Cost Break Down:Frozen Chicken: With Bones or Without?

This cost break down comes to you courtesy of Shawn.  Since I broke my foot he has been doing the grocery shopping, which I admit has been fabulous!  I do not miss that as an item on my to do list. But….he does it differently than me!  I sent him to the store to buy chicken breasts and he came home with  a bag of bone-in skin-on chicken breasts, which I would never buy.  But, he insisted, it’s a lot cheaper!! No, I said, not after you figure for the weight of the bones And skin you are paying for but will only throw away!!

Well, we never miss a chance to have a calculator fight, so once we were done tossing them at each other ( just kidding) we did some actual math.  Shawn deboned and skinned the chicken and weighed the waste bones and skin, roughly a third of the bag was waste.  After weighing the actual meat, we calculated that the 2Kg bag cost $0.98 per 100g of actual chicken meat.  The bag of frozen deboned, skinned chicken works out to…. drum roll please…  $1.09 per 100g. 

Okay, so if you can wield a knife well enough to debone frozen chicken ( I can’t but that’s where Shawn comes in handy), and you don’t mind investing that bit of extra time, you can save a whopping ten cents per 100g?  I guess I’ll leave it up to you to decide if it’s worth it or not at your house… as for me? I think I’ll skip the extra step.  That is, unless my awesome husband wants to continue doing all the grocery shopping, in which case the answer is he can buy whatever chicken he wants !



PS:  As an unrelated side note, I got my cast off this week and am feeling great and just a bit stiff .  Love being able to drive again!!

Cost Breakdown: Home-Made Coffee Creamers

I stumbled upon this site a few days ago and have been sooo excited to try her recipes.  The writer wanted to come up with home made creamers because she is trying to cut out everything that isn’t natural or organic from her diet and she couldn’t stand knowing what is really in those flavoured creamers in the bottle.  I can’t blame her, I don’t like what they are made of either, buuuuut they are so yummy!  I however, am not worried about the complete absence of any real food item in bottled creamer, I’m just cheap!

She uses lots of fancier ingredients, which I freely and guiltlessly substituted for what I have on hand.  The first recipe I tried is for Pumpkin Spice.  Many of my friends are loving this flavour right now, and there is something about fall that makes me crave pumpkin… plus I had some left over pureed pumpkin in the fridge…

1 cup whole milk ( ahem,  2% worked just fine for my purpose here)

1 cup heavy cream ( table cream)
3 Tblsp pureed pumpkin ( I had about 1/2 of a cup left over, so I just chucked it all in)
1 tsp pumpkin spice ( I don’t buy the blend, so I threw in some cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger)
4 Tblsp maple syrup ( I don’t buy the real thing, I use the NN fake stuff because it’s super cheap, but I figured this is how she is adding sweetness and a bit of thickening.  I used corn syrup and it worked perfectly!)
1 tsp vanilla extract ( for this I did use my real vanilla)

Wisk ingredients in a med pan over med heat.  Cook until milk starts steaming then pour into a glass jar and refrigerate.  You don’t want to actually boil the milk or you’ll scold it, just get it so its starts steaming lots.

Let me just say YUMMY!!!!!  Because you are cooking the milk, it will store well for a bit in the fridge.  With this one, I got about 750 ml of creamer once all the ingredients were added and they thickened that bit on the stove.  I don’t know what you pay for creamers that size?  Anyone help me out on that one?

The great thing is, this creamer took maybe 5 minutes to make, and from stuff I often have on hand.  If you’re making pies with pumpkin, keep out 3 tablespoons and make a batch! 

So, wanna know what it costs?  $1.30. Yup, that’s it!!!  I’m totally guessing the cost of the spices and pumpkin, since those are things I had on hand.  The cream cost 82 cents and the milk cost 28 cents.  That’s $1.10, so I’ll generously round up to $1.30 to account for the spices.  It’s nice to have the cream in it, but if you didn’t care that your creamer wouldn’t be as thick, you could always make it with all milk, and the total cost would be a measly 56 cents plus spices, so maybe 75 cents.

