Making Christmas Easier: Budgeting Your Food

Christmas is one of the most expensive times of year – in fact, many of us end up saving up from midsummer just to be able to afford it without breaking the bank! And many of the rest of us dread our credit card bills arriving in January after a flurry of last minute purchases. It starts to feel like we have to buy gifts for almost everyone we know – we’ve all felt that momentary relief when our groups of friends decide to do Secret Santa instead! So it’s good to be able to budget when it comes to food. Here are some tips to help.

Start Shopping Early On

You can start looking for bargains in October, especially things like boxes of chocolates or boxes of cookies. A lot of the sell-by dates on products like that will last way beyond December 25th. You should also do your Christmas shopping through the year instead of just in the winter – if you’re under less financial pressure to buy gifts in December, you’ll feel better about splashing out on food.

Look For Deals

There are plenty of online deals that you can look into, like Foodpanda coupons. You should also keep your eyes open for deals as you move around the store, and make sure that you utilize those deals when you see them instead of thinking they might still be there next time you come to shop. Just remember not to buy things for the sake of it – the fact that something is on sale doesn’t make it cheaper if you weren’t intending to buy it to begin with!

Buy Good Quality Meat

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You know, it isn’t necessary to have a lot of different meats on the table. Some of your guests may be vegetarian, and anyway it’s better to focus your attention on doing a couple of dishes particularly well instead of having to hurry through multiple ones. Buy your meat from a butcher – that way you’ll feel good about supporting small local businesses. You should also remember to look out for meat that’s been farmed in an ethical manner. Not only will your conscience feel great, but the meat tends to taste better too.

Make Sure You Plan Your Meals

At the start of December, sit down with a pen and paper and plan out what exactly you’re going to have for your Christmas meals. This will help you figure out what exactly you need to buy, so you don’t have a last minute panic and get far more than you need and end up with leftovers that you have to toss in the trash. It will also help you figure out recipes and your cooking times, so Christmas Day becomes less stressful.

Ask Family Members To Contribute A Dish

If you’re hosting Christmas, you can always ask your family members to contribute a dish. This will save you money and will also save you some cooking time that you can spend with your family instead! But the best part about it is that your different family members can share their own special Christmas dishes and traditions with you – after all, that’s what Christmas is all about.