- Review grocery story circulars and stock up on sale items, in advance.
- Serve your meal on smaller plates. Your guests will be thanking you for helping them eat 15-20% less.
- Make more of what’s on sale and less of what’s not.
- Go traditional: Serve food and drink on real dishes with cloth napkins; avoid using disposable plates, cups or napkins.
- Freeze leftovers and bring your lunch to work for 1-2 weeks.
- Bake your pies from scratch. With well-priced staples (sugar, flour, oil), you’ll save at least 50%.
- Don’t forget about combining coupons with sales circulars for a major discount. Shop the internet for coupons too.
- Volunteer at a soup kitchen and eat for free.
- Use boxed wine. If you don’t like the idea, pour into traditional wine bottles before serving. Cork with a plastic wine topper.
- Make fewer side dishes.
- Buy generic foods for staples. Your guests won’t know the difference.
- Make fewer meat dishes, it’s cheaper and healthier.
- Package leftovers in recycled pickle jars and other reusable containers. Skip the costly re-sealable plastic bags.
- Hold a cookie exchange with friends. Make only one variety but get a sampling of many.
- Make holiday staples with budget foods. Mashed potatoes are among everyone’s favorites and at less than $1/pound, you can’t go wrong.
- Buy $3 wine. Most people won’t know the difference.
Visit InCharge.org for more ideas on ways to save money!
