Convenience seems to be the name of the game lately. Buy it and pay more to save time. But many things we buy to save time don't take that much time at all and can save us some big money in the long run. We sat down and looked at things we ate or used on a regular basis to see where would save some money. We started making the following 7 things at home like homemade french fries. It doesn't take much more time than normal to cook, and our version taste better are healthier, cost less or clean better!
So here is our list and how we did it!
7 Things We Stopped Buying & Started Making Homemade to Save Money
Update: We have recently also shared 60 Things to Make Instead of Buying.
So the first 2 items we started making are non-food items. We started making some of our own cleaners when my son had a BAD reaction to we believe our new laundry soap.
First we started making our own homemade Laundry Soap. I made a post a few weeks back with the recipe we use. I had been meaning to try making my own soap since I saw the idea on the Duggars show (yes THAT long ago!) but hadn't done it until my son broke out in hives when we switch laundry soaps.
The second item we started making our DIY window cleaner. This formula cleans better than Windex has for me in the past! It's great for mirrors too as well as Car windows which seem to get the dirtiest for me!
The next 5 items are food items that have saved us about $40 or more a month on our grocery bills.
The first thing we started making on our own was Jams. Grape jelly is the cheapest and we really aren't grape jelly people (unless I'm preggo and craving peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches). We like strawberry jam or apple pie jams. The first jam I ever made was strawberry freezer jam. I then branched out to the freezer blueberry Jam and then canning jams! I like to get the fruit for these jams when they are in season so I can get the fruit at it's cheapest! (PS I love these jar for canning my jams!)
Once I got the hang of canning we got my mom's family pasta sauce recipe and started making it and canning it. We use this sauce on pasta, on pizza, on sandwiches, lasagna and more. It also makes a great dipping sauce. We make 13 LARGE jars at a time with makes 26 meals for us. The pasta sauce cooks all day, takes just a few minutes to toss together it cooks all day and for dinner we will have easy spaghetti with fresh sauce then it takes us an hour to can and process the jars and we are done for 3-4 months!
Next we started making handmade pizza crust. I bought a pound of Yeast for under $10 and since we buy flour and sugar and all in bulk to make other items we have it on hand so we had what we needed. Even the crust packs you buy at the store have to rise so it isn't costing you any any more time.
Next we tackled homemade garlic bread. We were paying $3 or more for a pack of garlic bread that feed us for one meal! we take a loaf of white bread we can get for under $1 and melt a stick of butter which on sale will cost us about 25¢ or less and add in some garlic salt and for around $1.25 we have homemade garlic bread and more of it then you buy in a box!
Most recently we started making homemade french fries. We bought a potato cutter and have been cutting our own fries now. We can 10lb of potatoes for between $3 -$4. We can get around 10 meals out of it. I love that with homemade french fries we can season fries any way we want, or we can dice potatoes and dow breakfast potatoes. I do still buy tater tots because I haven't mastered those yet!
So what do you make to save money?
i grew up in a hispanic household so you can imagine the amount of beans and rice i ate over my lifetime but it wasn’t until i moved out and had to do my own shopping and cooking that i realized how much they saved the family in $$. first off a can of beans is anywhere from $.75 to $1.25 that is dang high when you can get dry uncooked beans for a fraction of that.
find a simple recipe and use that slow cooker and then pack and freeze your little heart out and never buy canned again. now the rice, even minute rice is affordable but regular long grain uncooked rice is a fraction of the price and really doesnt take any time to cook on a regular basis. plus it is so versatile to cook with. now i try to incorporate those two staples into my menue at least 3 times a week in creative ways to keep my $$ spending down. 🙂
Try making garlic toast with hotdog or hamburger buns, it is off the chain good!
I make our own bread for less than $.50 a loaf. It tastes so much better! I’ve also started making my own yogurt in my slow cooker. Easy, delicious and a quarter of the price of store bought – with less artificial ingredients!
love croutons on our salads but they are pricey for what you get. I just buy a loaf of firm bread. (Bread smiths French is my fav) cut into cubes…..sprinkle with a little olive oil and what ever seasoning I am In the mood for ( garlic powder) stir well
Bake in the oven 350 for 45 minutes stirring ever fifteen minutes or until crunchy.
