Do It Yourself - Save Money

Did you know that you can save money just by slicing your own mushrooms or cutting up your own carrots?  Next time you're at the grocery store check out the prices.  Items that are already cut or prepared for you are more expensive.  Maybe not by a lot, but they still cost more.  For example, we eat fresh mushrooms in our meals each week - an average of 3 times.  I sautee them, make gravy and put them in lots of dishes like spaghetti.  We like them fresh.  At my local Wally World an 8 oz package of whole mushrooms costs $1.98.  And right next to it is the 8 oz sliced mushrooms for $2.18.  So, essentially you are paying them $.20 to slice the mushrooms for you.  $.20 might not seem like a lot, but over a year it will add up.  If I bought the presliced mushrooms for $.20 more 3 times a week I would be paying someone $31.20 to cut my mushrooms for me.  Mushrooms don't take a lot of time to slice so if you're pinched for time they still are a better buy for the whole ones. 

Now, let's look at carrots.  A 16 oz bunch of unpeeled and uncut carrots costs $1.50.  A 12 oz package of carrot sticks which are peeled and cut are $2.19.  The unpeeled and uncut carrots are $.09 an ounce and the pre-cut, pre-peeled carrots are $.18 an ounce.  That's double the price!

Let's assume you eat 16 oz of carrots a week.  (We use them a lot for stews this time of year.)  If you bought the already prepared packages at $.18 an oz. over a year you would be paying $74.88 just for someone to cut your carrots for you.

Another good example is the shrink wrapped sweet potatoes that you can just throw in the microwave as they are.  Unwrapped sweet potatoes cost $.98 lb at my local Wally World.  The shrink wrapped ones are $1.09 each.  So, you're paying someone to wrap up your sweet potatoes for you.  Hmmm...doesn't seem worth it does it? 

There are lots of ways to save money just by doing a little extra work yourself.  Next time you're at the grocery store look around and check out the prices.  Sure, it's certainly easy to pick up the "easy" pack, but you need to ask yourself "Can I do this myself?"  

Need something done around the house?  Maybe that leaky faucet that's costing you money each month?  Check out the site DoItYourself before you call someone.  It could save you tons of money!