I think last time I was in the grocery store, a standard pack of generic saltines (a box with 4 "rows" of crackers) was about $0.88. It's definitely hard to beat that.

I'd like to see these broken down in terms of time as well. If it costs me 3 hours I could have been working, that changes the amount I would have saved.

I rarely cook, as I'm not the cook in my household, but I always like to try different things from scratch. Something simple, but amazing to make at home is your own butter. Very tasty!

I read this article last week, really great stuff, especially when it comes to bagels. What shops charge is absolutely outrageous. If I could just make about five or six bagels that would last two weeks, I'd do it. But I don't eat bagels (trying to cut down on the bread), so there goes that idea.

I have a giant bag of granola, and while I've learned my lesson (it's too big for one person to consume) I've incorporated it into so many things, including parfaits and cookies. I even eat it as a substitute for my cereal (I just add more milk because it's too sweet).

I think they would be about even. I personally need about 3 or 5 tries to probably get something even close to what I would want. So that is (time x groceries x impatience = 4 terrible creations) that probably were not worth my time.

I need cooking skills.

@nataku83: I paid between $3-4 for generic saltines at the local Key Food last month. Clearly I'm shopping in the wrong place.

Very interesting, fun to read.

Incidentally, my mom made us granola cereal growing up -- oats, canola oil, honey, and wheat germ, baked in a slow oven. (Plus extras if you want them -- raisins, etc.) Healthy to the extreme and pretty damn cheap. The only store-bought cereal we were allowed was Cheerios and only when the granola ran out because mom, like, had the flu. Not only was it healthy and filling, but I absolutely can't eat anything sweeter than Cheerios or Rice Krispies for breakfast because they strike me as cloyingly, unnaturally sweet.

As for jam, it's sometimes promoted as something to do with fruit at the end of its life, but I find making a fruit syrup for pancakes (or pastry) is easier and cheaper. But then we're talking a pint of strawberries going bad, not a bushel of Meyer lemons. :)

(Speaking of pancakes, making your own pancake mix is DEFINITELY cheaper and can be much healthier.)

My neighbors soak fruit bits in brandy when they have lots of extra fruit. That's also tasty.

I want to try the yoghurt recipe now ... but it would probably gross out my husband.

It's going to vary from thing to thing. Soups and Stocks, definitely cheaper home made, and typically better, because you can tweak for taste.

But certain things like saltines, yeah, they are cheaper because they've perfected the machinery that makes them as cheap as they can with the least amount of work possible.

Now if you grow your own stuff, that's where you'll save some cash, depending on how crazy you get into it all.

There are a few things I buy but most things I make from scratch. It's healthier and cheaper 99% of the time. When it's not cheaper, I am happy to use real ingredients and not save money by purchasing products with artificial thickeners, corn syrup, and other chemical detritus.

The best marshmallows that I ever had I made myself. Thank you, Alton Brown.

[www.foodnetwork.com]

I've been teaching a friend how to cook and she tells me she's noticed her food budget going is farther as the amount of pre-prepared foods she buys decreases, yet she's never short of things to eat.

What about doing this with things people actually make? Is it cheaper to buy a $1 hamburger at Wendy's or should I buy hamburger, bread, ketchup, lettuce, mustard and make it myself? Time, electricity and waste would need to be included as well. THAT would be helpful. Who makes their own Jam (except those that do it for "fun")?

I made bagels this weekend, they absolutely rock. You can get a little spendy with them if you want to though. You need a high protein flour to really do them right, and unless you're good friends with a pizzeria owner, getting your hands on some can be a challenge. Then of course to really do bagels right, you need some malt syrup - and then what are bagels without some smoked salmon?

You know what's really inexpensive to make? Hummus. I picked up a 5 pound bag of dried garbonzos at an Indian market really cheap. Soak a few cups of beans overnight, boil for half an hour - add some tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and lots of olive oil and give it good spin in the processor.

I make my own pitas too, but I haven't quite perfected those.

@LegoMan322: You need people to practice on. That makes it so much funner. :) A lot of early attempts are more cosmetically ugly than not-tasty, and good friends will always excuse your cosmetic errors.

One catch is also ability. One thought that always comes to mind when the Soup people post is that some of us suck at cooking. I tried making some homemade soup and the basic result was 'inedible'.

Making yourself is good if you have some skill, or if the recipe is foolproof. Otherwise, if you count the waste of screwups, it might not be a good deal.

Also, count your time in the 'cost'. If you -enjoy- cooking, then it's a hobby and the time isn't wasted. If you are doing it only to save money, think about what you could do with your time instead.

