Doing the math will save money

There are some traditional frugal activities that will save money, if all of the circumstances are right, such as canning a bounty produce. However, this venture requires a few things, in order for it to be indeed frugal, like having the canning equipment and a source of cheap or free fruits or vegetables. Most autumns I have a free source of apples, my own backyard. This year was a poor year for our garden and fruit trees. The weather just did not cooperate. I have only a handful of apples this year. That means that if I want applesauce I either have to buy apples to make it, or buy ready-made applesauce.

The last couple of weeks I have been craving applesauce, so I thought I would buy some apples and make my own. But I needed to do a price comparison between making my own and buying ready-made.

Best price on fresh apples this week is 88 cents/lb, in my area. Although the peels and cores are waste, that cost if offset by water that is added to commercial applesauce. So, I figure those as a wash in costing this out. My estimated price per pint is 88 cents, for homemade applesauce, right now, not factoring in fuel to run the stove.

At Fred Meyer I can buy the store brand of unsweetened applesauce at 10% off on Senior Discount Day (yesterday for this month). The regular price is $2.19 for 46 ounces. My cost after discount was $2. I found a digital coupon to load to my loyalty card, bringing the cost down to $1.70. That works out to 59 cents per pint.

Buying the ready-made applesauce was the money saver, this time. I went ahead and bought applesauce, instead of doing the traditionally frugal thing of making my own.

How about you? Have you ever found that DIY didn't save money after all?

I recognize that there can be other factors to consider in one of these equations, such as flavor, or organic vs. not organic. This time around, I was satisfied with the product I would have if buying the ready-made product. And now I have an idea of the price per pound that I need to find on fresh apples, to make applesauce for less than store-bought. The bonus is that I freed up valuable time to do other frugal or income-producing activities during my work hours.

One of my daughters did something really nice yesterday . .

. . . she put together a cook-out for the family. I'm sure part of this was a bit of self-interest, as she wanted a cook-out for the hot dogs and s'mores. And I also think she really wanted an evening of the family together.

Her menu:

• hot dogs cooked over the outdoor fire ring
• buns, for those who wanted one (I skipped the bun in favor of more potato salad)
• potato salad
• cole slaw
• strawberries
• carrots (she nixed the carrots at the last minute, on my suggestion, we had plenty of food otherwise)
• s'mores, using a homemade chocolate frosting/ganache in place of chocolate candy

She surprised me with how well she thought out a menu using only what we had on hand. She even made potato salad for the very first time, and it was delicious (I had seconds). She asked about making hot dog buns, but I suggested we just use whatever we have in the freezer, which ended up being hamburger buns. Works just fine.

The cook-out was fun, just sitting around the fire afterward. Although, the mosquitos ate me alive. We're in a bit of a heat-wave, here. The forecast is 93 for today, 87 for tomorrow. When you don't have A/C, that's pretty hot. How was your long weekend? Did you BBQ or have a cook-out? Or did you use the time to get a project done, or just relax?

Have a great day!