Baking is a great hobby for frugal moms. Stress and daily problems melt away as frugal moms bake cookies, bread and other goodies for their families. Lately, supplies have risen in cost. As a frugal mom who still loves to bake I have had to find ways to bake our cookies and cakes with frugality in mind.
Here are a few things I have done to save.
Shop Sale for Supplies
First, a lot of stores hold weekly sales. Utilizing the sales for baking supplies is a great way to stock up. For example, around the holidays I will buy lots of powdered sugar because this is the best price. If you know there is an item on sale that you use, buy a case. Then make it last until the next sale. If necessary, buy two cases. The goal is to make the baking item last until they will have another sale.
Frugal Moms Buy in Bulk
Sam’s Club and Costco are perfect for saving money in bulk. They each sell different items to satisfy the home baker’s needs. At Thanksgiving I stock up on pumpkin so that I have it on hand for several months if I need it. We eat a lot of pumpkin muffins, so it never goes to waste.
In addition to buying in bulk for holiday items, I also buy large bags of flour. Most frugal moms who love to bake for a hobby do so from scratch. Baking from scratch is very different than purchasing a cake mix or pancake mix. Frugal moms who bake a lot use a lot of flour, sugar and baking powder. Nothing is worse than needing an ingredient that is not in the pantry and taking time out to run to the store. That is another reason to buy in bulk. Bulk purchasing helps me to keep down my trips to the store, which helps me to save.
Be Creative with Substitutions
Substitutions are part of my baking program. As I mentioned previously, I buy in bulk. Shortening is something that is expensive, so I go to Sam’s club to buy it. If they are out, or the price is too high then I will wait for a store to have it on sale. While I am waiting, I still bake. Substitutions or as I call them improvising on ingredients helps. For instance, I will try butter instead of shortening, or buttermilk instead of milk and so on. Some ingredients cannot be substituted.
Part of saving money as a baker is knowing what to switch out and still have a great taste.
Make your own Buttermilk, Yogurt, Yeast Culture and Cheese
Most frugal moms love to make their own butter, buttermilk and yogurt. I have made all of these except yeast, or cheese. These are a little more time intensive and my hobby is baking. Hobby baking is a way to help your home save money, but trial and error to me are wasteful. Taking a few cheese making classes might help me to be more confident in that area.
Avoid Gadget Purchasing
Finally gadget purchasing. Frugal moms know they don’t need every gadget under the sun. For one it is wasteful spending. Two, most of it will end up in a garage sale or giveaway box. I do like a few gadgets like a apple peeler/corer and orange slicer. Furthermore, they take up endless amounts of space.
Space is essential to baking, so don’t waste it on a lot of gadgets. Look for sales and get a good stand mixer. Another good item to save up for is a blender. Spending money on good products that will be used endless amounts of time is important.
Hobby baking is a fun hobby that is relaxing. Therefore, try out some of these tips to enjoy baking as a frugal mom. Everything can be done, it is just finding a way to make it work. If money is short buy in bulk and bake weekly. To get better though, baking at least once a week is essential.
For more tips on living a frugal lifestyle, homeschooling, homemaking and life on a suburban homestead sign up for my newsletter.
Leave a Reply