@Eyebrows McGee (on Twitter: LPetelle): Know where I could pick up a few "good friends"? : )

@icantreplyright: It would be more expensive to make your own burger, but it would be healthier and taste better.

I'd make my own jam if I had the fruit for free and a lot of storage space.

I tried making my own ginger ale a few months ago. It was fun, but it ended up costing twice as much as the store brand. It's interesting how much different it tastes from the store bought stuff though.

One of the easiest things to make is pizza dough, though I still haven't made homemade pizza that's quite as good as my local shop, so I'm probably going to stop making my own pizza and pony up the $14 for a pie at the local place. We don't eat pizza very often, so it's not a big deal.

@BustedFlush: "getting your hands on some can be a challenge."

This used to be my problem until I made friends with a chef ... who can tell me where to locally source ALL KINDS OF CRAZY STUFF! (And I'm in Peoria, 120,000 people city, 300,000 metro.) There are a lot of food service places that also sell directly to the public.

(And my flatbreads kinda suck too. I have a neighbor who's really good at them but I always burn them.)

You'll be thanking her for this article when the apocolypse comes and you get hungry for a bagel.

I make my own low-fat Bisquick and am never short of Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Yum! I make kick-butt vegetarian calzones with it, too. You can find the recipe here.

@pecan 3.14159265: There's an inverse relationship between healthy and taste better. Also, a lot of the people that "cook everything from scratch" are accustomed to the taste and have a different measuring stick when it comes to what is flavorful and taste better.

@Eyebrows McGee (on Twitter: LPetelle):
Alton Brown Ala Good Eats gave me my own cottage cheese recipe but I doubt it changes the price much. However, it tastes worlds better than store bought cottage cheese which makes up for any possible difference in price.
[www.foodnetwork.com]

Btw if you are a foodie or want to make things from scratch (his pancake mix is awesome) Good Eats is a show to make some time for.

@unobservant: When the apocalypse comes, we're all heading to your house.

@edison234:
Agreed. Take them to the family get together. Add some flavoring, pepperment is great, mix crushed candy canes with the soft marshmallow.

Most people don't even think you can make marshmallows from scratch.

"How do you make marshmallows? From other Marshmallows?"

@LegoMan322: [www.ebay.com] ?

@JGKojak:
Now I picture in my head Heston standing before the remaisn of the statue of liberty on the seashore shaking his fist and going
"Why didn't I read the article on the consumerist about how to make my own bagels. Damn you!"

@catskyfire: I suck at cooking, too, but I discovered a sure-fire soup formula that requires a pot, a blender, and half an hour's worth of cooking. It tastes like those swanky carton soups and impresses the heck out of my husband.

@catskyfire: I think I'm operating on pure luck, and having a knack for what goes well together.

Stick to simple soups. I find broths to be easier than chowders. Chicken noodle is really as simple as throwing veggies in a pot, cooking them in broth until they're tender, throwing in some noodles and waiting until those are done. I don't make chicken noodle much, though, cause I haven't figured out how to freeze/store it without the noodles absorbing more broth (and then becoming mushy). I prefer chowders because they freeze better. I make a mean chicken and corn chowder.

@catskyfire: "One thought that always comes to mind when the Soup people post is that some of us suck at cooking. I tried making some homemade soup and the basic result was 'inedible'. Making yourself is good if you have some skill, or if the recipe is foolproof."

I didn't learn to cook until I was 24 and married, and then only with a lot of encouragement from my husband. I have always been a "bad cook." The kind of person who can scorch a pan attempting to boil water, and burn the hell out of chili trying to simply reheat it. I absolutely promise that cooking IS learnable!

For me, it took very clear explanations of what I was doing AND WHY ... I'm very directions and specificity oriented. :) Really good for me was "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee which helped me understand the whys and "How to Cook without a Book" which I'm not sure of the author of but made me more confident going "off-recipe" and improvising.

I still can't make a white sauce to save my life, but I'm considered pretty good now and people ask for my food. Although I still need work on the cosmetic end ... learning to cook didn't really overcome the clumsy, so my presentation is usually pretty basic. :)

Some of us dislike cooking. And that is okay.

@Eyebrows McGee (on Twitter: LPetelle):

I make my own yogurt all the time, and it's incredibly easy. I make mine in individual serving cups and I add powdered milk to the mix to get a custard (spoon) consistency, so it's ready to eat, no straining necessary.

And it doesn't require any special equipment or anything, so it's probably worth trying if you're interested at all.

"A" for effort. So, maybe some are cheaper or better. If time is available.

