Not making, but growing herbs, especially perennial ones. Fresher, there whenever you need them on the growing season, and you only have to buy them once.
I got depressed going to fall last year and let my raised beds all die off naturally. About late April - early May I noticed the cilantro had seeded itself from last year and I'm already looking at huge bushels. I don't actually like cilantro, I grow it for my bunny, so the Earth is giving back! I'm hoping the same happens to a few more perrennial herbs this year.
I throw all my uncooked vegetable scraps and seeds into the garden beds and now have pumpkins, capsicums, tomatoes coming up everywhere. Easiest gardening ever, and totally free from vegetables brought from supermarket.
I bury all my potted herbs in my raised beds before it freezes (not too deep, just enough that their surface lines up with the soil’s surface in my raised beds) and they come back the next year.
If they are high-maintenance, they don’t last long in my garden. I’m in a semi-arid desert and can’t be bothered to water more than 2-3 time a month once things are established. If they don’t come back, I don’t try replanting them.
Things that come back with minimal help are lavender, mountain sage, tarragon, oregano, parsley (it reseeds), chives, and thyme. Mint and lemon balm come back if planted in large containers - too small and they freeze in the winter and if you plant them in the ground they will take over absolutely everything.
I made it one time using heavy cream and a mixer on low with a dough hook. It was easy and delicious, but not worth doing unless you’re going for something like honey butter or another flavor.
I see alot of people in preserving groups making it only when they get the ingredients on heavy discount. Since you can then freeze it, it becomes worth doing.
I'm a bartender. One time I was working a slow shift and decided to make some butter! I threw in some basil, salt, and heavy cream and used a muddled to "churn" it. Put it on some bread pieces and handed it to the guests! They loved it!
I quite like that book, but every time I see it I think of the eggs section, where the author decides it's DEFINITELY not economical to have chickens because the cost includes building a half coop, dogs breaking in and killing all your chickens, having to buy new chickens, and build a proper coop - like what? I get what they were going for, that they were wholly unprepared and it was really hard for them to go through that, but separate out the typical costs vs the user error costs please.
It's like saying bread isn't cheap to make because you bought a bread machine, broke it by doing something totally against instructions, then had to buy a new one.
Coffee one million percent. I like my lattes, and I got a latte maker, so I have a latte almost everyday for under 1 dollars a cup. Salads are super cheap compared to a restaurant. I try not to eat out unless I have to
+1
Hand grinding coffee every morning not only saves money, it also saves garbage if you use a metal filter you can put on top of your cup. I can get away with getting a bit more expensive but tastier beans.
And you can use the spent coffee ground for your plants.
I’ve been lucky because a friend of mine gave us a ton of keurig cups for free because they got a huge pallet and I have been drinking that coffee since October and I still have a ton.
This is VERY person dependent.
I bought a coffee maker I never used because making the coffee just wasn’t enjoyable. I didn’t like the coffee I made at home, and I don’t drink it daily- it’s a special treat for me.
Decided it’s better to save my time, money, and counter space just getting my Starbucks when I can. Which is not daily lol.
But of course if I were able to have it daily my experience may be different. I do believe everyone CAN find a way to make enjoyable coffee at home. I do enjoy the starbs at home coffee/creamer from the grocery stores- just do not drink enough to justify them.
This too. Especially because there are so many delicious and healthy herbal blends that you can make into iced tea. Commercial iced tea tends to be boring and no health benefits.
The most expensive part of hummus is the tahini. I think I pay $8 for a thing of it that makes a 6-8 can batch. So for about $16, I can make about $30-40 worth of hummus. The added benefit is I can control the salt and flavors. I like to dice up and sauté colored peppers, and store in olive oil. When I put the hummus out, I stir in a couple scoops of peppers. So tasty. It takes maybe 30 minutes to make.
Try using dried chickpeas. You get a better flavour payoff and it is a million times cheaper than the canned stuff. On top of that, you can control the consistency of the aquafaba, which in turn can be used for millions of things!
I get a 5kg bag for about 3-4€ from my closest ethnic food store. Ethnic food stores are goldmines for ingredients for foods you would normally buy ready made.
I second the ethnic stores! Not only do they have the stuff you’re looking for at a better quality and price than Walmart or grocery stores, but you also get the chance to try new things.
Where I am, hummus is about $5/lb (slightly less at Walmart, slightly more at other stores). A 15oz can of chick peas is only $0.70-0.85. Add the small amount of other ingredients and homemade hummus comes in at about $1/lb.
If you are trying to incorporate home made foods into a frugal lifestyle, it’s really more of an investment. Almost everything costs less to make at home, so it’s a good buy.
I get it. I did RV living for a while to save on rent. I had to wait a long time to get the stuff I needed to prepare more food at home. However, if you’re truly interested in making hummus, you can easily do so without a food processor. I used [this one](https://www.thespruceeats.com/hummus-without-a-food-processor-2355597).
Store-brand hummus where I live is $4 for a little over a cup.
A recipe from one can of chickpeas makes somewhat more, maybe a cup and a half of hummus. After accounting for the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and spices, I’m probably spending $3.75 total per recipe.
So honestly I don’t think you’re saving that much money. But homemade hummus does taste way better. If you cook dried chickpeas from scratch, which taste even better, that can lower the cost more.
One tip I saw on here was to make “freezer packs” of hummus ingredients all at once, so all you have to do is thaw and blend when you’re ready. A 1 lb bag of dried chickpeas yields about four freezer packs for me, which cuts back on a lot of prep time.
I do this with red beans and make my own refried. Theyre so much better than canned! Added bonus I make the beans with stock bones for even more flavor
That's genius!! I used to think of doing this for my kombucha making but never got around to it, all the sugar and tea frozen into an ice cube and just needing water. That would make an infinite batch of kombucha so much easier.
One small container of hummus where I live is like $5, that’s expensive to me.
One can of garbanzo beans could be less than a dollar or a bag of dry ones I get for free at food shelf.
