Cheaper to make or buy?

I enjoy cooking from scratch and making candles and cheese and soap as well as sewing some things for Melody. Recently I have been getting back into making more things from scratch and realized that this is really the best way to save at the grocery store. I was thinking today about if it's cheaper to make it or buy it? Thought I would share my thoughts on this in case it would help anyone else. I get flour, sugar, chocolate chips, granola, snacks, etc. in bulk at my grocery store. We are vegetarian but we eat chicken if we are out somewhere and also eat tuna. We used to eat salmon but that's canceled for this year due to salmon fishing being closed on the West Coast. Not that we fish for our own!

I used to do more cooking from scratch and making of things like soap and candles before Melody was born then I realized I would rather have less, or not as great quality, and buy more convenience foods to make my life easier. This will again wax and wane after I have the baby and I need every convenience possible again. :) I also realize it's easier to make things from scratch if you stay at home or work part time or work at home even. Part of the way I was able to stay home and do freelance back in 2003 was because I really thought about what we could cut out (gas, lunches out, convenience trips on the way home to the store, and more). I had to be an expert at figuring out what things would cost and then sticking to the budget whereas while working I just did whatever and I can't even remember how many times I ate out during the week, plus 37 miles just to get to work in the first place. Ok so anyways here's my breakdown...

Bread- cheaper to make though it's close depending on the bread

Mozzarella - cheaper to make (use whole milk, I will do a tutorial on this very soon because I am making some for pizza this week)
Goat Cheese - cheaper to make (use goat's milk, even a half gallon makes a lot, if you don't know a goat they have it at Safeway and at Trader Joe's though I don't know if it makes cheese yet due to the pasteurizing process)
Other cheese - cheaper to make (use whole milk)

Pizza - cheaper to make unless you buy a 99 cent one that's small and not very good from the frozen section (plus it's smaller)

Pies - cheaper to make (even if you buy frozen pie crust) I got two pie crusts for $1.08 I think and then bought 88 cents worth of apples and then will put brown sugar, cinnamon and granola on top = $2.20 to make give or take.

Cookies- cheaper to make

Granola bars - I am lazy and haven't found a good recipe but if you make them they are cheaper.

Pasta - probably tied to make your own or buy it in bulk. If you aren't buying in bulk then it's cheaper to make it. We have a big ass pasta machine my Mom gave me and it's a pain to haul the thing out so we usually don't make it but if you had a smaller one or the kind that fits on the counter it's better.

Eggs - cheaper to have chickens (our 4 chickens cost 10.00 or  less a month to feed and provide  2 dozen eggs a week  = $3 a dozen we could charge but don't this year and that means about $24.00 a month in free eggs then subtract food = $14.00 savings. The cost of the chicks is $2 each usually. Plus free bug control and free compost for your garden.

Juice - cheaper to buy though fresh squeezed is tastier of course

Vegetables - obviously cheaper to grow! I paid 45 cents for one non organic cucumber last week and this week put back lettuce because it was $1.48. These are water! The seeds grow 100 lettuce heads and cukes for $1.50. I think we have enough lettuce now to almost make a salad with our own. Plus you can grow lettuce and carrots and tomatoes and cucumbers even in a pot if you have an apartment. I realize we can't do this but 5 months out of the year here but still that's produce savings of $15.00 - $18.00 or so a week for us.

Cleaning supplies - cheaper to make (soap, floorwash, laundry soap and more) and better for you and the environment, think vinegar, baking soda and essential oils (that you already have).

Comments

[seagrass]

oh, i forgot to ask, how do you feed your chickens with less than $10 a month? we have 9 chickens and it costs about $8 for a 25 lb. bag of feed and so far one bag is lasting us just over a week! are we feeding them too much? and we haven't got a single egg yet!

[seagrass]

thanks for that info! i have seriously weighed the cost values of staying at home versus working, of course for me right now it's all work! i don't have any kids yet, but when i do have them, i plan to be a stay at home mom, with maybe a part-time side job to keep me sane. i plan on making all those things you mentioned from scratch, too. i haven't successfully made bread or cheese yet, but i haven't tried as much, either. i do have some good recipes for home-made cleaning products, though!

[Marianne]

Dear Amy,
I enjoyed this post!
I admire your productivity and I like your fresh and different point of view on things.
I only bake our own bread for for the rest I guess I'm the working mom , not a real good excuse I know.
I find your blog inspiring!.Hope you are feeling well and your pregnacy is going super.
Hug Marianne

[Nette]

Another splendid & useful post!!

[Sacred Suzie]

I find that with flour prices skyrocketing that I am baking less and just eating less baked goods which in the end, is much better for me. Plus, it's heavy to carry on my back!

Homemade pasta is wonderful but my goodness it takes a lot of space and time and effort. Nothing like fresh pasta though.

Your break is gorgeous! I've never been able to make my bread look like that, it's wonderful.

I made cinnamon buns this morning. I love dough.

[Monique]

Great ideas !!! We have to be frugal too. My hubby is looking for another job and he might be cut back in salary, so everything we can get cheaper is great !!! Have you got recipes for cleaning supplies too ??? At the moment I use Ecover, but that is expensive !!!!