Tips to save on Thanksgiving dinner
FRIDLEY, Minn. -- As we approach Thanksgiving, inflation has been gobbling up our money. It's not too late to plan a turkey day meal on a budget.
"I like coming to grocery stores and discovering things I haven't seen before, tried before especially when I find a great deal like these," said Lisa Baker of TwinCitiesFrugalMom.com.
Baker has been operating the savings site for 14 years.
"I'm seeing a lot more people asking 'how can I save my money, how can I stretch my dollars, you know, how can we survive through this,'" explained Baker.
The average Thanksgiving host is now spending $392 on dinner, including drinks and decor.
Baker says there are plenty of ways to cut that number down if you shop now when prices are still competitive.
"I've seen gravy mix for 19 cents. Pizza crust mix for 29 cents. I've seen a lot of these kind of loss leaders to get you in the store," said Baker.
When it comes to the bird, Baker suggests going frozen for your turkey or making it a potluck if you have a lot of guests.
Try store brands or generics. They are typically 20 to 25% cheaper than the name brand, so go with those -- except in the case of coffee, chocolate and cheese.
"We're absolutely seeing more offers, more coupons and lots of retailers trying to get ahead and lure people in to shop at their stores promising you know last year's prices or even going beyond that and promising 2019 prices in one case," said Joanie Demer, co-founder of KrazyCouponLady.com.
Demer says the biggest Thanksgiving deal she's seen comes from the Ibotta cash back app. It's offering a free turkey dinner with mashed potatoes, corn muffin mix, green beans and gravy.
"If you're a new Ibotta user you'll have to buy quite a few things, about a dozen different items in order to qualify. Then you're going to be able to unlock these offers that will literally get you a free turkey," said Demer.
Baker & Demer both say if you can stock up, now is the best time.
"So much of it is on promotion right now. Maybe even buying ahead for the next few months because prices are unlikely this low again, probably for the rest of the year," said Demer.
