Easy Foods to Make Instead of Buy To Save Money
If you’re looking to save money on groceries, one easy way is to make some of your food instead of buying it.
Here are three quick and easy foods to make that will help you stretch your dollars further. Give them a try! If you are new to a frugal lifestyle making your food will save you money and a trip to the store.
Sometimes we get into a routine that we don’t realize we can step outside of it and make the same things we are buying.
When my girls were toddlers, we were in extreme frugal living. Mainly because we didn’t have a choice. Our income was low, and I wasn’t working.
If you are overwhelmed with a frugal lifestyle but want to save money on your grocery bill, I encourage you to make at least one of these three foods below.
My high achievers- make all three. 🙂
You can watch my Titkok on this. It’s only 60 seconds if you don’t want to read them below.
Snacks
Avoid buying prepacked snack items. Instead, challenge yourself to see if it is a snack you can make at home. The truth is we can make everything that we buy, BUT is it worth it?
What snacks does your family eat the most? How often? What are the ingredients needed to make these snacks? Here are my top snacks to make instead of buy.
- Granola Bars
- Protein Balls
- Graham crackers
- Popcorn- you need an air popper– worth the initial cost 100%!
- Dried fruit
- Granola
- Cookies
- Muffins
- Pop Tarts
For a list of more kids snacks to make on a tight budget read my article here.
For items I don’t have a link to, I use recipes from Betty Crocker Cookbook.
PIZZA DOUGH
If you only pick one thing to make from this list- let it be this one. It’s super easy, and get the yeast from a wholesale club like Costco or BJs so that you can make it once a week.
That gives you peace of mind if you have pizza every Friday. Plus, you can make the dough ahead, and all you need to do is pull it out of the freezer the night before.
I use this recipe for pizza dough.
This is a great one to have your kids do too. They get to make dinner. My girls love making their pizza. The cost of dough is super cheap. I grab cheese at BJs, but you can always look for the best deal on cheese.
You can use a can of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce and season it up. This is SUPER affordable. You don’t have to buy pizza sauce.
If you are burnt out on meals for your family now is the time to grab my FAVORITE meal planning app. You can even put in your pantry items for meal ideas- no shopping needed sometimes!
More Meal Planning Tips:
PANCAKES
This is something I couldn’t do without. My girls LOVE pancakes. The first time I made pancakes with my husband, he was very puzzled. He asked me how I would make pancakes when we didn’t have a box of mix.
I couldn’t believe my ears. My mom made everything from scratch. I thought he was joking. He was dead serious.
The best part? Pancake ingredients are minimal. I make a big batch and then put the rest in the freezer. The girls can pull out a pancake and microwave it. This is huge in the summer for those mornings I want to sleep in.
Plus, my oldest loves being responsible for her breakfast. We always get our baking ingredients from BJs- because they are the cheapest.
Plus, you can swap in whole wheat flour, blueberries, bananas, and more to make them healthier.
So if you’re looking to save some money on groceries, give these recipes a try. They’re quick, easy, and affordable – perfect for anyone who wants to eat well on a budget!
What are your favorite foods to make instead of buy?
Share them with us in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.
I hope this gives you a kickstart to your grocery budget this week. For more tips on saving on your groceries, tap one of the articles below.
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I always keep a bag in the freezer for soups. I keep bones and scrapes of veggies I clean then I dump it all in a crockpot and cook it down till the next day. Cool and strain and freeze your broth for soups and sauces. Also when you make gravy freeze the leftovers in an ice cube tray Place them in a bag in the freezer when you only need a little gravy.
great tips! Thanks for sharing!