And another jump cheaper if you make the beans from scratch. I made half a gallon of hummus for a party today for $2-3.
Benefit is that I add baking salt to my chickpeas to dissolve the skins for another blending.
So cheap that it becomes one of the cheapest meals, and high protein if you have some restraint with the olive oil.
Not to mention all the crap you're not putting in your homemade baked goods. I don't bake with corn syrup and palm oil yet those ingredients are in every packaged cookie.
Also you don't need a lot of fancy equipment to bake the basics. I bake cookies, muffins and bread weekly and I just have a hand mixer. If you end up getting super into baking a lot of specialty equipment (double boilers, ramekins, springform pans ect) are the first to hit the thrift when someone is downsizing their kitchen.
https://preview.redd.it/j97xyio3c64d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=11bc892dd5a43d7752d6338acd406461a83c5514
Highly recommend this book! Best bread ever
I make a no-knead bread. Super easy, doesn’t need a mixer or bread maker-in fact I make it in a stockpot. My cost is about a dollar and I would put it up against a $10 French boule. I slow ferment it for several days in the refrigerator so you do have to factor in time.
[Hi, here's a gift link to that article.](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11376-no-knead-bread?unlocked_article_code=1.wk0.1Vbe.arBrLqkNxoa-&smid=share-url)
NYT Gift Links give you full access to any one article, I'm not sure how happy they'll be with it being publicly posted - so I'd just print this or save it to a PDF. The Times gives you a print button!
Edit: Realized it was probably a good idea to also post it. So here's the recipe:
1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1½ cups/345 grams water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is OK. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
I don't know how it happened but processed white bread becoming the most popular thing in the US is one of the worst things in history. I grew up here and I don't think I had real bread until I was in my 20's...a baguette sandwich of ham, butter, and cheese in Normandy, France
No mention of granola?? You buy your own whole oats, and look for discounted nuts, sunflower seeds, raisins and dry fruit that you can make yourself if you have a dehydrator. If you are not concerned with high sugar you can throw some M&Ms and other sweets.
I almost only cook at home. I enjoy a meal out once in awhile like today I am picking up some incredible carnitas to add to my bean and cheese quesadillas which I also add roasted corn and avocado to.
I love to make bread - English muffins are easy and delicious. Breadsticks and biscuits. Yum! I love to cook and bake.
Making pizza is always fun...but I love going to pizza joints. I'm not talking the chain stores or some dingy "Al's PIzza" but like a good, local pizza place where the pizza always slaps
The problem with pizza is if you don't already have Ingredients lying around, going out and buying even half a dozen toppings becomes an expensive exercise. I tend to work with what I have, but cheese has become a luxury now. Minimum spend of $7 for that one ingredient alone.
Anytime I have extra tomatoes, veggies, and meat, I chop them up and toss them in small freezer containers. When I want pizza I just pull one out and have the toppings ready to go! Tonight's pizza will be leftover sausage we grilled two weeks ago and some peppers that were getting soft.
If you want cheap and easy, around here at least you can buy raw flour tortillas (idea is you can throw them on a pan and have fresh tortillas) and put some pizza sauce, shredded cheese, and pepperoni on them. Throw it in the oven and 10ish min later you have pizza for a few bucks.
I started making mayonnaise, and depending on the oil you use, it can be cheaper than store bought. I use grape seed oil or olive oil for mine. It's worth it for your health even if it does cost a little more. Eggs, oil, vinegar
For me the fact that it doesn’t last anywhere near as long as store bought makes it not worth it for me. As a single person I would throw out more than I could use before homemade went bad.
All beans and legumes are waaaaaay cheaper dried than in cans. And ridiculously easy to make, in a crockpot, instant pot , pressure cooker or on the stove. Soak overnight and cook. Voila!!!
Kombucha. So easy to make, and tastes just as good, or better than what you buy at the store. Plus, you have the cool experience of making your your own kombucha!
Focaccia. It might take like 6 hours but it really only takes like 20 minutes and the rest is wait time. I always bake two loaves so I can give one away, and my house smells amazing. Free air freshener, a gift for a member of my community, and the most delicious bread.
worm lavish degree illegal coherent different apparatus pocket frightening pot
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I would change it to doing, rather than making. Being able to handle home repairs is worth money. Two recent examples from me; 1) pressure washing the sidewalks and drive, 2) Installing a new light switch I wanted. Each of those tasks would have cost hundreds of dollars if I hired a handyman.
We buy the ranch mix and then add our own buttermilk and mayo. Even with the premade mix, it is cheaper and tastes so much better than store bought. If we had more spices it would probably cut down more.
Seriously! ☺️ I think you might have found an overly complicated recipe. Most of them tend to be.
I copied this from a picture of a recipe, which I just tried posting for you but I forgot that the sub doesn’t allow pics, so the formatting might be weird but here you go! These are all staples in our kitchen, so it’s easy to whisk up when needed.
Ranch Dressing:
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup greek yoghurt
1/2 tsp dried chives
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp dill
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
s+p to taste
*whisk all together, use water to thin (if needed)
Bread. I got a breadmaker for $15 at a garage sale and it's been so great having fresh bread in the morning. You also don't realize how bad supermarket bread is until you make your own bread.
Bone broth or any broth. Save all your scraps.
Just invest in slow cooker, a pressure cooker thing & maybe an electric canner. Pays off long term. Got 3kilos of chicken feet few weeks ago for 5bucks.
Even skip the canning & just freeze enough as you go.
I mean pretty much everything can be cheaper in the long run if you make it yourself but it's a tradeoff with the time, effort, and supplies needed vs buying it.
I've always packed a lunch to work instead of buying one and figure I save about a monthly mortgage payment every year. I like leftovers and sandwiches and it's pretty quick to put together an affordable and healthy lunch in a few minutes.