The next one I made was Peppermint Mocha, and it was just as delicious!!  Most of the creamers on the website will work out to the same price.  If you, like me, already have most of these ingredients on hand, it’s incredibly fast and super cheap to whip up a batch!  And hey, throw it in a pretty jar, it would make a great present for any coffee drinkers on your list this year…

Tomorrow I am making the caramel one Mmmmmmmmmmm.

Here’s the link to her page so you can copy all the nummy recipes(Deliciously Organic)

Cost Break-Down: Homemade Bread Version 2

I lost the paddle for my bread maker about a month ago, and have finally conceded the fact that it is not going to be found.  I’ve been missing it, since I actually use it a lot, and my family has been missing the yummy homemade bread.  I did look, but a replacement paddle is $30 plus shipping.  I think I’ll wait and see if I can find a bread maker during garage sale season.

In the meantime, I set out to find a bread recipe that we could use as an everyday white bread.  I found one called Everyday Amish White Bread that I wanted to try. One morning, I asked Colleena “ would you like to bake bread today?” She answered “ In the bread maker? We found the paddle?!”  “No, I said, by hand, the old fashioned way.”  A big smile on her face, she said “ Like little house on the prairie?” Then she hollered to Shawn" “ DAD!!! WE’RE MAKING PRAIRIE HOUSE BREAD!!!”.  And, so, that is how this recipe came to be named Prairie House Bread…


2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 TBsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
6 cups flour


Dissolve sugar in warm water in a large bowl, then stir in yeast.  Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
Mix salt and oil into yeast.  Mix in one cup of flour at a time.  Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth.  Place in well oiled bowl, and turn to coat.  Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled ( about 1 hour).
Punch dough down, knead for a minute.  Divide in half.  Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9X5 loaf pans.  Allow to rise at least 30 minutes, or until dough has risen an inch above pans.
Bake for 30 minutes in 350 degree oven.

These loaves are sweet and fluffy.  They have the same lightness and texture as store bought white, but taste way better! Works well for sandwiches and toast, or with a meal. They brown beautifully and don’t stick to the pans at all!

Sooooooo….. wanna know what it costs?

Water…um, free?  Sugar 16 cents, yeast 54 cents, salt 1 cent, oil 15 cents, flour 40 cents.  That’s a grand total of $1.26 for two loaves, or $0.63 each. YUMMY!!!!!





I made a double batch, and Baden could smell it the moment he got in the door from school.  He took a deep breath and proclaimed “ THAT is the best smell EVER!!!”.  Hee hee, Shawn agreed when he got home.  They don’t last too long since we all want to snack on them!  I think next time I’m going to shape some into buns too.

Cost Break-Down: Coffee

This one scares me a little.  Not that I buy coffee so often that the comparison to home-made will be shocking, but soon, you will know what an unnatural amount of sugar I put into my coffee :) , hee hee!

I don’t actually go out for coffee, but I was interested in just what my morning java fix really costs compared to grabbing a coffee on the go.

I buy Maxwell House coffee, and unless I really can’t help it, I wait until it goes on sale for $5.97 a can.  I measured what we normally scoop into the coffee pot, and it’s 75g of grounds ( or about 3/4 of a cup) for a full pot.  That means, I get just over 12 pots from a can.  $6/12 is $0.50 a pot. 

Then I measured my favourite mug.  It holds just under 2 cups of coffee with enough room left over for all that milk I am going to pour in there.  That’s 15 ounces, about the same as a large coffee from Timmie’s.  I would be able to fill my mug four times from the amount of brewed coffee in my pot.  So, that’s $0.12 a mug.

When I have creamer, it’s a treat, but most of the time, i use regular milk at home.  I glug in about 1/4 of a cup, which costs $0.06.

Please don’t hold it against me, but I put in two big tablespoons of sugar. What can I say? I need to be sweetened up, ha ha!  That’s about 1/8 of a cup, which costs $0.04.

Ok, here’s my grand total for this morning’s coffee : 22 CENTS! Pretty cheap in my opinion!

Since I don’t even know,  would someone please tell me: what does a large coffee sell for anyway?  Now I see why they call it a “latte factor” in your budget!  I’m sure if you grab coffees to go, it could really add up!  If you normally buy coffee, what would you save by making it at home instead?

