Master your money. Get organized. Take back your time.
There are some things you buy over and over again. And every time you buy them, you’re handing their manufacturer and your retailer a nice profit.
So it stands to reason that you can save a nice wad of cash by skipping the middle men and making those items yourself!
Think you can’t do it? These 8 everyday items are not only inexpensive but easy to make right at home! [Read more…]
Photo courtesy of Amazon
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
How much money are you spending on return address labels?
Do you spend cash again and again to order customized labels online or from a mailer? Do you use free address labels sent to you by your alma mater or charities — even though you hate the design and your name is misspelled? Do you you spend hours hand-printing your return address on Christmas cards in lieu of spending for labels?
There’s a better way.
You can print your own address labels right at home.
For about 1¢ per label, you can create a peel-and-stick label with any font, color scheme, and image of your choosing. It’s cheap. It’s easy . . . and it’s fun! [Read more…]
The supermarket is ripping you off.
In less time than it takes you to drive to the store, pick up some staple food item, and return home, you could have done all of the prep work to make it yourself – and for a lot less. Some of these items (like croutons, baby food, and yogurt) may seem mysterious and difficult to create at home, but they are fast and near-foolproof to create in your own kitchen.
As a bonus, yours will probably be tastier than what you could pick up at the store . . . and you will save a ton of money without spending a ton of time.
Here are seven foods that you can make super-fast and easily at home on the cheap.
Read the rest of my recently published blog post on Money Pantry!
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:
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:
Even if you don’t have a baby, you may want to keep some homemade fruit purées on hand in your freezer. [Read more…]
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
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:
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…]
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!
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…]