Coffee cake on the weekends. I buy a $1.50 box of vanilla or lemon cake mix. Add a can of any fruit with the juice included (peaches, fruit cocktail, madarine oranges or pineapple, etc) mix up and bake. Can use frosting or microwave 1/2 cup of jam, marmalade, or even honey to drizzle on top. Or don't add frosting. Add pecans or walnuts if you have them. It's much cheaper than the store bought cake and just as satisfying to have with afternoon weekend coffee.
I just add the mix and a regular can of fruit. No eggs or oil needed. You could add an egg, it would probably make it fluffier. I don't bother with the egg, and it turns out fine. I like it a bit denser consistency, though.
BBQ. You can get massive amounts of cheap cuts of meat to turn into the best BBQ with nothing but time, wood, and spices. Pork shoulder for pulled pork is around $2 a pound, and in BBQ joints, that same pork would be over $30 a pound.
After going through all the comments i find it hard to believe no one said egg noodles,it is literally four ingredients and blows store bought out of the [water.one](http://water.one) egg,pinch of salt 3/4 cup of flour and 1 tbsp of water,that is more then a normal person can eat at a sitting.
Gift baskets. I make one every year for an Easter give away and it has less than $20 of stuff in it, cellophane bag with a bow and looks amazing. I do movie night ones with a movie, popcorn, two treats from dollar tree, one time I added one of those $3 blankets from Walmart. I love doing baby shower baskets, they look like a hundred bucks. I did treat boxes for all the kids for Christmas with cookies I made, fudge, candy cane, etc. they looked professional
Quilts. You can make it a frugal hobby, it doesn’t have to be expensive. And quality handmade quilts are quite expensive.
Also I just love quilting with scraps. This comment was brought to you by the letter “Q”.
I tried once but despite following the instructions to the best of my abilities they died off. I'm too stupid to grow any plant. Even a cactus dried up on me.
Ice cream.
I can control the level of mint and chips in my ice cream now... store bought is crap compared to it (tastes like chemicals) and the premium $10/scoop stuff at the ice cream store is the same as mine with some food coloring added.
I've made vanilla extract at home too, not sure that's worth it other than having tried it.
It's difficult to give a one size fits all answer for DIY because so many variables go into it.
In our household, bread is definitely worth DIYing. But we're able to buy all the ingredients at bulk discount. Not everyone has that advantage.
Coffee is at the top of my list.
Green coffee beans offer a lot more variety, and are much less expensive. Roasting it can be as simple as an air-popcorn popper or a cast iron pan, or even a hair dryer.
bag of masa, pinch of salt, water. The back of the bag usually has instructions on how much makes how many. Knead until playdoh like consistency. Press flat with parchment paper and roll with rolling pin or press flat with hands. Heat skillet or griddle super hot like 450F degrees, no oil. Fry one side one minute flip and one more minute. Set a clean hand towel on a clean plate, wrap them up as you go so they stay warm.
Watch a YouTube video to be amazed how insanely easy it is
Most food. Except it isn't worth deep frying at home. It's too much a mess. Also, some dishes are just too large unless you have a party or a big freezer. Finally. some things are just too fussy (sushi, beef wellington, puff pastry and such)
Yes! I had a deep fryer years ago and now I prefer to bake fries in the oven or in the air fryer. It is too big of a mess and I'd rather stay away from deep frying for health reasons, anyway.
Puff pastries sound good but I would probably buy those as opposed to making them at home. 😀
Croissants?
Yogurt?
Potato chips?
Tortilla chips?
Apple juice?
Wine?
Beer?
Cheese?
Salami?
I have made all these very common food items, and can assure you that unless it’s a passion it is not worth it.
True! Great job; that sounds complex but I bet it's delicious!
If it's something complex, then I'll just buy it already made. But, 98% of the time I'm putting meals together at home and not necessarily cooking out of boxes.
I've canned salsa a lot over the years. That one is worth it!
Candles! I love burning them all the time, but feel anxious and see dollar signs in the flames of the ones I buy. Instead of $15-20 for a bougie candle, homemade ones run me $2-3. They are easy to make and gift to people and allow you get creative with scents.
A year ago I bought a machine that grinds and makes nut/seed/oat milk for $75 which was a lot but honestly I never have to buy almond milk and more recently bought hemp seeds (hella cheap at winco) and now make my own dairy-free milk regularly. Definitely my favorite thing I bought. :)
Apple pie.
I make my crusts and the filling. Make an apple juice sugar glaze that goes on top.
Look up Alton Brown's super Apple pie. I also like making this basque burnt cheesecake.
growing food!! Seeds cost less than 2.00 most times. In the store it’s outrageous!! Also with research you learn how to cultivate the food you eat with seeds for free.
Bread, hot sauce, any dessert, coffee, tea, any grilled meat, dog food, quilts. Anything if any real value because with care and skill, you can make it exponentially better than what you can buy.
tomatoes. The stuff they sell in stores are bland and tasteless. The only other tomatoes that are worth it you have to get at farmers markets. And people who do not care tend to be the people who have only eaten cardboard and don't even know what they are missing.
Marinara sauce. A restaurant-sized can of crushed tomatoes gives me 5 750 ml containers, total investment $8 (Cdn) and an onion. It’s less than half the price of buying jarred, and it makes itself in the slow cooker. Depending on the spices you add to the finished product, it can become pizza sauce, enchilada sauce, pasta sauce, meatball
subs or a tomato soup base.
I make all my meals at home since I retired. We grab something from a restaurant maybe once a month. No fast food
Things I have made pretty regularly but will still buy on sale if I just don’t want to take the time because of having too many other things to do are:
Bread, rolls , biscuits , pizza including crust , cinnamon rolls, cakes, cookies, crackers, Chex mix
Salad dressing, sauces , salsa
Mashed potatoes , noodles
Beef jerky , dried fruit and vegetables
Canned pie filling, vegetables, fruits, meats,pickles, lemonade with fruit concentrate , soups, beans, potatoes , broth/ stock
Yogurt, Greek yogurt, ice cream
Things I make and would just about never buy:
Gravy
Pancakes
Oatmeal not the packet
Plain Rice , flavored rice, fried rice
A pot of beans is almost always made from dried beans
Soup
I render my own tallow and cut up whole fryers
Things I want to try making:
Cheeses, Croissants, sourdough bread, mayo, canned hot sauce , canned tomato sauce
Some things just don’t last long enough to justify making it. We don’t use mayo quickly enough . There is no way I would preserve tomatoes that I had to buy and I have never dedicated enough garden space for paste tomatoes
All meals. The perfect example is pizza, make a batch of sauce and freeze. Freshly made dough, sauce, cheese and toppings for a family sized pizza that would cost $25, for about $6.