What Are You Willing To Pay For Convenience?

This week, I have had to pay for two things that got me thinking about this question.  I ordered cheques, and I bought a quicken program.  And since I planned neither of these things in the first place, both kinda irked me.

My banking plan does not include free cheques.  I knew this when we opened this account.  I have never sat down, however, and figured out what it costs me to have cheques.  Let’s face it, I don’t need cheques, they are just to make life a bit more convenient for me.  At one time, they were almost a necessity, I think.  I don’t need them to pay bills, I use online banking.  I don’t need them to order things from a catalogue, or online, I can use my credit card for that.  I don’t need them to inform someone of what my account number is for direct deposit or direct withdrawal reasons, I can just tell them, or have the bank fill out a quick form.  But that would be less convenient!   would have to go to the bank! 

I have only just now used the 50 cheques I originally ordered when we opened this account two and a half years ago.  When I sit and think about who I have written them to, I realize that they were all times I could have used cash instead.  I can pay my hairdresser in cash.  I can send cash for school book orders.  I can pay cash to sign my kids up at gymnastics or swimming lessons.  I have written cheques for such dumb amounts as $3.50 for a hot lunch at the school.  The reason I use cheques is because it’s more convenient for me than carrying cash. 

I don’t usually carry cash anymore, it’s just easier to use my debit card wisely.  To pay for the things I have been using cheques for, I would have to keep different denominations on hand.  It’s one thing to say I’ll have a $20 bill for when I sign up the first week of mom’s morning out, but it’s a lot more to plan on having $13.52 for a book order.

All this to say, I realize that I have been using cheques because it’s easier.  But what is that costing me?  I just ordered 50 of the most basic cheques.  No extra sayings or cute pictures.  They cost $35 including shipping, that’s 70 cents per cheque!  Ok, that’s not a ton, but it adds up.  It seems even sillier to pay that for the cheque if it’s only $3.50!  In the future, I think I will plan ahead on my way to the hairdresser’s and stop at the ATM.  I may even try to keep a bit of cash on hand for those things that always seem to come up at school like lunches, book orders, or fundraisers.  Every time i consider writing a cheque, I’m sure I’ll be thinking “ is this worth the extra 70 cents?”.

After I bought, installed and set up quicken’s “Money Manager” program, I regretted it.  Oh, it’s a great program, I have always loved the quicken line-up of software, and every year I buy their tax program for the easiest taxes ever. ( I highly recommend this!)  Since my previous quicken expired, I have created a spreadsheet which basically does the same thing for me.  I use it like a cheque register to plan and record what is going into and out of our account in a given month.  It does the math for me.  I can track what category a given purchase falls into, and create a budget planning what we will spend in each area for that month.  Yup, I’m a nerd, and I spent a lot of time on this.  Then, I got an even better spread sheet from the budgeting presentation we had at Mom’s Morning Out.  But, I wanted it to re-organize transactions by date as I put new stuff in.  Ok, I probably could have figured out how to continue tweaking my spreadsheet, or I could have asked some of my friends who are even bigger spreadsheet addicts than me.  I also like the convenience of downloading transactions straight from my on-line banking instead of flipping from window to window.  Ok, I could have done that too, I suppose, if I’d tried a little harder to figure it out.  The program has a couple of quirks that annoy me, like you can’t post transfers between accounts, so it shows up as an uncategorized transaction and keeps going back to it, asking you to put it in a category.  I don’t really like their budgeting system, I still prefer my own.  The program is worth about $40.

Even the spread sheet was the first step in “convenience”.  I used to use a paper check register, and track all of our transactions.  I can do that.

The quicken comes with a money back satisfaction guarantee, apparently, so I may still see if I can return it.  Though, since it was a program that is downloaded, I’m not sure how a return would work?  I may have to check in with some of my spreadsheet loving friends this week about the couple of things I would like to tweak…

So, that was two things this week I paid for because they were “more convenient”.  Which is just a polite way of saying I paid for them because I am too lazy to do something another way.  Have you ever paid for something and then realized you bought it only to make it “easier” or “more convenient”?  Would the alternate route have been that hard? Was it worth it?