I cut the crusts off my daughters sandwiches and then use them to make plain croutons. I store them in an air tight jar and season before i use
Juice Plus tower garden, uses aeroponics to grow 40 plants and saves me hundreds a month in veggies. I have fresh dino kale, rainbow chard, romain, butter lettuce, snap peas, peppers and more year round. Herb garden, fruit trees, two barrels for potatoes, and I eat a lot of staple grains like beans and oatmeal. I have chickens for eggs and get milk from a neighbor. I’m a big thrift store shopper and although I eat out a lot, I use Yelp deals, open table deals and groupons to enjoy decent savings on meals. I have a business card for my “winery” so I can get wine industry discounts when I go tasting and never pay tasting fees lol.
I make my own bread and also farmer’s cheese.Also, being Hispanic I make my own sofrito.
I can tomatoes plain. I do them raw packed, so I just have to peel and quarter them so it’s super-fast (well, for tomato canning lol), and then they are unflavored so I can make anything I want. Feel like Mexican? When I cook dinner, I just mix in cumin, coriander, and chile. Italian dishes get garlic, basil, oregano and I can even make BBQ by adding mustard powder and molasses. If I want a chunky dish, I leave them as is, but if I want a smooth sauce I just toss it in the blender before cooking. This year, I want to try to grill the tomatoes to slip the skins so I can put up roasted tomatoes instead of buying them.
When you can your tomatoes do you blance them first ,never tried to can tomatoes but would ,love to learn need to make the dollars stretch.
Cathy, yes, tomatoes need to be blanched and peeled when canned. Cut an X into the skin, blanch for 2-3 minutes, plunge into ice then peel the skin off.
A great way to earn a bit of extra money is with SHOPKICK. You earn points by walking into stores in your area and by scanning different products. You can also earn points by linking a credit card to their site….something I chose not to do. The points you earn are than cashed in for gift cards. Only been doing this for a few 2 months and already earned 2-$25 gift cards to Target. Have fun!!
I like to save money in other ways so i can afford to buy GMO free or organic food products,A bag of organic potatoes will run about 4-5 Dollars compared to the big 3 dollar bag that has Bug-B-Gone pesticides it that prevents the potatoes from growing roots and sinks in past the peel of the potatoes.
When my husband makes his special mashed potatoes using the organic potatoes everybody always complements him and there is never any left.I notice when he uses regular standard potatoes the potatoes are way more starchy tasting and don’t have the same almost sweet after taste as the organic version.
I am always looking for ways to save money .I save money on buying the hydroponic living butter lettuce. It comes with the root still attached does not wilt for over a week and usually gets consumed and very little thrown out.Don’t buy the kind at with out the attached root like at Walmart it wilts in half the time.I don’t know how many times i bought lettuce in the bag or a head of lettuce that has to be thrown out in a few days along with my 2-3 dollars.
Hi there, I make my own laundry detergent, hand soap both in bar form and liquid, I make my own dishwashing detergent, both when I hand wash my dishes and also for the dishwasher. I also make Kombucha which is a probiotic drink that costs around $4 where I live. I want to make my own bread real soon.
How do you make bar soap? Is there a recipe or website you could recommend? Thanks!
Iv’e never made it but there are many great recipes on Pinterest!
If you look up soap making they have some good recipes on pinterest. You will need lye for soap making. You can purchase it at Lowe’s or a local hardware store.
I have had a lot of luck making goat’s milk soap (frozen into cubes in and icecube tray) soap. It is easy and you can use old milk cartons for cheap molds.
Prepare meals that freeze well so that when you fighting for time or have little kids,you don’t have to spend money on takeaway.
I’m all about making my own sauces! I never buy pasta sauce any more, and if I don’t have any frozen I’ll just chop up tomatoes and have a thicker sauce with my pasta.
Also Pizza! If you have the yeast it’s so much cheaper to make pizza yourself (and plus I think it tastes better!)
I also am a big fan of keeping Christmas Cards, cutting off the back, and recycling them as gift tags the following year. serious money saver!
http://www.cookwineandthinker.com
As I use up cleaning products in my house, I’ve started replacing them with DIY versions. Baking soda and vinegar are little miracle workers!