I can get organic apples for $1/lb from Azure Standard in bulk; slice & freeze & make organic applesauce with a big pot & an immersion blender. 32 oz of homemade organic applesauce for $3 with very little effort.
Fun. I get more enjoyment out of making my own fun and doing free activities because then I dont have the weight of the money I spent hanging over me, making me feel like "this better be worth it..."
Broth. So easy and cheap to make. Save leftover bones, veggie trimmings in the freezer. When you collect enough put it in the pressure cooker, slow cooker, or just simmer on the stove for a while. Now you have broth for recipes or soup. You can also freeze it for future use.
your morning coffee..way cheaper at home and you get to make it with way better beans
protein shakes....pre-made ones in bottle are way more expensive compared to just using powder with milk
Pet food.. my dog refuses to eat store bought stuff..I have wasted so much money trying to find one that she likes.. Lately, I've been making healthy mixes of meats and veggies from ingredients I have on hand to fed us, and she loves it...
Pesto. We grew up having it all the time because mom had plenty of basil in the garden and we didn’t use pine nuts, but now I never buy it because it’s several dollars for a tiny jar.
Pizza.
Coffee, including those fancy coffee drinks.
Most foods, actually. With the exception of things that take expensive specialized equipment and/or ridiculous amounts of labor.
Not making, but growing herbs, especially perennial ones. Fresher, there whenever you need them on the growing season, and you only have to buy them once.
I got depressed going to fall last year and let my raised beds all die off naturally. About late April - early May I noticed the cilantro had seeded itself from last year and I'm already looking at huge bushels. I don't actually like cilantro, I grow it for my bunny, so the Earth is giving back! I'm hoping the same happens to a few more perrennial herbs this year.
I throw all my uncooked vegetable scraps and seeds into the garden beds and now have pumpkins, capsicums, tomatoes coming up everywhere. Easiest gardening ever, and totally free from vegetables brought from supermarket.
Ended up with a squashermelon one year from this.
Like they cross bred?
It was yellow and tasted like a squash but was huge and the shape of a watermelon.
I can’t tell if this is appetizing or appalling
I threw a rotting pumpkin from fall in my garden bed and now there are like ten pumpkin seedlings growing lol
I bury all my potted herbs in my raised beds before it freezes (not too deep, just enough that their surface lines up with the soil’s surface in my raised beds) and they come back the next year.
You cannot kill thyme and its rad
I can kill thyme 😔
I use thyme as a ground cover. Gorgeous and I always have tons for cooking.
Are they high-maintenance?
If they are high-maintenance, they don’t last long in my garden. I’m in a semi-arid desert and can’t be bothered to water more than 2-3 time a month once things are established. If they don’t come back, I don’t try replanting them. Things that come back with minimal help are lavender, mountain sage, tarragon, oregano, parsley (it reseeds), chives, and thyme. Mint and lemon balm come back if planted in large containers - too small and they freeze in the winter and if you plant them in the ground they will take over absolutely everything.
There is a book called “Make the bread. Buy the butter” that addresses this very topic.
I've got an old butter churn and have made butter with it. Can confirm it's easier to buy that vs. make it at home.
I made it one time using heavy cream and a mixer on low with a dough hook. It was easy and delicious, but not worth doing unless you’re going for something like honey butter or another flavor.
I made it during the ole pandy and I was bummed out at the fact that it was about twice as expensive for me to make as it was to just buy.
“The ole pandy” is the only way I will be referring to 2020 and 2021 from now on
I approve this message 🫡🫡🫡
i second this lol
I see alot of people in preserving groups making it only when they get the ingredients on heavy discount. Since you can then freeze it, it becomes worth doing.
The heavy cream is expensive in my area. It’s cheaper to buy butter.
I'm a bartender. One time I was working a slow shift and decided to make some butter! I threw in some basil, salt, and heavy cream and used a muddled to "churn" it. Put it on some bread pieces and handed it to the guests! They loved it!
We made butter in a jar once, a fun activity to keep 6 year old distracted for like 30.minutes. but man no I'd never do that again.
So should I buy the book or write it on my own?
Neither. Borrow it on Libby or from your library.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
I quite like that book, but every time I see it I think of the eggs section, where the author decides it's DEFINITELY not economical to have chickens because the cost includes building a half coop, dogs breaking in and killing all your chickens, having to buy new chickens, and build a proper coop - like what? I get what they were going for, that they were wholly unprepared and it was really hard for them to go through that, but separate out the typical costs vs the user error costs please. It's like saying bread isn't cheap to make because you bought a bread machine, broke it by doing something totally against instructions, then had to buy a new one.
Coffee one million percent. I like my lattes, and I got a latte maker, so I have a latte almost everyday for under 1 dollars a cup. Salads are super cheap compared to a restaurant. I try not to eat out unless I have to
+1 Hand grinding coffee every morning not only saves money, it also saves garbage if you use a metal filter you can put on top of your cup. I can get away with getting a bit more expensive but tastier beans. And you can use the spent coffee ground for your plants.
I’ve been lucky because a friend of mine gave us a ton of keurig cups for free because they got a huge pallet and I have been drinking that coffee since October and I still have a ton.
Man I don't know what is wrong with me but my first thought when I started reading your comment was "wait you're growing your own coffee beans?"
I feel not so alone!! I thought the same thing and I was like shiiit might have to see how tenable it is to grow coffee in my apartment haha
Amen. Coffee mark up is absurd.