Cost Break-Down: Breaded Tenderloin Supper

Breaded tenderloin supper is one of our family’s favourites.  Everybody gets excited when it’s on that days’ menu.  It’s usually a real treat meal for us.  So, last week, when we enjoyed it, I took the extra time to weigh or measure out all the parts and figure the cost for each component.  I’ll spare you too much of the extra math, but I will add it in a comment afterwards in case you’re curious how I got my numbers.

To bread the tenderloin, I dredge it in flour, then egg mixed with a small amount of water, then the breading. ( I can add a comment about the why and how of all the steps afterwards too). I use any sweet corn based cereal to bread.

75g flour : $0.05
125g Corn Pops: $1.33
1 egg : $0.16
3 lbs potatoes: $0.90
400g frozen corn : $0.99
250ml canola oil for frying: $0.58
Lemonade to drink: $0.67

Once I add in the cost of the pound of moose tenderloin ( which I calculated to be $0.52...if you want to know how I got that number see my post on the cost of our wild meat: Cost Break-Down of Our Family's Meat)
My actual cost for this meal was : $5.20 Wow, I guess I don’t have to feel like it’s only a treat!  That was 6 steaks and sides.  I have enough potatoes left over to fry as lunch tomorrow with the corn, I really could have cooked about half as much potatoes and corn.  I also had too much breading, but once you’ve dragged the raw meat through it, you can’t just save it for next time.  I could cut costs but simply not using as much next time.

Now, I never buy meat, but I looked at the flyers this week to see what you’d have to add if you did.  If you ditch the lemonade, and buy sirloin steaks, they are $3.99 a pound. You’re total meal cost would be $8 ( if you used a pound of the steak).  Or, the breading would be really good on chicken too.  For a pound of bone in, skin removed, split chicken breasts($3.79 a pound this week), you’re total cost would be $7.80.  Lots of these ingredients fluctuate in cost, but this is what making it this time cost me.

Additional Notes:
How I got these numbers:

10 kg bag of flour, I bought for $5.98. Divide by 100 to find the cost of 100g of flour :5.9 cents ( I rounded to 6 cents). cost of 75g of flour (6c X .75) = 5c

725g box of corn pops:$7.67. 725/125=5.8, 7.67/5.8=1.325, I rounded up to $1.33

20lb bag of potatoes = $6.00 ( I know this fluctuates, but this is what I paid for the bag I currently have) that’s 30c a pound.  I measured the potatoes I used, and got 3lbs. 0.90

250ml canola oil: $7 for 3L (3000ml/250ml = 12) 7/12=58.3  I rounded to 58c.

400g frozen corn, microwaved:2kg bag= $4.98 (2000g/400g = 5) 4.98/5 = 99c

The cost of a single egg, I had already calculated when I did bread, and the meat was also in a separate post.

Breading Recipe Directions:
I always pound the steaks with a meat tenderizer first, so they are thin and even.

I got this recipe from Alton Brown’s cook book, and I love it! It always comes out fabulous and delicious.  He has lots of great tips and tricks.

Dredge in flour first, and shake off excess. This very thin layer provides primer for the egg layer which will then cement on the crumb layer.  Dredge through egg beaten with a bit of water. This is like a protein glue that keeps your crumb coat from staying in the frying pan instead of on your plate where you want it.  Let excess drip off.  Put meat in crumb layer and cover both sides.  Let meat rest for 30 minutes, then fry. ( I put mine on one of those cookie racks so the bottom doesn’t get soggy)
You can use lots of things for the crumb layer, but our family likes any corn based cereal.  It makes it a bit sweet, which is a neat addition to the meat, and it crisps up so nicely.  I have used Cap’n Crunch, and we also like Corn Pops.  I blitz them in the food processor.
You need to get your oil up to 350 degrees F ( yes I am a nerd and I use a thermometer).  If your oil goes below 325, your food will be soggy instead of crispy.  Oil should come about 2/3 of the way up the sides of the meat when you pan fry it.

There you are, I’ve given away my secret to the yummiest breading!