I am saving money by hanging mu wet clothes to dry on a wooden rack-some times I hang indoors an sometimes out side. I have a clothes line but fell a month ago outside an broke my ankle in 3 places.
I quit buying packaged shredded cheese, not only is it cheaper to shred your own, it melts better. The already shredded cheese has stabilizers on it that prevents easy melting. We also grow our own tomatoes, onion, garlic and jalapenos. I can sauces and salsas.
My two kids have allergies so I do all my baking from scratch. I also make my own taco seasonings and dry ranch dressing mix. I’m hoping to try a dry onion mix soon too!
Oh I would love your recipe for dry onion mix! Thank you! Valarie
I make my own bread and add cooked, cooled quinoa to it for extra protein as well as ground flax seed the psillium (sp) for extra fibre. Make my own cleaning products, have blueberries, tomatoes and small garden for beans etc. The cheapest thing this year was picking black berries for free. Can’t beat that. Also use dried beans in soup so don’t need meat. Homemade soup is a great way to get a variety of vegetables. Make homemade TV dinners. Taste a lot better than that frozen stuff you buy in stores and no additives. Haven’t tried making my own yogurt or cottage cheese yet but it’s on the list. Happy canning. Lot’s of work but worth it.
in addition to many of the things listed, I made my own salad dressing, yogurt, gluten free granola, taco seasoning mix, coleslaw seasoning mix, brownie mix and a few other things. great post. And I **love** that you dind’t title your post Things You SHOULD be making to save money. I like how you are simply sharing what works for you
Thanks, Every one is different based on time and what they feel comfortable making 🙂 We are easing into it!
I also make my own laundry soap and just started making my own dish washer detergent for about 1/4 the cost of cascade, etc. Two drops of dawn (more if you have hard water – I use 6 drops) in the soap dispenser and 2 tbsp of baking soda sprinkled inside the dishwasher. Works great!!!!
I once use just plain dawn in my dishwasher thinking that I could save some money. (I was very young when I tried this) I ruined every dish that was in there. It left a very bad film over every dish that could not be removed no matter what I tried.
I make my own deodorant. I used to buy a cheap brand which worked ok, but felt the more expensive popular brand would be better. Not really. I started making it myself after finding a simple recipe on Pinterest. I don’t even measure anymore, it’s hard to screw it up. I put about 6 tbsp of coconut oil, 2 tbsp each of corn starch and baking soda into a plastic bowl with a cover. Recently I also started adding tea tree oil, just a couple drops. Double boiler style, melt it on low heat to mix. Remove from heat let it cool and use. I have a plastic spoon that I use to apply it. Just a small grape sized bit on the back of the spoon. I don’t smell, plus no added things like aluminum. That batch will last for about two months.
Not everyone has babies but sometimes it isn’t what you make it is about other ways of saving. Those Gerber breast milk bags are 25 for over $5.00 making them over 20 cents a piece. If I had it to redo I would have frozen my breast milk (and DIY baby food) in ice cube trays for 4 hours and used .02 cent sandwich bags inside of freezer gallon size bags instead. I would have used jelly jars for breast milk storage in the fridge instead of buying those “breast milk storage” bottles for a couple dollars a piece, those days are long gone and so are the savings I could have made. I sure miss that money now.
I am greek (also living in Greece) and we make so many things on our own. I want to talk about pasta. You can buy a pasta machine – or not cause there are many ways to cut the pasta with the pizza cutter – and have them dried or use them fresh from the fridge. You can also make different flavor pasta. I love spinach, carrot or tomato. If you want recipes just email me.
Thanks we have talked about trying to make our own but I haven’t been brave enough!
Oh yes! I would love pasta recipes 🙂 I do not have a pasta maker though. Thank you
Love all of your saving ideas. I like to make my own all purpose cleaning spray and I like canning my own vegatables in the summer. Come winter it’s nice to have home canned tomatoes, green beans, corn and other things.
I have been making everything from scratch. By everything I mean everything down to ketchup. I starting doing face wash- shampoo conditioner- body wash shave cream- all of it. I don’t call it being cheap at all. Everything that is put on my body or in my mouth I made. Unfortunately I can’t grow everything right now considering its winter in Wisconsin I already have plans on expanding my garden!
