5 Tips on How to Save Money on Christmas Food
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When it comes to Christmas holiday food shopping, it’s just not about the big day itself. Apart from Christmas Day, there’s Boxing Day, Christmas Eve, and all the days leading to New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Each of these days is supposedly a big event, and of course, food would probably be your biggest expense when it comes to events like this.
If you think about it, it’s like a week-long festival, and having to feed your family, friends, and relatives would be no joke, especially if you go all out when it comes to food. That said, you’re probably thinking, “How could I fit all these expenses into my budget?”
Luckily for you, this article will discuss tips to help you save money on Christmas food shopping. Let’s start.
Make a Budget
Of course, when it comes to Christmas food shopping, one thing that you can do is to create a budget. This way, you’ll have your expectations regarding how much you’ll spend on Christmas and your expenditure goals. Your budget would be based on how much money you’re willing to spend, so while it’s still early, you can save on it. However, if you’re cutting it close, you can take out a loan for the Christmas food.
In this case, you’ll have to base your budget according to the amount you want to get on your loan. However, you have to be careful about your loan balance when taking out a loan. The interest rate is what increases your total loan balance, including fees and penalties.
But why is it important? Sometimes, if you take out a loan on short notice, especially sometime near the holidays, the lenders will increase your interest rate to offset the risk of defaulting after the holidays, which some people do. That said, if you plan to take out a loan, you might want to get it early on if you don’t want to increase your loan balance too much.
Always Choose the Cheaper Supermarket
If you’re feeding a lot of people, sometimes, the quality of the ingredients becomes a second priority, and that’s okay. Christmas is all about family, after all, and their companionship is what’s more important.
That said, if you want to have some big savings when you shop for ingredients, one thing you can do is to find a supermarket that is cheap but still has high quality. In any given city, there will be multiple supermarkets, and of course, there will be one that sells all the expensive stuff while there will also be one that sells the cheap ones. And since we’re talking about saving money here, you should choose the latter.
Plan Out Your Shopping List
Of course, when shopping, we always bring out our shopping list. There’s nothing more awful than going home from your Christmas shopping and then realizing that you missed one ingredient. However, when it comes to shopping lists, it’s not just about what you should buy; you should also look at which brands are cheaper.
You should have a specific brand in mind when creating your shopping list. Besides the ingredients you want to buy, you should put a specific brand within your budget. Of course, you shouldn’t pick expensive brands unless you have no choice.
Go Homemade
Sometimes, we feel lazy during the holidays, and instead of cooking the meals ourselves, we just buy them directly from the supermarket. It might be convenient for you this way, but not for your wallet. It’s cheaper to go homemade rather than buy the food directly somewhere. Not only that, when you finish cooking your meals, there will probably be some leftover ingredients that you can cook with.
With these ingredients, you can go for extra food your family can enjoy. For example, if you have some leftover veggies, you can cook roasted vegetables as a side dish during Christmas dinner. You only need basic ingredients like potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, and olive oil. Simply heat the oil and toss your ingredients. Roast them in the oven, and voila! You now have an extra meal that doesn’t strain your budget.
Buy Non-Perishables in Advance
As we all know, supermarkets like to raise their prices during the holidays because people will be clamoring to buy their ingredients at the last minute. Don’t fall for this. While for most ingredients, you have no choice but to buy them on the spot to avoid them from spoiling, you don’t have to do this for your non-perishables.
You can buy your non-perishables, like canned goods, dry goods, and drinks in advance. Grab all these food items in late November and keep them in a cool and dry place. This way, you’ve managed to get them at the regular price early rather than strain your wallet because of their increased price during the Christmas holidays.
Final Words
Food is one of the biggest expenditures for the Christmas holidays. However, you don’t need to break the bank just yet. If you’re smart and resourceful enough, you don’t have to strain your wallet too much, especially if you follow the tips above. Good luck!
