Thanksgiving is just around the corner and many people are looking for ways to have a fabulous family meal without going broke.

During Thanksgiving hosts are usually busy cooking an extremely large meal, entertaining a large number of people, hosting people in their home, and then going out for Black Friday shopping.

Thanksgiving weekend is a veritable money leak extravaganza. If you are working hard to manage your money, spend time creating a plan that will keep you from going broke Thanksgiving weekend.

Here are six components of Thanksgiving weekend to consider changing to make it more enjoyable for the host and guests:

Transportation

Do you have guests who are coming in from out of town? Do you plan on picking them up or is there an inexpensive transportation option that will get them to you?

Also, once your guests are in town will you drive them around or are they self-sufficient enough to get around on their own? Will they bring a car or need tickets for public transportation?

Thanksgiving food

The food that you will serve is a big consideration. Surprisingly, not everyone serves turkey on Thanksgiving.  There are a ton of regional variations that may serve as an inspiration for your family’s meal that you may not have considered.

Go through your kitchen cabinets to see which meal components you already have on hand so you can avoid purchasing duplicate items. Then, pick up a couple a couple of items early and the fresh items at the beginning of Thanksgiving week.

The average cost of a Thanksgiving meal in 2014 was $49.41 according to Business Insider. Keep that in mind as you plan your festivities.

Food allergies

Ask about legitimate food allergies so that you can prepare dishes for people who deal with food related allergies.

These dishes take some time to plan if they aren’t a part of your normal rotation of meals. Pre-planning this part of your Thanksgiving meal will make things easier for you.

Number of guests

How many people you would like to have over? Will they bring a plus one?

And who is staying over? If people are staying over then you have to factor in breakfast, what should you feed your guests?

Black Friday

Do you participate in the shopping madness after this family holiday? That’s absolutely fine, but are you going in with a plan or do you have a list for your purchases?

Do you having a savings account for your purchases? Or, can you plan another activity that is fun but doesn’t cost money?

If you are in a warm weather state and live near a beach can you go to the beach for the day? Do you live near the mountains and can spend a day in the mountains? Are there free events being held around town? Or, is there a nice park nearby where you can play some corn hole and BBQ? Black Friday doesn’t have to be a day of shopping.

Use apps

Use apps to save money and time. Make sure to redeem what purchases you can using iBotta.  Share your affiliate links for AirBnB and Uber and first time users will be given a small credit toward their AirBnB accommodation or their first Uber ride.

Spend some time creating an action plan for Thanksgiving weekend and work that plan. Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be a budget killer even if you didn’t get a chance to plan until now. 

This post was written by Michelle Jackson, a personal finance and lifestyle blogger sharing her story at The Shop My Closet Project. Her goal is to help people cultivate their best life. When she’s not blogging or podcasting for Girl Gone Frugal you can find her riding her bike, going for coffee, or hiking in the mountains.

6 Ways to Have a Magical Thanksgiving for Less is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.