A Thanksgiving dinner table with roasted chicken, stuffing, and pumpkin cake, showing holiday budgeting through smart planning
Budgeting

The Thanksgiving Dinner We Started Planning in August

A holiday meal can feel expensive before it even starts — the mental math of turkey, sides, and dessert piling up before you’ve bought a single carrot. But one family’s approach to Thanksgiving shows that the real cost of a holiday dinner isn’t decided the week of the event. It’s decided months earlier, in August, standing in front of a reduced-price rack or scrolling a grocery discount app.