Cost Break-Down: Tacos

Our family LOVES tacos.  I make it once every week and a half or so, as a special meal, say on a Friday night, as a treat.  I think it’s a cheap way for the kids to feel like we’ve eaten a fun meal.  Now right off, I know there are ways I could cut the price of this meal down, but I wanted a real assessment of what we spend when we make it the same way we always do.  I started making my own taco spice mix a couple years ago, so I had to estimate the price of the seasoning.  I fry two pounds of meat, and I know this is the fastest way I could cut costs, but for us, the meat is the main filling, and I am also trying to have enough for the next day’s lunch left over. Our favourite way to use the left over meat, by the way, is to make a sandwich with toasted bread and a slice of processed cheese on top of the meat.  Our favourite toppings are lettuce, tomato, green pepper, sour cream, and of course lots of cheese!  One more tip, is to put shredded carrots ( I’ve also heard of zucchini) into the meat while you’re frying.  It stretches your meat, and something about the carrot enhances the flavour of the spices, making your meat spicier.  You get more “meat filling” without using any more spice packs than if you just fried the single pound of meat.  It’s also one more veggie, if those are hard to get in around your table.

So here is what I spent, when I made tacos this week ( didn’t use carrots this time):

Shells (18 pack of Old El Paso): $4.29
Green Pepper: $0.52
Lettuce: $0.53
Tomato: $0.94
Sour Cream: $0.90
2 lb Ground Deer: $2.00
Cheese (200g): $2.20

Seasoning Mix (est): $0.75

That’s a total of $12.13!  
This is by far the most expensive meal I’ve broken down yet!  If you bought the two spice packs you’d need for this amount of meat at $1.69 ea (last time I looked) and you bought your two pounds of lean ground beef at the store ( for $1.78/ lb) then the total cost would be : $16.32!!

I was totally surprised by how high the cost was on this one.  In perspective, though, our family would spend at least $25 to eat out at a fast food restaurant, so eating at home is still a better bargain.  I still plan to eat and enjoy my tacos, and I will still probably smother them in all those rich, more expensive ingredients.  I think I’ll just make sure we aren’t enjoying them too often!

If you’re wondering how I came up with the cost of the wild meat we used, here is the link to that post: Cost Break-Down: Our Family's Meat.  Everything else I did by either by weight, like the cheese; and the lettuce etc I figured by looking at this week’s grocery bill. We used a third of the head of lettuce that I got for $1.59, so it was $0.53 worth of lettuce.

Cost Break-Down: Our Family’s Meat

My husband hunts and fishes for almost every pound of meat our family eats.  I get alot of questions about the cost of hunting as a hobby, which makes me laugh, because you can definitely spend as much as you’d like if you’re going to go all high tech gear etc.Or if you travel to exotic locales.  So while there are a million possible additional costs here, I have taken the time to figure out what our specific hunting season cost us for the meat we gained.

Last years’ Moose:

Gas for return trip to hunting spot : $150

Draw Moose Tag: $55

Shawn’s moose was 900 pounds, conservatively estimated.  We got 400-450 pounds of meat ( again conservative estimate, since we didn’t weigh the total meat pile, but you can expect to get 50%-55% of an animal’s weight in usable meat).  We gut, butcher and wrap ourselves.  We also make our own sausages.  We have all the equipment needed, so our only added processing cost is the wrap we use.  We’ve figured that it costs $0.01 per pound to wrap the meat.

That means, that if every cut and type of meat is valued the same, a pound of moose meat cost us $0.52. This would include roasts, tenderloin, steaks, ground, jerky, stew meat, strip cuts….etc etc.  We get meat cut exactly how we want it, in the size of packages that our family likes.  Around here, it’s grain fed, and it’s hormone free. 

Last Year’s Deer:
Gas for return trip to hunting spot : $150
Tags for 4 does : $40
Ammo for 4 shots : $4

On average, each doe netted us 50 pounds ( averaged out between white tail deer and mule deer).  Again, including wrap, that works out to 200 pounds of meat for $196. That’s $0.98 a pound for that year’s trip.

Another deer example would be this year’s Mule buck: 

Gas: $100
Tag:$35
Bullet: $1

Total meat was 110 pounds ( it was a NICE buck!) so that’s  $1.25 a pound ( including wrap).  And that’s about the most expensive number we could get for deer, since he only shot one deer that day, in the farthest he would hunt from home.