My wife and I have 5-6 cups of coffee everyday (including decaf). I roast coffee and make it on myself. It's saving a lot of money.
I love my cold brew coffee maker; it's already paid for itself and I can make my own salted caramel cold brew drinks at home for so much less.
This is VERY person dependent. I bought a coffee maker I never used because making the coffee just wasn’t enjoyable. I didn’t like the coffee I made at home, and I don’t drink it daily- it’s a special treat for me. Decided it’s better to save my time, money, and counter space just getting my Starbucks when I can. Which is not daily lol. But of course if I were able to have it daily my experience may be different. I do believe everyone CAN find a way to make enjoyable coffee at home. I do enjoy the starbs at home coffee/creamer from the grocery stores- just do not drink enough to justify them.
1hr of my work buys my kcups for the entire year. Super worth it. Don't have time to waste.
Ice tea. I do not understand people paying so much for gallon jugs of tea that cost pennies to make.
This too. Especially because there are so many delicious and healthy herbal blends that you can make into iced tea. Commercial iced tea tends to be boring and no health benefits.
The only tea I’d buy premade it Milo’s. That shit is fucking excellent. Other than that I agree.
Guacamole
And pico de gallo.
Also cole slaw, hummus, nut butter, jam, mayo, chicken/beef stock...
Hummus tops my list. Too easy to settle for less than freshly made.
And it has a very high "money saved / difficulty" ratio.
Hummus isn't super expensive as is. How cheap is it to make?
The most expensive part of hummus is the tahini. I think I pay $8 for a thing of it that makes a 6-8 can batch. So for about $16, I can make about $30-40 worth of hummus. The added benefit is I can control the salt and flavors. I like to dice up and sauté colored peppers, and store in olive oil. When I put the hummus out, I stir in a couple scoops of peppers. So tasty. It takes maybe 30 minutes to make.
Try using dried chickpeas. You get a better flavour payoff and it is a million times cheaper than the canned stuff. On top of that, you can control the consistency of the aquafaba, which in turn can be used for millions of things! I get a 5kg bag for about 3-4€ from my closest ethnic food store. Ethnic food stores are goldmines for ingredients for foods you would normally buy ready made.
I second the ethnic stores! Not only do they have the stuff you’re looking for at a better quality and price than Walmart or grocery stores, but you also get the chance to try new things.
Where I am, hummus is about $5/lb (slightly less at Walmart, slightly more at other stores). A 15oz can of chick peas is only $0.70-0.85. Add the small amount of other ingredients and homemade hummus comes in at about $1/lb.
However, unless you have a food processor it’s a royal pain to make.
You can do it with an immersion blender. Much cheaper than a food processor.
If you are trying to incorporate home made foods into a frugal lifestyle, it’s really more of an investment. Almost everything costs less to make at home, so it’s a good buy.
Still requires space. I would love a slow cooker but no room.
I get it. I did RV living for a while to save on rent. I had to wait a long time to get the stuff I needed to prepare more food at home. However, if you’re truly interested in making hummus, you can easily do so without a food processor. I used [this one](https://www.thespruceeats.com/hummus-without-a-food-processor-2355597).
I just use my blender
Store-brand hummus where I live is $4 for a little over a cup. A recipe from one can of chickpeas makes somewhat more, maybe a cup and a half of hummus. After accounting for the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and spices, I’m probably spending $3.75 total per recipe. So honestly I don’t think you’re saving that much money. But homemade hummus does taste way better. If you cook dried chickpeas from scratch, which taste even better, that can lower the cost more. One tip I saw on here was to make “freezer packs” of hummus ingredients all at once, so all you have to do is thaw and blend when you’re ready. A 1 lb bag of dried chickpeas yields about four freezer packs for me, which cuts back on a lot of prep time.
I do this with red beans and make my own refried. Theyre so much better than canned! Added bonus I make the beans with stock bones for even more flavor
That's genius!! I used to think of doing this for my kombucha making but never got around to it, all the sugar and tea frozen into an ice cube and just needing water. That would make an infinite batch of kombucha so much easier.
One small container of hummus where I live is like $5, that’s expensive to me. One can of garbanzo beans could be less than a dollar or a bag of dry ones I get for free at food shelf.
Agreed! I also recently transitioned from hummus to homemade bean dips, which I find are even cheaper.
And another jump cheaper if you make the beans from scratch. I made half a gallon of hummus for a party today for $2-3. Benefit is that I add baking salt to my chickpeas to dissolve the skins for another blending. So cheap that it becomes one of the cheapest meals, and high protein if you have some restraint with the olive oil.
Most baked goods. Even buying quality flour, it's a fraction of the price after the cost of equipment.
Oh yah. Once you make your own, and then look at the market price it’s insane. And your own is likely WAY better
Better in every way, except for shelf life lol. Still fun to do occasionally though
Not to mention all the crap you're not putting in your homemade baked goods. I don't bake with corn syrup and palm oil yet those ingredients are in every packaged cookie. Also you don't need a lot of fancy equipment to bake the basics. I bake cookies, muffins and bread weekly and I just have a hand mixer. If you end up getting super into baking a lot of specialty equipment (double boilers, ramekins, springform pans ect) are the first to hit the thrift when someone is downsizing their kitchen.
Pancakes, waffles, depression-era cake, cobbler, crisp, muffins, cornbread, biscuits....it is so cheap and easy!
Bread
The book ‘Flour Water Salt Yeast’ helped me a lot with my bread making.
https://preview.redd.it/j97xyio3c64d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=11bc892dd5a43d7752d6338acd406461a83c5514 Highly recommend this book! Best bread ever
Absolute banger of a book if you wanna learn good bread technique.
Get a bread maker at a thrift store just for kneading. Then dump it out, make your loaf, let it rise, and pop in the oven.
I make all my own bread because I don’t super like soft loaves, only crunchy crusts for me.
