Life can get hectic, I get that. There are lots of foods that are easier to buy than to make from scratch. But it’s amazing how much money you can save by making food yourself.
Many people are used to making homemade dinners, but snack foods, condiments, and bread often find their way into people’s grocery carts. I’ve gotten into the habit of making most of these items from scratch for two reasons. First, I can control what goes into our food and make sure I’m sticking to real food ingredients. And second, I can save a lot of money.
Below are pictures of 10 foods that people often buy at the store. I like to make them at home, and I’ve done the math to find out how much money I save by making each recipe myself. Under the picture of each item, you’ll see the cost of the homemade version as well as the grocery store price of a comparable product. In many cases, there is nothing I can buy in the store that reaches the same quality as the homemade version, but I did my best to find a comparable product for each item.
By making just these 10 foods at home over the course of a month, I save nearly $100. These foods are snacks and condiments, so this barely scratches the surface of how much you can save by making breakfast, lunch, and dinner at home. It’s not all about the money, either. Homemade foods almost always taste better than their store-bought counterparts.
How Much You Can Save by Making Food Yourself
Total Cost of Homemade Items: $42.59
Total Cost of Store-Bought Versions: $137.77
Difference: A Savings of $95.18
Raspberry Jam (3 cups): $3.48 vs. Stonewall Kitchen Jam: $15.90
Greek Yogurt (2 cups): $.96 vs. Chobani Greek Yogurt: $3.49
Corn Salsa (4 cups): $4.39 vs. Stonewall Kitchen Salsa: $11.98
Honey Whole Wheat Bread (2 loaves): $3.50 vs. Great Harvest: $9.90
Pickles (6 cups): $2.90 vs. Root Cellar Pickles: $17.97
Ghee (7.5 ounces): $1.50 vs. Purity Farms Ghee: $5.99
Chewy Blueberry Banana Oat Bars (16 bars): $4.43 vs. Store-Bought Larabars: $20.00
Homemade Larabars (24 bars): $11.54 vs. Store-Bought Larabars: $30.00
Raspberry Jam Bars (15 bars): $4.13 vs. Entenmann’s Raspberry Danish Twist: $12.58
Ice Cream Sandwiches (12 sandwiches): $5.76 vs. Julie’s Organic: $9.96
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