The following is what Shawn says would be the average Joe going hunting around his own home:

Doe tags: $20 ( for 2 does)

Ammo: $2
Gas: $40

The average doe nets you 40 pounds of meat ( again, conservative estimate based on average body weights mixed together of the white tail and mule deer does) SO, for 80 pounds of some of the finest meat there is, you have spent $1.56 a pound( including wrap).

I guarantee you are not going to go to the grocery store and buy tenderloin for any of the above prices.  Maaaaaaaybe the ground works out the same as the grocery store, depending on alot of things.

Ok, One more: Last weekend’s fishing trip:
Gas to fishing spot, again one of the furthest places we regularly drive : $40

Bait ( because Shawn insists on the good smelts): $10

Pounds of fish fillets: 15.  That works out to $2.67 per pound for the fish caught on that trip.  If you were to buy Northern Pike Fillets at the fish store here in town, you’d pay $8 a pound.  Seems like a good deal to me.

Now, alot of these numbers are based on averages, but Shawn plans to be a lot more scale crazy this year, and have more specific numbers to go by next year. See, I’m not the only calculator crazy nerd in the house :)

Cost Break-Down: Spaghetti Supper

I’m still struggling to get our grocery budget under control!  One of the things that is tripping me up is that I don’t know what we usually spend on an average meal at our house.  How can I try to spend less per meal, if I don’t know what I am spending now?  I have been trying to spend less but eat the same!  So in order to help me know which meals cost me more to trade them out with others, I am trying to figure out what some of our favourite suppers cost.

I make spaghetti once a week, because it’s quick, easy and my kids love it. Invariably, when I ask them which suppers they want me to plan on that week, they both say “spaghetti”!!  I use ground deer/moose/elk from the freezer, so to me, this cost doesn’t get included in the meal.  We pay for hunting costs in hunting season, and I don’t factor them into the grocery cost the rest of the year.  I use one can of tomato sauce, to which I add the meat and some spices that my kids like ( cumin and oregano).  I used to add mushrooms, but my kids requested I leave them out, so in trade, we have a spinach salad( spinach leaves, grated carrots and grated cheese with dressing).  Believe it or not, all my kids love spinach!  If I’m really on the ball that day, I make a loaf of bread to go with it.  I buy my spaghetti in those huge no name bags, and last time I made it, I figured out that I use about half the bag.

So here is my cost:
Can of NN tomato sauce :$1.07
Spices :$0.05
Spaghetti Noodles: $2.00
Spinach Salad, all ingredients:$1.50
Loaf of homemade Bread:$1.33

Which means this meal costs a grand total of : $5.95 ! That’s supper for 6-8 people and I usually have enough left-over's for one lunch. That’s pretty amazing!!  I could cut the cost more if I skipped the bread.  If you buy a pound of lean ground beef to add to yours, add $1.78 to that, making for a total of $7.73.

I’d love to know what some of your go-to low cost weekday meals are!

Cost Break-Down : Chocolate Milk

Ok, the idea for this one came from a friend of mine who said she often buys the 4L jugs of chocolate milk for her family as a treat, since it can’t cost that much more than adding the syrup to it at home.  Honestly, I like the taste of the pre-made stuff better, so I bought a jug in my last grocery run, and set out to compare.

The first problem I ran into was that the Nesquick bottle does not actually say how much you are supposed to use!  I guess they figure you should add as much as you like.  To create a standard, this is what I did.  According to Nestle ( who uses the Canadian Food Guide to base this on) a serving of milk is one cup, and a serving of Nesquick, according to the nutrition label is one tablespoon.  To make sure this is close to what one might actually use, I mixed a glass to taste.  It was about what I had normally been putting in when I mixed it for my kids, really saturated, but none left in the bottom of the cup either.

So, if one cup is a serving of milk, there are 16 cups, or servings in a jug of milk.  16 times one tablespoon, or 15ml, is approximately 240 ml.  That’s about half the jug of the 500ml bottle of Nesquick, which costs $4.97

Here’s the breakdown:  If you took one jug of 2% milk ($3.97) and added enough syrup ($2.50) it would cost you $6.47!  Buying the 4L jug of chocolate milk is $4.89!  So I guess I’ll be buying the pre-made jugs more often.