But tastes... Alas, I didn't really get to cheaper/better because of the six four are things I would not buy (actually, three are things I would not pick up a free sample of) and a fifth - jam - is, well, extremely time-consuming even if you have the time. Which I do, but would rather spend reading.

@catskyfire: Also count your health. Eating out often is almost certainly more unhealthy, because restaurants have to compete on the basis of taste vs. health.

@pecan 3.14159265: "I haven't figured out how to freeze/store it without the noodles absorbing more broth (and then becoming mushy)"

This is probably not the official answer, but my answer for every single one of these mushiness problems is "freeze/refrigerate without it just add that part when you reheat it."

@Keen314: Too much for shipping and handling.

@AlteredBeast: Couldn't be easier and definitely worth it when heavy cream is on sale. Plus, you get buttermilk out of the deal.

@catskyfire: I love making soups. Here's an easy one:

1 can refried beans
1 can black beans, drained
2-4 cups chicken broth (depending on how thin you like your soup)
1/4 cup bell peppers, diced and fried

Voila. You have my famous refried bean soup and it's amazing. :) I'll give you the recipe for my Spicy Thai Chicken Noodle Soup too, if you'd like.

@PriceIsWrong:

Good point about soup. Also, stock is using something you might ordinarily throw away: bones and the little bits of meat stuck to them. People used to take their stale bread and make croutons, migas, or even just bread crumbs for fillers and coatings. Now people throw away their bread and buy these things.

The crouton thing reminds me of another thing that people spend far more on than it takes to make: salad dressing. Why spend $5-$7 or so on a bottle of vinaigrette that's nowhere near as good as what I make myself. I'm going to use organic extra virgin olive oil and good vinegar. The store bought stuff will have canola or soy oil, thickeners, preservatives and sweeteners. Mine will be better for me and better tasting as well as cheaper.

@catskyfire:

Cooking is an easy skill to learn. Seriously, it shouldn't take that long and you shouldn't start with, "Oh my god, the picture with this 37-ingredient recipe looks so good I'm going to try it."

I have a recipe that I make about once a week. It costs about $5, makes enough for dinner and lunch for my girlfriend and me, and only takes about 15 minutes start to finish. To get the same thing at a restaurant in my neighborhood, it would take at least 30 minutes from the time I leave my place until the food is in front of me. It'd also be about the same to get it delivered, plus cost more. It's also just about my favorite thing in the world to eat. I would make it twice a week if I didn't think my girlfriend would kill me.

Everyone in the world has to eat, it's a pretty good skill to learn, and it's only as difficult as you make it.

@Eyebrows McGee (on Twitter: LPetelle): Yeah I've been reading that too. I'm not making soup for a few months though (now that it's spring and it's 90 degrees outside today), so I'll have to try it in September :-P

I brew my own beer (partial extract and partial mash - so it could be done cheaper). Usually more expensive than commercially produced beer, but cheaper than microbrews. I do it as a hobby, so I don't count the initial startup costs for equipment, but after that its usually less than 5 bucks a 6 pack for some really good beer.

I even cloned a brew that I love (but is 10-12 bucks a 4 pack) and it cost about 10 bucks a 6 pack. Plus I made 5 gallons of 12% cider for about $40 - tastes great and nothing like it can be purchased.

I make/grow food at home because I enjoy doing it. If I save money, thats nice but I don't expect that my veggie garden is saving me any money (even though everything was started from seed). Still fun to do though!

@teqjack: One of my favorite things to do while I'm making a pot of gumbo is read. To make the roux (flour and butter), you basically have to stir constantly for an hour, and reading is one of the best ways of passing the time.

@Chris Walters: Yes you are; I usually buy my groceries at Kroger and a few rural mom and pop type places and I've never seen saltines that high! Use the run of the mill, middle of the road grocery store for the basics.

I grew up low income and my mom would have never gone into a high end grocery store. It was always Food Lion, Wal-Mart or a mom & pop place.

@louiedog: What's the recipe? I love sharing (and I'd love to have one that takes only 15 minutes to do!).

Quite honestly, if you love to cook, it's not really that much cheaper to eat at home.

If you love to drink, however, it generally is...

@pecan 3.14159265: Some Italian delis will sell their dough so you don't have to make it yourself, but you can still enjoy a crust you know will be tasty. I've done it a few times and it's never been too expensive.

@Penny Plastic: Why is it not much cheaper to eat at home if you love to cook? I can make a pot of chili that can feed two people for five days for $12, when a bowl of chili for one person will run me $7. How is it not a big difference?