It used to be that I spent up to $600 a month to feed just my husband and me. Yeah, I’m embarrassed to say so, but ’tis true. I suppose I could justify the expense that we were a “double-income, no kids” household and that food was one of our hobbies. But, still. Knowing that I can feed eight people on that now is kind of humbling.
But, I’m reformed, I tell ya!
A little too much, some would say. Hehe. Since we love to eat around here, I’ve learned ways for us to eat well and still not spend an exorbitant amount of money on food. One of the ways that I do that is to bake from scratch. From birthday cakes to homemade pizza to corn tortillas to Gramma’s famous cookies, I do a lot of measuring, mixing, and stirring. And it’s totally worth it. It saves us money, but also allows us so sweet, yummy goodness, too.
I suppose one way to spend less would be to not eat baked goods. But, what fun is that?
In case you missed it, Good Cheap Eats is hosting a Build a Frugal Pantry series. This week is all about stocking and using flour as a way to save money on food costs. It may prove to be a great frugal way for you, too.
What do YOU do to save money?
Share the permalink to your favorite money saving idea in Mr. Linky below or leave a comment. In the interests of sharing solid frugal advice, please do not post giveaways, deal posts, or affiliate links. Tell us a money saving concept that helps you stay in the black. And please, link back to Lifeasmom.com so that your readers know where to find the party.
Encouraged by what you’ve read? Subscribe to LifeasMOM by email or in a reader and join me on the Road to Joyful Motherhood.
{ 9 trackbacks }
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
You are right! Baking it yourself is a huge money saver. We cut our grocery budget in half and the main reason was because I started making more things from scratch. I think it is worth the investment!
Toni
[Reply]
I’m all about baking from scratch. But you know that
Thanks for hosting!
~Liz
[Reply]
Baking is not something I am very experienced in, but I have found myself making the effort more. I enjoy the simple things, like fun muffins using up bits of fruits and nuts that are leftovers!
[Reply]
My family plants a garden each year to save money. Not only does it help our budget, but it provides a great opportunity for family time!
[Reply]
My daughter and I *love* to eat yogurt, and a friend recently directed me to a website for a recipe for homemade yogurt. It has saved us money ($0.53/qt. rather than $1.82/qt.) and it doesn’t take too much time. If you’re interested, you may go to http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com. My husband makes our bread, and I also bake and cook from scratch.
[Reply]
I have been a baker for as long as I can remember, but it has only been in the past few years that I have realized the savings in it!
[Reply]
Oh yes, we plant a garden and can our food, too.
[Reply]
We like to save money by making coffee shop grade drinks ourselves at home!
For some reason our link description posted wrong – it should read Frugal Drinks.
[Reply]
I buy so much flour and baking ingredients that I’ve often wondered if it’s all worth it budgetwise. But I love baking and feeding my family treats made from scratch and so does the family so that’s priceless
[Reply]
I’m all for baking from scratch! There are so many baking tools available that it gets easier all the time. I tend to bake for the week on Saturdays with my kids. They get to measure and taste, and I get some time with them. Thanks for all the great tips you share!
[Reply]
Homemade is so much better than store-bought anyway!
[Reply]
I love to bake from scratch too. I would love to know if anyone has trick for freezing bread before you bake it.
I love homemade bread and with the flour coupons I printed I’d like to stock the freezer with bread and rolls.
[Reply]
I love all the blog hops that you host! It’s such a fun way to meet new people.
[Reply]
For my hardworking hubbie and I, coffee is not really something we can do without. We love expensive coffee like Starbucks, but I recently discovered that if I mix half Foldgers in with the expensive stuff I can’t taste a difference. I was able to score some Foldger’s for 1.49 recently, so that is really helping us to stretch our splurge on the expensive stuff.
[Reply]
I had to let you know I tried your recipe for Grammas choclate chip cookies .They are great!The children loved them.I will keep making these.This recipe is a keeper.
[Reply]
I too have saved a lot of money by making everything I can think of from scratch. I make our bread, and yogurt, peanutbutter, and even ketchup & mayo.
I don’t have my own site so I am going to plug someone elses.
Jami at http://www.anoregoncottage.com/ as a section she calls “pantry basics” and has some great recipes for these kinds of things if you are interested.
[Reply]
So true. Plus, doesn’t everything really just taste better made from scratch? I feel really grateful to my mother-in-law who taught me to make whole wheat bread from scratch about 8 years ago and it’s delicious and my whole family loves it. I know when I get busy I just buy bread from the store and always regret it because not only does it not taste nearly as good but that’s $2-6 a week (depending on how much and what brand I buy) I could easily have saved making my own.
Plus, now that I’ve discovered how to turn my whole wheat bread into cinnamon swirl bread I don’t think my kids will LET me skip a week of making bread!
[Reply]
I love your FrugalFridays and hope to get some ideas so I can get better at “couponing” and save my budget…I am sure you fellow-moms have a lot to contribute! Thanks!
[Reply]
I’ve got cupcakes from scratch baking in the oven this very moment for a birthday party tomorrow. Cost me very little since all of the ingredients are stuff I had on hand so I didn’t have to buy anything special for the recipe.
[Reply]
2010 is the year that I decided to scale WAY back on the amount of processed foods we eat. I’ve been making more items from scratch and leaving a lot of stuff at the grocery store.
This morning, I made muffins from scratch, using a “mix” I found online. Tonight’s dinner: Belgian waffles from scratch! Can’t wait.
I can definitely feel the difference in my body (and the budget!)
[Reply]
I love this one – baking saves money, it’s better for us (no preservatives etc) & a great way to spend quality time with the kids too! I have 3 boys and they ALL love to bake (and play with the flour, cocao etc) I gave up the notion of a tidy kitchen many years ago, and when I did; baking with them became even more enjoyable! : )
[Reply]
Thank you for this! I just participated for the first time. I am going to be more conscious about money saving tips to share each Friday.
[Reply]
I love to bake from scratch too, but I have got to learn that cookies for breakfast is not the same as breakfast cookies!
[Reply]
Here are my cupcakes!
http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2010/03/chocolate-buttermilk-cupcakes-solar.html
[Reply]
Baking from scratch is definitely a money saver. And you know exactly what is going into the food…..no mystery ingredients with “un-pronouncable” names!
[Reply]
Chocolate chip cookies, yum! Whenever I can’t get treats cheap, I bake. Otherwise it’s Kelloggs or Kashi for us!
[Reply]
I’ve a new found respect for baking from scratch .. I try to do it more often nowadays ..
[Reply]
I make a homemade dinner every night and bake at least once a week it’s definitely a money saver. My teens and I like to bake together often and have since they were little. We do some kind of baking project at least twice a month and for holiday goodies.
[Reply]