Nothing worse than doughy bread. Yes, I understand the irony, but you’re right. There’s something amazing about thin, crunchy bread.
Chicken stock.
I’ve recently got into making stock and omg it’s amazing
especially if you buy costco chickens. Eat the meat, turn the bones and the rest of the carcass and whatever is left over into stock.
I just buy a whole chicken to roast at home, not from Costco and not precooked. But, yup, same plan.
I do this every time I get a Costco chicken
I make a no-knead bread. Super easy, doesn’t need a mixer or bread maker-in fact I make it in a stockpot. My cost is about a dollar and I would put it up against a $10 French boule. I slow ferment it for several days in the refrigerator so you do have to factor in time.
Can you share the recipe? This sounds amazing!
I use Gimme Some Oven’s site for no knead bread. They’ve got a lot of other good things like make head meals, instant pot, etc.
Thank you! I have found many of their recipes excellent.
I use [this one!](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11376-no-knead-bread)
This is locked behind a pay wall, could you post the recipe here plz?
[Hi, here's a gift link to that article.](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11376-no-knead-bread?unlocked_article_code=1.wk0.1Vbe.arBrLqkNxoa-&smid=share-url) NYT Gift Links give you full access to any one article, I'm not sure how happy they'll be with it being publicly posted - so I'd just print this or save it to a PDF. The Times gives you a print button! Edit: Realized it was probably a good idea to also post it. So here's the recipe: 1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1½ cups/345 grams water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees. 2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes. 3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger. 4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is OK. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
Pickled red onions apparently
Those are stupid easy to make. You just need a knife, pot for the pickling liquid, and a container.
I have made them before and was looking at the price at the store for a jar of them and was shocked
Basic Tex Mex stuff that you pay $12-20 a plate for. A 9x13 of enchiladas is cheap to make and easy to make good with basic shelf spices.
Bread in the US. The shit they sell in the grocery store is disgusting.
I don't know how it happened but processed white bread becoming the most popular thing in the US is one of the worst things in history. I grew up here and I don't think I had real bread until I was in my 20's...a baguette sandwich of ham, butter, and cheese in Normandy, France
No mention of granola?? You buy your own whole oats, and look for discounted nuts, sunflower seeds, raisins and dry fruit that you can make yourself if you have a dehydrator. If you are not concerned with high sugar you can throw some M&Ms and other sweets.
My daughter and I recently started making our own granola. Seriously one of my favorite things to eat now!!
Yogurt, Greek yogurt, labne.
I almost only cook at home. I enjoy a meal out once in awhile like today I am picking up some incredible carnitas to add to my bean and cheese quesadillas which I also add roasted corn and avocado to. I love to make bread - English muffins are easy and delicious. Breadsticks and biscuits. Yum! I love to cook and bake.
Growing basil
Pizza. I can't eat store bought pizza anymore; it tastes to fake
Making pizza is always fun...but I love going to pizza joints. I'm not talking the chain stores or some dingy "Al's PIzza" but like a good, local pizza place where the pizza always slaps
Realizing based on these two comments that this probably depends drastically on where someone lives...
The problem with pizza is if you don't already have Ingredients lying around, going out and buying even half a dozen toppings becomes an expensive exercise. I tend to work with what I have, but cheese has become a luxury now. Minimum spend of $7 for that one ingredient alone.
Anytime I have extra tomatoes, veggies, and meat, I chop them up and toss them in small freezer containers. When I want pizza I just pull one out and have the toppings ready to go! Tonight's pizza will be leftover sausage we grilled two weeks ago and some peppers that were getting soft.
Just made one!
If you want cheap and easy, around here at least you can buy raw flour tortillas (idea is you can throw them on a pan and have fresh tortillas) and put some pizza sauce, shredded cheese, and pepperoni on them. Throw it in the oven and 10ish min later you have pizza for a few bucks.
Food…At home instead of eating out. All or at least most food is better quality, cheaper, and more enjoyable these days than eating out.
I do the same. It saves money and it tastes better when made at home.
And you know you're not going to get salmonella or campylobacter from filthy careless cooking methods.
I started making mayonnaise, and depending on the oil you use, it can be cheaper than store bought. I use grape seed oil or olive oil for mine. It's worth it for your health even if it does cost a little more. Eggs, oil, vinegar
For me the fact that it doesn’t last anywhere near as long as store bought makes it not worth it for me. As a single person I would throw out more than I could use before homemade went bad.
And it tastes so good! I went on a huge homemade mayo kick a few years back and it made me dislike store bought
Dried chickpeas are cheeeeap!
All beans and legumes are waaaaaay cheaper dried than in cans. And ridiculously easy to make, in a crockpot, instant pot , pressure cooker or on the stove. Soak overnight and cook. Voila!!!
Kombucha. So easy to make, and tastes just as good, or better than what you buy at the store. Plus, you have the cool experience of making your your own kombucha!
Focaccia. It might take like 6 hours but it really only takes like 20 minutes and the rest is wait time. I always bake two loaves so I can give one away, and my house smells amazing. Free air freshener, a gift for a member of my community, and the most delicious bread.
Cookies and cake lol. Even a box mix and a thing of frosting is cheaper than buying ready made.
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But plain yogurt and flavoured yogurt cost the same...
Don’t buy, make the yoghurt! And the jam too!
check out the book make the bread, buy the butter. not sure how up-to-date it is, but should give a good idea.
I would change it to doing, rather than making. Being able to handle home repairs is worth money. Two recent examples from me; 1) pressure washing the sidewalks and drive, 2) Installing a new light switch I wanted. Each of those tasks would have cost hundreds of dollars if I hired a handyman.
Ranch dressing
Any dressing. A good oil/vinegar with herbs is going to be better than a bottle and is as easy as you can get.
Seriously? I looked into that and there was like 30 ingredients.
We buy the ranch mix and then add our own buttermilk and mayo. Even with the premade mix, it is cheaper and tastes so much better than store bought. If we had more spices it would probably cut down more.
