am not even getting a cheap bird at that price...Last time I priced a heritage bird, it would have been $30 total so guessing you are going really big or live somewhere really expensive?

Ha! Your hunch is right...live in Manhattan, so good luck to me finding anything for $.49/lb:-) that is actually edible.


djadziadax

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #8 on: October 17, 2017, 02:03:15 PM »
what problem?
squash is cheap (those decorative pumpkins are very edible, and free in huge numbers from neighbors after t-day!)

Good idea on scouring for pumpkins on sale. Great idea on getting a bunch of stuff on after thanksgiving food sale - thinking canned pumpkin.

calimom

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #9 on: October 17, 2017, 02:11:26 PM »
Thanksgiving is one of those things you can spend a little or a lot of time and money on. Since it's a holiday about sharing and togetherness, think about hosting/participating in a group effort. I don't personally host, but attend a big holiday get together with relatives and friends every year for give or take 20 people. Host provides the turkey, in this case deep fried and someone else brings a turkey to be roasted. An emailed sign up list goes around with each participant/family choosing one or two things to contribute: all kinds of side dishes, pie, wine/beverages, tabletop and appetizers. It's a feast! And no huge expense on anyone, or knock down drag out cookathon.

ABC123

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #10 on: October 17, 2017, 02:19:23 PM »
I buy 2 turkeys when they go on sale for 69-79 cents/lb.  I don't have room in the freezer for a whole turkey, so I cook them up right away, eat that for a day or two, and put the rest in the freezer bags to use throughout the year.  Works great in soups and casseroles.

Hotstreak

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #11 on: October 17, 2017, 05:33:01 PM »
Thanksgiving is all good I eat anyways - cheap meat, vegetables, wine, etc., it's just all cooked at once instead of being spread out over 2 weeks. If you're hosting a party then go with potluck, or take the funds out of your entertainment budget instead of your grocery budget.

ElleFiji

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #12 on: October 17, 2017, 07:04:47 PM »
I spent about $150 for 10, had meals for the week for me, and 2 more in the freezer. I'll spend 0 on Christmas. It's all a balance. BUT, there was a British show (I saw on YouTube) where they did grocery budget makeovers without sacrificing quality/pleasure. There was an awesome Christmas episode. Also British via YouTube, there was a show about cooking a typical British diet for each decade. The Christmas episode was also awesome and CLEARLY showed holiday inflation.

djadziadax

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #13 on: October 18, 2017, 06:38:31 AM »
I spent about $150 for 10, had meals for the week for me, and 2 more in the freezer. I'll spend 0 on Christmas. It's all a balance. BUT, there was a British show (I saw on YouTube) where they did grocery budget makeovers without sacrificing quality/pleasure. There was an awesome Christmas episode. Also British via YouTube, there was a show about cooking a typical British diet for each decade. The Christmas episode was also awesome and CLEARLY showed holiday inflation.

Sounds interesting - do you remember how you searched for those shows on YouTube?

ElleFiji

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Re: Thanksgiving and food budget
« Reply #14 on: October 18, 2017, 06:56:24 AM »
YouTube knows me well and suggested them.

Now that it is daytime, ill try to find names

Back in time for dinner
Back in time for Christmas
(There are new shows out too! It's good I'm sick in bed)

I think the budget one was a spin off of shop well for less, which I've never seen before, and also seems like a good sick day watch. If you find it, let me know!