Prioritized Living

Master your money. Get organized. Take back your time.

Make It From Scratch: Greeting Cards (For Non-Crafty People)

Make It From Scratch Greeting Cards

Photo courtesy of Nova Development

Note:  This post contains affiliate links.  Read my policy here.

My artistic skill development stopped somewhere around age five.  In kindergarten, I made perfectly-acceptable, childlike drawings, but my 7-year-old niece’s artwork far outpaces anything I’ve created since.  Handmade greeting cards can be beautiful and cost-effective, but what if you’re a non-crafty person like me?  You can still make high-quality, printed and personalized greeting cards . . . using your computer.

Here’s how the costs work out for me:

  • Store price:                             $0.99 for a cheap card up to $4.99 for a standard card
  • Price of computer-made:  $0.55 for a personalized card
  • Savings:                                     44% – 89%

[Read more…]

Make It From Scratch: Fancy Granola

Make It From Scratch - Fancy Granola

Note:  This post contains affiliate links.  Read my policy here.

Granola makes for a delicious breakfast, a great snack, and an excellent and crunchy topping to yogurt.  However, it is seriously pricey to buy (and sometimes the store-bought stuff is still tragically dry and crumbly).  Making your own fresh, amazing granola is easier than you think and insanely inexpensive.  Here’s the cost breakdown:

Cost comparison of granola:

  • Store price:                   $0.19/oz. for the generic stuff up to $0.55/oz. for the premium stuff
  • Price of homemade:  $0.11/oz.
  • Savings:                           41% – 80%

[Read more…]

Make It From Scratch: Yogurt

Homemade yogurt

Note:  This post contains affiliate links.  Read my policy here.

Have you ever made your own yogurt?

It’s easier than you think . . . and it can save so much money!
Here’s the breakdown on savings when I look at the cost of a single serving (typically a 5.3-oz. container) of Greek yogurt:

  • Store price (on sale!):  $1.00
  • Price of homemade:     $0.14
  • Savings:                             86%

If you use yogurt as a snack, ingredient in your meals and desserts, or baby food, making your own is such a great way to save a serious amount of cash.   [Read more…]

Quick Tip: Having Cubed Bread Ready to Go

bread freezer bag

Now that you’ve got a homemade croutons addiction, you may be looking for a way to streamline the preparation process.  An excellent way to increase your efficiency in the kitchen here is to cube a big batch of bread, toss the cubes into a freezer bag, and store the bag in the freezer.  Then, when you’re ready to make croutons, just grab the quantity of bread cubes you need from the freezer. [Read more…]

Make It From Scratch: Fool-Proof Croutons

Make It From Scratch Fool-Proof Croutons

You know when you visit a fancy restaurant or even a Panera and you’re eating the real thing — freshly-made croutons.  They are nothing like the tiny, dry, artificial-tasting cubes you pick up in the supermarket.  They are also incredibly easy to make at home — no frying or flipping tiny pieces of bread.  Plus, these croutons are so much cheaper than those grocery-store salad toppers!

[Read more…]

Make It From Scratch: Baby Food

Make It From Scratch Baby Food

Note:  This post contains affiliate links.  Read my policy here.

Baby products come with major sticker shock.  Of the many hefty baby expenses out there, one that really adds up over time is baby food.

When my son started solid foods at four months of age, I was baffled by the fact that a minuscule jar of mashed bananas — on sale! — cost more than a full-sized banana from the produce department.  For standard Gerber fare, my supermarket wanted to charge me, on a good day, $0.50 per portion of Stage 1 foods, $0.60 per portion of Stage 2 foods, and $0.75 per portion of Stage Stage 3 foods.  The Beech-Nut foods usually hovered around twice that price!

There was no way I was willing tho shell out that much money for groceries when a simple solution would allow me to have high-quality baby food for so much less — making my own baby food. [Read more…]

Quick Tip: Slicing a Loaf of Bread

A bread knife is a great tool in the kitchen, but it’s caused some major loaf carnage in my kitchen.  Sometimes the pressure required to slice homemade or bakery bread — especially when it’s toasty warm — can flatten a previously lovely loaf.  Sometimes, wrangling the knife can make it extremely challenging to get even slices of the right thickness and a smooth cut.  Even under the best circumstances though, I wind up with piles of crumbs on my counter . . . wasted bread! [Read more…]