Thanksgiving Day is round the corner. It is the day to have a delicious meal with your friends, and thank God for whatever you have. However, inviting your close friends for dinner when price of the food items are increasing with each passing day can be quite expensive. Organizing a dinner party on the Thanksgiving Day may not be good for your financial health. It is said that people had to spend around $4 (per person) for cooking a traditional meal on the last Thanksgiving Day. As the price of the turkey and other vegetables are expected to go up on this coming Thanksgiving Day, so it can be easily assumed that you’ll have to pay more for having a feast on the special day.

It is true that organizing dinner parties on the Thanksgiving Day can be expensive. However, if you do some planning and shop frugally, then you can enjoy the special day without getting into a credit hangover. You can have the peace of your mind even after the Thanksgiving party is over. There won’t be any need to reduce your Black Friday shopping list if you do some important calculations before the arrival of Thanksgiving Day. Read along to know some tips to have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner party without crossing your budget.

Follow some tips to save money on the Thanksgiving Day

Here are some tips that may help you save money on the Thanksgiving Day:

1. Make a checklist: Create a list of the items you’ll need to serve a delicious meal to the guests. You’ll want your guests to be well-fed. So, chalk out the essential items you’ll need in a piece of paper. Visit the stores and purchase the necessary items a few days early. There will be fewer crowds at the stores during this time. You can choose the items at your own comfort. The price of the items will also be comparatively lower than that of Thanksgiving Day. So, you can get the best items at a cheap price.

Use coupons to do your Thanksgiving shopping. This will help you save more money. Make sure you buy all the items on a single day. Extra trips will cost you money and time.

2. Cook a few items: Instead of serving several dishes to your friends and family members, cook and serve a few delicious items on the plate. You don’t need to prepare 4-5 side dishes on the special day. The guests can hardly eat so much. Lots of food and money will just be wasted. You should never allow this. Plan your menu wisely. Cook few tasty but trusted recipes on the Thanksgiving Day. Your guests will gobble all the foods within a few minutes.

3. Purchase a frozen turkey: The price of a fresh turkey was around $17.66 in the last year. The price is expected to increase in the current year. So, a wise decision will be to purchase a frozen turkey by paying 30%-40% less than the normal price in this year. Make sure you keep the turkey in the refrigerator and cook it well. You can even go through various recipes which can be cooked with a frozen turkey. Your guests won’t be able to demarcate between a frozen and fresh turkey.

4. Serve home made pumpkin pie: Ready made pumpkin pie from the confectionery will cost you good amount of money. Instead of purchasing it from the store, you can make your own pumpkin pie. It is not too difficult to cook a pumpkin pie. All you need to do is get hold of the authentic recipe from the websites, and follow the cooking instruction properly.

5. Organize a pot luck meal: If you’re hosting the dinner party on the Thanksgiving Day at your house, then it does not mean that you’ll have to shop and cook alone. It will create a great pressure on your wallet if you take the responsibility of doing all the cooking alone. Ask your friends to cook and bring one dish to the party. Your friends won’t mind if they are asked to cook a dish of their choice. Rather, they will cook the dishes with enthusiasm. They will become involved with the party and will feel happy to help you in some way.

So, if some one makes an amazing roasted turkey or pumpkin pie, then ask her to bring that dish to the party. Ask each friend to bring something. This way you’ll be responsible for only one dish. It will help you save your precious time and money.

Finally, if you’re inviting your parents or grand mother to the dinner party, then you must be making transport arrangements to make sure they reach their home safely. In such a situation, get to know the gas price in advance. The fuel price is expected to increase in this season. You can make carpool arrangements if required. This will help you lower the transpiration cost.

For most people, shopping is an integral part of the festive season. In a recent survey, it has been found that nearly 140 million people have shopped to their hearts’ extent on Black Friday in the previous year. However, with debates surrounding the debit card fees, most people may turn toward the credit cards for shopping during the festive season. Nevertheless, too much usage of credit cards can put credit health into risk. Glance through the article to know how you can take special care of your credit health during the festive season.

Safe guard your credit during the holiday season

If you’re planning to use credit cards for purchasing various items during the festive season, then chalk out a financial plan right now. This will help you steer clear of credit card debt, and protect your credit simultaneously. You can begin your New Year on a good financial start.

Here are the 4 tips to avoid credit card debt hangover and shield your credit at the same time. Read the rest of this entry »

The festive season is going to begin very soon. So are you in a holiday mood already? Have you started planning about what to buy for celebrating the special days like Black Friday? If not, then you should start making plans very soon. Many retailers are offering special deals to the shoppers now. So, you can very well grab these deals, and purchase gifts for your near and dear ones at a cheap price.

Black Friday is a favorite day of the retailers and the shoppers. This is regarded as the busiest shopping day in the country. Shoppers stand in a long queue to purchase all the items included in their shopping list. So, have you decided what you’ll purchase on the coming Black Friday? If not, then glance through the article, and know about 5 things that you can buy. Read the rest of this entry »

Credit unions are receiving special attention from the people. After the leading banks have started increasing various fees, credit unions have become gained popularity amongst the masses. Cash back offers, special reward points, commercial loans, and some other facilities are attracting an increasing number of people to credit unions. A large number of people are opening new accounts in the credit unions every day. As such, it has become extremely important for the people to clear their mind off the most prevalent credit union myths before working with them. Read along to know about some common myths surrounding credit unions.

Myths surrounding credit unions

Credit unions are giving lucrative offers in order to attract more consumers. Some of the credit unions are even giving cash rewards to the people for becoming new members. This is inducing the people to shift their loyalties from the banks to the credit unions. Read the rest of this entry »

Consumers are facing problems in paying their credit card bills. The latest reports of the country’s leading credit card companies have revealed this fact. The reports reveal that the credit card late payments have surged in the month of September 2011. This has happened for the first time since February 2009.

Credit card late payments have increased yet again

The leading credit card companies have reported that there has been a small rise in the number of people paying their credit bills 30 days late. There can be 2 possible reasons why the credit card late payments have increased in the month of September. Read the rest of this entry »