My neighbor's $1.50 spice mix changed my whole grocery bill

Last Tuesday my neighbor Marco handed me a jar of his homemade taco seasoning after I complained about store prices, and he said the trick is just cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and a pinch of cayenne from the bulk bins. I added up the cost per batch and it came to about $1.50 versus the $4.50 for a tiny bottle at the grocery store, which got me thinking about how many other 'cheap' pantry staples I'm overpaying for. Has anyone else switched to making their own mixes or spice blends, and did it actually save you money in the long run?

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emmaclark29d ago

Wait, is Marco trying to start a spice cartel or just being a really good neighbor? Lol. But okay, this reminds me of my friend Dave who swore he was saving a ton by making his own ranch dip mix. He bought like 8 different herbs and spices for it, plus buttermilk powder, and after two years he still had half the jars left and admitted the store stuff tasted basically the same to him. He finally threw it all out when he moved because he was tired of hauling those giant containers around. So yeah, maybe it works if you actually use it a lot, but my luck with homemade blends is that I end up with a graveyard of half empty jars.