Also, if I send chocolate milk in the school lunches, instead of buying it through the milk program, the difference is: $0.75 at school, $0.40 using syrup and milk, or $0.31 for the pre-made.

I gotta admit, this one surprised me!

Cost Break-Down : Bread

Ok, I have to start with a disclaimer.  I set out to find out exactly what it costs me to make bread, but I don't really care if it is less than store bought.  I love homemade bread so much!  The aroma of it cooking in the kitchen is such a warm and welcoming smell!!

I figured out the cost of my most used recipe, which I got from a book called the 250 Best Canadian Bread Machine Baking Recipes  . I use the Sally Lunn Bread recipe from page 25 as my go-to white bread recipe.

for a two pound loaf: Use sweet cycle.
1 1/4 cup milk ($0.31)
1 egg ($0.16)
1 1/4 tsp salt ( works out so low, its less than a fraction of a penny)
1/4 cup sugar ($0.07)
3 Tbsp margerine ($0.32)
3 1/2 cups flour ($0.30)
3/4 tsp bread machine yeast ($0.16)

Which adds up to $1.33

I don't really know which bread to compare it to though.  A loaf of bread at the store is $1.67, but that's a sandwhich bread, and this one is more for with a meal.  It is half the size of the store loaf, but four times as dense.  Store bought loaves definetly toast better, and probably make better sandwiches, although we don't eat many of them.  When we want to make bush pies, we definetly buy bread.

The cost difference isn't as much as I thought it would be, so I guess when I'm busy and behind on the baking, I will just give myself a break and buy the odd loaf or two.  This is kind of an expensive recipe, having milk and eggs in it.  I might try findig the cost of a few other bread machine recipes, and see if I can find a cheaper one.

Do you have a go to home made recipe?

Cost Break-Down : Hot Chocolate

Mmmmmmmm.  I LOVE hot chocolate.  Our family buys those super tubs, and I make it for the kids when it's cool out, or when we just want to sit together and enjoy some family time.  One night we were visiting Shawn's aunt and she made us the most delicious cup of hot chocolate I had ever had.  I asked her what kind it was, and she laughed.  "I just whipped it up" she said.  I asked for the recipe and she just chuckled more and said " I don't know, some cocoa, some sugar, and mix it all up with hot water".  I hate people who cook like that, because you can never get a recipe, but on the other hand, I cook like that! Haha!

So began my search for a great homemade recipe.  There are lots out there on the net, some include snooty imported chocolate from somewhere I've never heard of, and some insist on "dutch process" but I dont even know what that is!  I tried a few different ratios, when I decided that simple is usually best.  1 part sugar, 1 part cocoa.  Perfect!!  My kids thought it was more chocolatey than the mixed stuff and if you dont like it that sweet, you can always cut back on the sugar.  I always mix my hot chocolate in steaming hot water to disolve everything, but I only fill the cup 2/3 full.  When everything is mixed well, I fill the rest of the cup with milk.  Its perfect drinking temperature and its nice and creamy.  Even better if you have some cream in the house you need to use up.

Ok, not only do I like it better, I feel better about using it.  I read the ingredients on the side of the store bought stuff, and the list is so long, it blows my mind.  And it includes fillers, preservatives and things I can't even pronounce.  Cocoa, which is essentially the main ingredient, is almost at the bottom of the list.  There is more hydrogenated vegetable oils in the mix than cocoa (!!!!!).  Don't let me get going on how terrible hydrogenated fats are for you!!  So, after reading the list, I didn't really care if it was cheaper, I'll be drinking homemade from now on!

But being the math geek that I am, I still had to figure out the cost.

500g container of store bought is usually about $5.

To make the same amount of homemade, I ended up with less actual weight ( the difference must be in those fillers, yuck!)

300g of sugar ( 1 1/4 cups) costs $0.39
100g of cocoa(1 1/4 cups) cost $1.00

you could add 1/2 c of powdered milk if you want, which would add a few more cents, but I like adding the milk when I make it.

yup, thats $1.39 instead of $5, and 100g less fillers and junk you don't wanna eat anyway!

