Tag Archives: make your own

Freezer Pizza Dough

Make your own pizza dough, pop it in the freezer and have it available any time you like. The best part? You’ll be saving tons of money over the year in pizza costs, and with pizza dough from your freezer, you can make enough to cover everything from a busy weeknight meal to a kid’s birthday party. Now that is economical! Freezing this pizza dough recipe actually make the dough easier to work with, so you will make perfectly round pizzas with no tearing each time. You can also work the dough into a square pan or a rectangular jelly … Continue reading →

Make Your Own Groceries and Save

Did you know that you can make your own homemade chocolate syrup, pancake or muffin mix and instant pudding and instant oatmeal packets? It is true and can save you a lot of money in the kitchen. Plus when you know how to make your own, you won’t have to run out to the store to replace something when the need arises. Just keep your staples stocked and then whip up the item yourself. You can make most of these items ahead of time, such as on a weekend or when you have yet another snow day. Pancake Mix/Cookie Mix/Brownie … Continue reading →

Make Your Own Runner Rug

With the holidays on their way, you may be thinking about sprucing up your home a bit before company comes, or just to have a warm, fresh look. With everyone pinching pennies these days, home decor might be the last thing on your mind, especially with high food, gas and heating bills. Still, there is plenty you can do on a budget. A runner rug is a great idea for warming up your floors and even protecting them. These rugs are great in hallways of course, but you can use them pretty much anywhere you have the space. By making … Continue reading →

Make Your Own Stuff and Save

If you want a great way to save money, try making your own items instead of purchasing them. From growing your own food and making your own mixes to creating your own laundry detergent and sanitizing wipes, there are so many ways to save. Plus, it is nice knowing that you don’t have to rely on expensive commercial products if you don’t want to do so. Check out this round up of “Make Your Own” articles. Try one recipe or instructions, or try them all! Frugal Food: Make Your Own Granola Bars? Make Your Own Yogurt Make Your Own Fabric … Continue reading →

Make Your Own Yogurt

Yesterday’s blog on saving money on butter sparked a great discussion. In it, I learned that you can make your own butter using a breadmaker. I had never heard of this technique before. This is one of the reasons I really love being a part of Families.com, because the members here are so clever and kind. That said, I thought it might be interesting to explore another homemade dairy product: yogurt. From the research that I have done, making your own yogurt is easy and very cost effective. Doing it yourself also ensures that there are no artificial preservatives, sweeteners … Continue reading →

Another Bargain Glass Cleaner

Here is yet one more way to get your glass cleaned without spending your money on commercial cleaners. I’ve talked about glass cleaners before, but I recently discovered a new technique that creates a glass cleaning solution that is as good or better than anything you can find out on the market. I do clean my windows with a vinegar solution because it works well, as well as some of the other methods that I have mentioned in the past. But for a glass cleaner that is really strong and acts just like Windex but without the blue coloring, I … Continue reading →

Poor Man’s Glass Cleaner

If you want to save money on glass cleaner, read this article! As you know from following this blog, I’ve written about the wonders of vinegar for cleaning glass. It is economical and does not contain any harsh chemicals. There is so much concern today for fumes and VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds). Some studies have found that these types of cleaners can cause respiratory problems and skin problems. I also like vinegar because it is one of those products that have multiple uses, which is really nice. There is less clutter and less expense. However, I do recognize that not … Continue reading →

Frugal Pancakes

Mmm who does like pancakes on a Sunday morning? The good news is that pancakes can be a very frugal meal. Here are some ways to enjoy your pancakes, frugally. The best way to frugal pancakes is to make them yourself from scratch. It really isn’t very hard to do and only requires a couple of extra ingredients versus the store bought pancake mixes. It is just a matter of flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. You can even buy dry buttermilk powder in the grocery store in the same place where powdered milk is sold (generally in … Continue reading →

Make Your Own Foaming Soap

Don’t you love those expensive foaming hand soaps? I first came across them at a friend’s home and fell in love with the ease of use, the texture and the smell. The only thing I didn’t love about these soaps is the price. A typical foaming hand soap can cost up to $5 a bottle. And, when you take into consideration the kid factor (meaning that to a small child learning to wash her hands, if one squirt of soap is good, well then five squirts is even better), then you can see how expensive these foaming soaps are to … Continue reading →

Make Your Own Food, Even Cheese!

Sure we have all heard about growing your own food to save money. And of course, we have heard about preparing your own meals will save money. Home cooked meals save plenty (See this earlier article that tell you how to calculate that savings). But did you know that you can actually make some of the ingredients to your meals? There are other standard staples that you probably purchase, taking it for granted that they can’t be made at home. But many of them probably can. I have to confess that this post was inspired by the Food Blog, one … Continue reading →