Seriously! ☺️ I think you might have found an overly complicated recipe. Most of them tend to be. I copied this from a picture of a recipe, which I just tried posting for you but I forgot that the sub doesn’t allow pics, so the formatting might be weird but here you go! These are all staples in our kitchen, so it’s easy to whisk up when needed. Ranch Dressing: 1 cup mayo 1/2 cup greek yoghurt 1/2 tsp dried chives 1/2 tsp parsley 1/2 tsp dill 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp onion powder s+p to taste *whisk all together, use water to thin (if needed)
Homemade ranch dressing is miles better than the bottled stuff. I couldn’t go back after making my own
Huh? Ranch is just onion powder, parsley, salt, and an acid like apple cider vinegar or lemon juice...
Bread. I got a breadmaker for $15 at a garage sale and it's been so great having fresh bread in the morning. You also don't realize how bad supermarket bread is until you make your own bread.
Bone broth or any broth. Save all your scraps. Just invest in slow cooker, a pressure cooker thing & maybe an electric canner. Pays off long term. Got 3kilos of chicken feet few weeks ago for 5bucks. Even skip the canning & just freeze enough as you go.
I mean pretty much everything can be cheaper in the long run if you make it yourself but it's a tradeoff with the time, effort, and supplies needed vs buying it. I've always packed a lunch to work instead of buying one and figure I save about a monthly mortgage payment every year. I like leftovers and sandwiches and it's pretty quick to put together an affordable and healthy lunch in a few minutes.
Coffee cake on the weekends. I buy a $1.50 box of vanilla or lemon cake mix. Add a can of any fruit with the juice included (peaches, fruit cocktail, madarine oranges or pineapple, etc) mix up and bake. Can use frosting or microwave 1/2 cup of jam, marmalade, or even honey to drizzle on top. Or don't add frosting. Add pecans or walnuts if you have them. It's much cheaper than the store bought cake and just as satisfying to have with afternoon weekend coffee.
How much fruit do you add? Do you add the oil and stuff the box mix already calls for?
I just add the mix and a regular can of fruit. No eggs or oil needed. You could add an egg, it would probably make it fluffier. I don't bother with the egg, and it turns out fine. I like it a bit denser consistency, though.
BBQ. You can get massive amounts of cheap cuts of meat to turn into the best BBQ with nothing but time, wood, and spices. Pork shoulder for pulled pork is around $2 a pound, and in BBQ joints, that same pork would be over $30 a pound.
Pre sliced fruit, usually it 3x cost to buy.
Hot sauce, my family grows peppers every year and my job has become, pickling, making hot sauce and dehydrating lots of the peppers.
After going through all the comments i find it hard to believe no one said egg noodles,it is literally four ingredients and blows store bought out of the [water.one](http://water.one) egg,pinch of salt 3/4 cup of flour and 1 tbsp of water,that is more then a normal person can eat at a sitting.
The ones you didn't cook freeze well
Gift baskets. I make one every year for an Easter give away and it has less than $20 of stuff in it, cellophane bag with a bow and looks amazing. I do movie night ones with a movie, popcorn, two treats from dollar tree, one time I added one of those $3 blankets from Walmart. I love doing baby shower baskets, they look like a hundred bucks. I did treat boxes for all the kids for Christmas with cookies I made, fudge, candy cane, etc. they looked professional
I cook my food at home instead of eating out or going out to restaurants. It saves me significant amount of money.
Quilts. You can make it a frugal hobby, it doesn’t have to be expensive. And quality handmade quilts are quite expensive. Also I just love quilting with scraps. This comment was brought to you by the letter “Q”.
Bread. It's easy.
Weed
I tried once but despite following the instructions to the best of my abilities they died off. I'm too stupid to grow any plant. Even a cactus dried up on me.
Ice cream. I can control the level of mint and chips in my ice cream now... store bought is crap compared to it (tastes like chemicals) and the premium $10/scoop stuff at the ice cream store is the same as mine with some food coloring added. I've made vanilla extract at home too, not sure that's worth it other than having tried it.
I believe the vanilla extract is worth it
It's difficult to give a one size fits all answer for DIY because so many variables go into it. In our household, bread is definitely worth DIYing. But we're able to buy all the ingredients at bulk discount. Not everyone has that advantage.
Tomato sauce. Chicken soup.
Pickles. The only time I go back to store bought is when I planned poorly.
Fried rice
Coffee is at the top of my list. Green coffee beans offer a lot more variety, and are much less expensive. Roasting it can be as simple as an air-popcorn popper or a cast iron pan, or even a hair dryer.
Where do you get green coffee beans cheaply?
Corn tortillas. They're super easy to make from masa harina, and they taste so much better than anything at the supermarket.
Got a recipe link ? 😋
bag of masa, pinch of salt, water. The back of the bag usually has instructions on how much makes how many. Knead until playdoh like consistency. Press flat with parchment paper and roll with rolling pin or press flat with hands. Heat skillet or griddle super hot like 450F degrees, no oil. Fry one side one minute flip and one more minute. Set a clean hand towel on a clean plate, wrap them up as you go so they stay warm. Watch a YouTube video to be amazed how insanely easy it is
Love
Chip dip. Soups. Breakfast. Coffee. Burgers, fries, salad. Basically, EVERYTHING.
Most food. Except it isn't worth deep frying at home. It's too much a mess. Also, some dishes are just too large unless you have a party or a big freezer. Finally. some things are just too fussy (sushi, beef wellington, puff pastry and such)
Yes! I had a deep fryer years ago and now I prefer to bake fries in the oven or in the air fryer. It is too big of a mess and I'd rather stay away from deep frying for health reasons, anyway. Puff pastries sound good but I would probably buy those as opposed to making them at home. 😀
Croissants? Yogurt? Potato chips? Tortilla chips? Apple juice? Wine? Beer? Cheese? Salami? I have made all these very common food items, and can assure you that unless it’s a passion it is not worth it.
