Well, as some of you know already, in December I purchased a bread machine.  Since then, I have not bought store made bread of any kind, other than one package of bagels.  Funny thing is, I now have dough rising to make my own bagels too.  Keep your fingers crossed.
With the ridiculous cost of a loaf of bread these days (along with everything else), and while I haven't calculated the cost of the machine, plus the cost of ingredients, I already know the machine has paid for itself, and I'm not wasting money on bread that goes into the trash (which is what happens when you live alone).  The ingredients for the bread don't cost that much either if you break it down into recipe  portions.


Anne

[edited March-8-2008]

I ran out of room on the previous post, but here's another new thing I'm doing to try and save some of the money spent at the market:

I've also invested in a membership to a warehouse club, and then I just divide meats, poultry, etc., into serving sizes and seal them with my handi-vac before freezing them.

I'm eating better, and certainly for less money than the "good" old days of frozen dinners and convenience foods, and my food budget has shrunk dramatically.  It just requires a teeny bit more effort on my part, but it's been so worth it.

Anne

[edited March-8-2008]

I'm curious Anne, now that it's been a few months into it... do you still find the Food Saver a good purchase?  To me, it always seems like it might be the kind of gadget that I'd get all fired up about, use it the week-of-purchase, then it'd gather dust.  Are you still using yours?

I have had two food savers. I wore out the first one. I buy meats when they go on sale and divide them up. Last month I bought a ham and a turkey breast on sale and sliced up meat for lunches. I also tried cheese but is does not freeze real well.