I like the ideas in your post. I do some of the things you suggested, like make my own jams and cleaner. I raise a garden and do a lot of home canning. I also make my own cleaner with Dawn, baking soda, and vinegar. I clean the bathrooms and the kitchen with this. I clean windows with a rag and water and if they are bad I use a little dishwashing liquid. I also use wild game meats instead of buying meats from the store. This saves us the most money. I can fix a meal for four on less than $2 most of the time. Anyway, that’s some of the things I do and now that I have read your post and everyone’s comments, now I have more ideas. Thanks!
I purchase fruit when it’s on sale. Then I wash and cut up. Freeze in a single layer on a sheet pan. Bag it as desired. They’re ready for smoothies and muffins, etc.
I loved reading your list on what you make at home, I loved reading through the comments almost as much. So many people with great tips.
One thing I started doing (well two) is I hang my clothes out on an air dryer, I simply hang them in the morning before I go to work and they are ready to fold and put away by the time I get home. For the few things I like to throw in the dryer (towels until I get my outside line up), I made my own dryer balls, honestly a couple of tin foil balls and a couple of tennis balls. It takes my 20 minutes to dry a large load rather than the hour it took before and I dry on low heat now. I only run my dryer about once a week now, it’s wonderful!
I love all the great ideas I have found here!
I make my own cream cheese using 2 litres of Amasi.
Amasi is the common word for fermented milk that tastes like cottage cheese or plain yogurt. It is very popular in South Africa
I hang the Fermented milk in a double layer of cheesecloth and allow the whey to drip out
The Whey can be used as a tart drink, to wash one’s face, or to water one’s plants as it is very nourishing.
It may also be used in stews instead of water.
When the fermented milk solids begin to pull away from the cheesecloth, I mix in 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, and refrigerate in a glass lidded bowl. This is the cream cheese – absolutely delicious!
I also make Sauerkraut, in a pickling Crock, and pickled cucumbers – both using just brine.
I make pickled eggs, pigs trotters in aspic, bread, and always cook from scratch – no convenience foods! The only tinned food we use are tinned tomatoes, tuna, and sardines!
Thank you for all the great ideas you have given me!
I LOVE my homemade laundry detergent and pizza crust! My also favorite DIY is dishwasher detergent!
I got brave a couple of yrs. ago and make jam out of wild Oregon grapes. It is terrific ( my granddaughters say so) & it doesn’t taste like store bought grape jelly at all. The plants are prickly like holly & the grapes are little & blueblack. Sandy in California.
I water down my liquid hand soap by half (even more for the foaming dispensers) and sometimes use cheap body wash or even shampoo; works just as well. I water down my Dawn as I am usually only washing large dishes and pans by hand; pouring it into the bowl with water in it already mixes it easier and I don’t leave a soapy spot not rinsed off! I have a furnace hot air vent aimed at my clothesline in the cellar I use in cold weather; clothes dry in 1 1/2 days, keeps my light bill lower, extends life of clothes, and adds humidity to a dry house. Outdoor line in good weather; I iron a bit more to get rid of wrinkles. We hang clothes from the washer directly onto plastic hangers; saves time and effort. I love a crock pot meal in cold weather at least 1x/week and it is a great way to use a cheaper cut of meat as well as beans for protein. Even though there is just the 2 of us, I buy family packs of meat (often short dated with the markdown coupons) and bake 3-5 things in the oven at one time or freeze it immediately. Reheating leftovers leaves me time to do things I WANT to do!
I save money by: preparing 90% of our meals from scratch, I hang clothes out once the weather turns to around 45 degrees and make crafts to sell for extra income. I work from home and in doing so I am saving on car repairs and clothing. I try to mend clothing to extend their life and we have been growing a vegetable garden for years. We buy local honey and free range eggs from a relative and save on our grocery bill by not eating meat every night.
How do u cook your french fries? We like them crunchy, but only get that effect when deep frying them? Haven’t been able to get them nice and crispy from frozen.
We bake them in the oven you can spray them with a vegetable oil cooking spray to get them crunchy, it’s less oil than frying.