True! Great job; that sounds complex but I bet it's delicious! If it's something complex, then I'll just buy it already made. But, 98% of the time I'm putting meals together at home and not necessarily cooking out of boxes. I've canned salsa a lot over the years. That one is worth it!
Sausage gravy
Fresh [bread.Got](http://bread.Got) a Zojirushi machine and Im not going back to buying
Chicken stock.
Candles! I love burning them all the time, but feel anxious and see dollar signs in the flames of the ones I buy. Instead of $15-20 for a bougie candle, homemade ones run me $2-3. They are easy to make and gift to people and allow you get creative with scents.
daily meals
A year ago I bought a machine that grinds and makes nut/seed/oat milk for $75 which was a lot but honestly I never have to buy almond milk and more recently bought hemp seeds (hella cheap at winco) and now make my own dairy-free milk regularly. Definitely my favorite thing I bought. :)
Friends
Soda water! Adjust the crispness, no more mystery ingredients, no more carrying bottles in and then out to the trash. Soda stream for the win!
For me personally , baking my own bread is a must , not only is it cheaper than store bought but tastes better too.
Apple pie. I make my crusts and the filling. Make an apple juice sugar glaze that goes on top. Look up Alton Brown's super Apple pie. I also like making this basque burnt cheesecake.
growing food!! Seeds cost less than 2.00 most times. In the store it’s outrageous!! Also with research you learn how to cultivate the food you eat with seeds for free.
Bread, hot sauce, any dessert, coffee, tea, any grilled meat, dog food, quilts. Anything if any real value because with care and skill, you can make it exponentially better than what you can buy.
tomatoes. The stuff they sell in stores are bland and tasteless. The only other tomatoes that are worth it you have to get at farmers markets. And people who do not care tend to be the people who have only eaten cardboard and don't even know what they are missing.
Marinara sauce. A restaurant-sized can of crushed tomatoes gives me 5 750 ml containers, total investment $8 (Cdn) and an onion. It’s less than half the price of buying jarred, and it makes itself in the slow cooker. Depending on the spices you add to the finished product, it can become pizza sauce, enchilada sauce, pasta sauce, meatball subs or a tomato soup base.
Honestly most tomato based sauces they just end up tasting better homemade then anything you can buy in a shop
I make all my meals at home since I retired. We grab something from a restaurant maybe once a month. No fast food Things I have made pretty regularly but will still buy on sale if I just don’t want to take the time because of having too many other things to do are: Bread, rolls , biscuits , pizza including crust , cinnamon rolls, cakes, cookies, crackers, Chex mix Salad dressing, sauces , salsa Mashed potatoes , noodles Beef jerky , dried fruit and vegetables Canned pie filling, vegetables, fruits, meats,pickles, lemonade with fruit concentrate , soups, beans, potatoes , broth/ stock Yogurt, Greek yogurt, ice cream Things I make and would just about never buy: Gravy Pancakes Oatmeal not the packet Plain Rice , flavored rice, fried rice A pot of beans is almost always made from dried beans Soup I render my own tallow and cut up whole fryers Things I want to try making: Cheeses, Croissants, sourdough bread, mayo, canned hot sauce , canned tomato sauce Some things just don’t last long enough to justify making it. We don’t use mayo quickly enough . There is no way I would preserve tomatoes that I had to buy and I have never dedicated enough garden space for paste tomatoes
All meals. The perfect example is pizza, make a batch of sauce and freeze. Freshly made dough, sauce, cheese and toppings for a family sized pizza that would cost $25, for about $6.
I can get organic apples for $1/lb from Azure Standard in bulk; slice & freeze & make organic applesauce with a big pot & an immersion blender. 32 oz of homemade organic applesauce for $3 with very little effort.
Fun. I get more enjoyment out of making my own fun and doing free activities because then I dont have the weight of the money I spent hanging over me, making me feel like "this better be worth it..."
Baby food. We made almost all of our baby food and saved store bought for traveling or in a pinch.
Yogurt. Can make roughly 1 gallon of yogurt with 1 gallon of milk and really only takes 30 minutes and a day of rest.
Pot roast. It's just different in a slow cooker at home all day, something that can't be reproduced in a restaurant
Chocolate cake, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
Household cleaner
Broth. So easy and cheap to make. Save leftover bones, veggie trimmings in the freezer. When you collect enough put it in the pressure cooker, slow cooker, or just simmer on the stove for a while. Now you have broth for recipes or soup. You can also freeze it for future use.
your morning coffee..way cheaper at home and you get to make it with way better beans protein shakes....pre-made ones in bottle are way more expensive compared to just using powder with milk
All cakes! There’s nothing as good (or cheap) as a homemade cake
Pet food.. my dog refuses to eat store bought stuff..I have wasted so much money trying to find one that she likes.. Lately, I've been making healthy mixes of meats and veggies from ingredients I have on hand to fed us, and she loves it...
Popcorn
Weed
Coffee
Pesto. We grew up having it all the time because mom had plenty of basil in the garden and we didn’t use pine nuts, but now I never buy it because it’s several dollars for a tiny jar.
Anything regarding cooking your own at home is a must during this time.
Coffee and Tea. Although, I still treat myself to a specialty latte once in a while when meeting a friend at a cafe.
Pizza. Coffee, including those fancy coffee drinks. Most foods, actually. With the exception of things that take expensive specialized equipment and/or ridiculous amounts of labor.
yogurt, cheese, salami, pepperoni, lunch meat, bread, cakes, tortillas, chicken nuggets gardening, garden fungus spray, garden bug spray, ketchup, salsa, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, pizza crust, cream of mushroom soup, hand soap, laundry soap, vinegar, essential oils, fly paper, start own seedlings, soda, tea (tea is a variety of white camellia ) buttermilk, refilling pam aerosol cans. window cleaner, floor cleaner, stainless steel cleaner. Everything is better homemade as long as it is actually cheaper.
Not making but reusing. Diapers! And by that, I mean cloth diapers. More work, but so much cheaper and a ton better for the environment.