Know the cost!

So often, when our family wants, or needs, something, I buy it without thinking first about the actual cost.  We eat bananas, so I buy them.  I don't pay any attention to the cost per pound and have no idea what a good price for bananas might be.  There are a few things I pay attention to, like cheese, but even if the price is higher, I buy it anyway!

I saw a speaker once who's message was that if you knew the total cost you were paying for something, you would have less of an over spending problem.  Let's do some super simple math as an example.  I want to buy something that is a dollar.  In our province, that means I will pay $1.13 with sales tax. BUT, I have to earn $1.28, so they can deduct income taxes first, to have $1.13 to buy the item worth one dollar.  Okay, I know this is a little example, but add a few zeros and you have to earn $1280 dollars to buy a $1000 couch...adds up!

In our new way of thinking, saving even a penny at a time, I have taken the time to do a cost break down on some things I spend on without thinking.  First Laundry.  We have three kids, a mom who spills and a dad who works in a job where he often gets dirty.  I wash atleast 10 loads per week, and thats a nice round number for easy math.  I have to use a special soap because of one child's excema.  I have to drive to a different store, across town, where the laundry soap is the only item I purchase, but I'm not even figuring in that cost yet!  I buy liquid soap for my HE front loader that washes 30 loads ( MAYBE, if none of them require extra soap!).  I wash in warm water, and dry them in my dryer.  The soap costs me $9 per bottle.  That means that I spend just three dollars a week on soap, and use about 1/2 a litre of it.  Running the dryer works out to about 70 cents per load. Thats $7 a week!!  So I spend $10 a week, just washing my clothes, but not including the cost of water, and heating it.  Wow, I never realized how much we spend simply washing clothes.  I already do some things to save in this area, like running full loads, drying on medium heat etc.  After doing the math, this does seem like a good area to cut some costs in.  First, I am switching to cold wash ( I know, I should already be doing this!).  Second, I will put up a clothes line next spring.  Until then, I will set the dryer to get the clothes almost dry, instead of very dry, and have the dryer running less time.  But the biggest cost saver I am discovering is this: I am going to make my own laundry soap.  I can buy a bar of laundry soap for $2( and customize the amount in it to avoid irritating skin), and then all I need is 1 cup of washing soda (cost...maybe 50 cents), and 1/2 cup of borax (cost maybe another 50 cents).  And this will make 10 gallons of soap!!!  I'll let you know how it goes!

The second thing I have done some quick math on this week is the milk program at school.  In the past I've always just written a check and been glad that I only have one kid to pay for.  The school charges 75 cents for the small milk.  This week, my mother in law wondered out loud if that was really a good buy, and I whipped out my calculator ( I already know I'm a dork).  I can send him the same amount of milk in a thermos for under 25 cents.  So, I think I'll skip the milk program.  Plus, sending a thermos lets me mix it up a bit for him so he doesn't have the same thing everyday.  I wait for the juice in bags, Del Monte for real juice, or Kool-Aid as a treat, to go on sale for under $2.  Kool-Aid I can often find for $1.50.  Those items are only 15 cents, or 20 cents to send.

A third thing we exercised our calculator fingers on was the cost of our hot tub.  If you have a hot tub, you may already know that the first two months or so you use less chemicals to maintain water, but by the third month, you start using alot more to maintain chlorine levels and cleanliness.  Averaged over a whole year, when we use it about 5 or more times a week, year round, it costs us $40 a month to heat it, and $20 a month in chemicals.  We love the hot tub, as a family thing to do, and to keep from feeling stiff and sore.  A total of $2 a day seems well worth it to us.  We spend way more on tv each month anyway!  But surely, there has to be a way to cut down the cost, right?  We realized that the first two months or so, it likely only costs us $10 a month for the chemicals we need, and the third or subsequent months would be $30 to $40! WOW!  But what does it cost to drain and refill the tub?  We got out our water bill, did some fancy figuring and realized that for our 1500 litre tub, it costs us $20.  I think we'll just change the water more often!!

Have you ever stopped to figure out some cost breakdowns? How about how long you have to work to earn the amount you spend in a certain budget area? I'd love to hear them!