During the holidays, many people shop for their dinners on a budget. When feeding extended family members, the money gets tight. Cutting coupons and buying generic brands are a couple of ways that people have been saving money, year round. I have a few more tips for those who are shopping on a budget this holiday season! First off, make a rough head count of the people you will be feeding, always count on a few more people then your original number, just in case. You always want to make sure you have more than enough food, people will love to take home leftovers! Next, you'll want to make a menu ahead of time, before going to the supermarket. This will help you only buy the things you need, not the things that look good while shopping. After you're done making your lists, you should take all of the ads from the supermarkets close to you and compare prices, also some stores might have special deals the week of the holiday with special coupons for free items in their store. The easiest way to save money during the holidays is to cut coupons on items that you need, you can find coupons in the Sunday newspaper or online. Make sure to check your store's coupon policy to see if they accept competitor coupons and/or double manufacturer's coupons, those stores seem to give the customer the best deals. Once you cut your coupons, select a date to go shopping, bring re-usable shopping bags, most stores give you a discount for using your own bags. Your list and your coupons should be organized so that when you pay you have everything you need quickly, because most likely the store will be busy. When you go to the store, make sure to check the discount rack in the bakery for bread, cakes and pies that are a day old. These items are still good to eat, but are discounted up to 75% off because most people want them freshly made, that day. If you are cooking for a lot