Why Shopping For Thanksgiving Dinner May Actually Save You Money This Year

By SheSpeaksTeam Nov 21, 2016

Thanksgiving may be a time to loosen your belt, but apparently this year may also allow for tightening your purse strings. New data is showing that the cost of turkey is actually down this year along with some of our other favorite staples from the annual feast.

CNBC reports about the general food deflation we will all enoy this year and which turkey day items we will save on. The best news for many of us will be the lowered cost of turkeys. Your average 16 pound bird that could feed anywhere from 10 to 16 people (depending on if you want leftovers) will cost you 1.3% less than it did last year, coming in at around $22.74.

The American Farm Bureau Federation's annual price survey of classic items found for the Thanksgiving feast reports a drop in a number of must have items. A veggie tray of celery and carrots, milk, and pumpkin pie mix can all be found at lower prices this year. The Farm Bureau reports, “The average cost of this year's feast for 10 is $49.87, a 24-cent decrease from last year's average of $50.11.”

So just how much will you pay for your Thanksgiving feast this year? The Farm Bureau’s director of market intelligence John Newton says, “Consumers will pay less than $5 per person for a classic Thanksgiving dinner this year. We have seen farm prices for many foods — including turkeys — fall from the higher levels of recent years.”

Of course, not all Thanksgiving food items are down this year. Fresh cranberries, bread rolls, cubed stuffing and pie shells have all seen an increase. The biggest increase this year will be seen when purchasing a dozen dinner rolls, which have gone up to $2.46 - a 9.3% increase from 2015.

Have you noticed these price drops while shopping for Thanksgiving dinner this year?

What are some of your must have Thanksgiving dishes?