With the holiday shopping just a few weeks from kicking off, you probably don’t want to overspend on your Thanksgiving dinner. At the same time, you may not want to miss out on traditional Thanksgiving foods or settle for smaller portions on a day that’s largely centered around eating — and family, of course.
A lot of grocery stores discount popular Thanksgiving meal items around now, and that includes Sam’s Club. Its holiday meal deal could be just what you’re looking for if you want to host dinner without draining your bank account.
What you get with Sam’s Club’s Thanksgiving meal deal
Sam’s Club’s Thanksgiving meal deal isn’t something you can go into the store and buy as a single item. It’s a group of common Thanksgiving dinner items you can purchase individually or not at all if you don’t want certain products. Here’s what Sam’s Club included when it calculated its 10-person meal for under $100:
- Member’s Mark Smoked Turkey (12 lbs.)
- Member’s Mark Cranberry Crunch Salad (2.5 lbs.)
- Member’s Mark Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes (4 lbs.)
- Member’s Mark Sweet Potato Mash (4 lbs.)
- Member’s Mark Brussel Sprouts (1.4 lbs.)
- Member’s Mark Yeast Dinner Rolls (24 count)
- Member’s Mark Macaroni and Cheese (2.8 lbs.)
- Member’s Mark 12″ Pumpkin Pie
Based on the prices and weights given on Sam’s Club’s website, this dinner would come in at $92.96. That doesn’t include sales tax. But there’s a lot of wiggle room here. For example, if your family hates salads, you could take that out and you’d reduce your cost by $13.20. So there’s room to make the meal your own, especially with so many items priced by the pound.
There are some holiday staples missing here, including stuffing mix and green beans. You can obviously buy these at Sam’s Club, as well. But adding them into the mix could cause you to go over the $100 target price unless you also reduce spending on some of the items above.
Is it worth it?
Sam’s Club is far from the only store offering special deals on Thanksgiving foods. And it may not always be your best option. Figure out what you plan to buy and compare prices at Sam’s Club and other popular grocery stores in your area to find the best deals.
You could save even more by using a grocery rewards credit card. These great cards give you bonus rewards on grocery spending that you can turn into cash back on future purchases.
If you’ve accumulated some cash back on rewards credit cards already in your wallet, consider redeeming them for statement credits or gift cards to Sam’s Club or other retailers. This can ease the burden on your finances as you shop for your Thanksgiving meal.
Finally, don’t wait until a day or two before the holiday to start shopping. This doesn’t leave you enough time to compare prices across retailers and you run the risk that a store might be sold out of a certain item you want. Aim to have all your items purchased several days before the holiday, so you can spend the night before preparing for the big feast.
