Stop Buying These 17 Things and Make Them Yourself

With our busy lives, it often seems easier to buy the things we need rather than make them. But some of the things you regularly use or consume can be made from scratch relatively quickly and for a fraction of the cost of store-bought.

Check out these 17 things money-saving experts recommend you should stop buying because you can make them on your own — without a big time commitment — for much less. Then, decide what to do with all that cash because these easy DIYs will save you tons of money.

If bread is a staple in your house, you can dramatically reduce the cost by making your own.

“My family likes to eat healthy, organic foods, and I was spending close to $5 per loaf at the grocery store on fancy, pre-made whole wheat bread with no high-fructose corn syrup,” said Liz Frugalwoods, who writes about frugal living at Frugalwoods.com. “Now, I make my own bread for pennies per loaf.”

Using a hand-me-down bread machine, she makes whole wheat bread using a King Arthur Flour recipe. None of it goes to waste because it freezes well, she added.

Hummus is another one of the many foods that Mrs. Frugalwoods and her husband make from scratch rather than buy pre-made from the supermarket.

“We are hummus fiends — especially our toddler who requests ‘hummah’ at almost every meal — and pre-made hummus is pricey,” Mrs. Frugalwoods said. It can cost about $4 for a 10-ounce container when not on sale.

They combine garbanzo beans, olive oil, lemon zest, squeezed lemon and water in the food processor. A can of garbanzo beans costs about 70 cents, and a lemon costs about 60 cents. If you use olive oil you have on hand, you’ll only spend about $1.50 to make hummus.

“No need for expensive ingredients such as tahini,” she said. “This lemony hummus tastes wonderful for a fraction of the price.”

. “You will get much more for your money,” she said.

Rather than buy bottles of salad dressing, which can cost $3.93 for Newman’s Own dressing at Walmart, you likely can make a vinaigrette for next to nothing with ingredients you already have on hand. You can combine olive oil, vinegar and spices to make your own dressing, Woroch said.

“Search online to find a recipe using the ingredients you already have at home and you can make it for cheap,” she said. “Not only will it cost less, but it will oftentimes be a lot healthier.”

On average, consumers spend about $800 annually on cleaning supplies, according to Statista. Rather than buy pricey household cleaners, Mrs. Frugalwoods makes her own cleaning solution of water and white vinegar.

“This solution works to clean everything from the toilet to the kitchen counter and, again, costs me pennies,” she said. “A 1-gallon jug of white vinegar costs me $3.34. And that single jug provides me with enough cleaning solution for at least a year, since I cut it in half with tap water.”

Making this DIY household cleaner saves you money, and it’s an environmentally friendly cleaning solution. “With both a toddler and a septic system to consider, not having dangerous chemicals and fumes around is a priority for me,” Mrs. Frugalwoods said.

Cherie Lowe, creator of the blog Queen of Free, started creating her own DIY laundry detergent because her family was having allergic reactions to store-bought detergents. It has saved her hundreds of dollars over the years, she said.

To make your own detergent, mix 1 cup of Borax, 1 cup of washing soda — you can buy a box of each for $3 to $5 — and ½ cup of an oxygen cleaning product such as OxiClean, a box of which sells for about $6, for a total of about $14. You only need one tablespoon of the mix per load of laundry, so this DIY detergent will last you.

If you make your own laundry detergent, you can use a lot of the same ingredients to also make dishwasher detergent. Lowe recommended combining one box of Borax, one box of washing soda, 3 cups of Epsom salt and 24 packets of unsweetened lemonade mix in an air-tight container.

Lowe uses just a teaspoon of the mix per load. It costs less than $10 to make enough dishwasher detergent, 144 ounces or so, to last a year, she said. By comparison, it costs almost $16 for a 59-count box of Cascade Complete Pods Dishwasher Detergent at Walmart.

Even if you’re waiting for paper towels to go on sale and using coupons, you’re still paying more than you have to for this disposable product. You’ll spend a lot less using washable dishcloths rather than paper towels that get tossed after one use, said Erin Chase, a frugal expert and founder of $5 Dinners.

Chase said she hasn’t used paper towels in nine years. Instead, she spends about $12 per year buying eight-packs of washable dishcloths instead of $11 per month on a six-pack of paper towels. She estimated that she saves about $100 per year by opting for reusable dishcloths.

Napkins are another paper product that penny pinchers never buy, Chase said. Rather than spend several dollars every month on a package of paper napkins that you’ll toss after one use, you can buy cloth napkins at the dollar store and use them again and again.

If you have a sweet tooth, keep down the cost of sweet treats by making dessert yourself rather than buying them.

“The bakery section at the grocery store has the highest markups,” Woroch said. “You’re looking at paying 100 percent to 300 percent more for cakes, cupcakes and cookies than if you just made them yourself.”

Cookies, for example, are easy DIYs if you have basic ingredients such as flour, sugar and eggs. “You don’t have to be a pastry chef to save money baking your own sweets,” Woroch said.

It’s easy to pick up pre-made salads and side dishes at the supermarket — but it’s also expensive.

“You’re going to pay for convenience, usually between 40 percent to 60 percent more for prepared foods in the deli section,” Woroch said. “Side salads like potato salad or macaroni salad or even tuna salad are so easy to make at home.” In addition to saving money, you can control what goes in the side salads you make.

If you like hosting cocktail parties, you can cut down on the cost of mixers by making your own simple syrup.

“Perfect for the bar aficionado, this DIY method for simple syrup can save you up to 90 percent of the price of a store-bought bottle,” said Carson Yarbrough, shopping and savings expert formerly with the deal website Offers.com.

Simply heat 2 cups of water and stir in 2 cups of sugar, which costs $2.94 for a 4-lbs bag, until the sugar dissolves. Then, let the mixture cool.

“This is a great method for those looking to save money on their monthly entertainment and alcohol budget, and you can store your homemade simple syrup for up to a month in the refrigerator,” Yarbrough said.

If you work in an office, you should stop mindlessly burning through your paycheck by going out to lunch every day.

“Most folks know that restaurant meals can often be expensive, but working people can’t simply skip lunch,” said Timothy Wiedman, retired associate professor of management and human resources at Doane University. “Still, how many people realize the cost difference between a reasonably priced restaurant meal and a brown-bag lunch made at home?”

For example, Chili’s lunch combo plus a drink, tax and tip totals about $13. So, you’d spend $65 a week if you ate lunch at this restaurant chain every workday, Wiedman said. However, a sandwich made at home with low-fat lunch meat on whole-grain bread, a dozen baby carrots, a small individually sized box of raisins for dessert and a can of diet soda can be assembled for about $2.80 per day, he said.

Rather than shell out $30 or more on a Halloween costume, you can make your own for a fraction of the cost.

“Use apparel and supplies you have at home, or head over to a consignment store to look for any key pieces and inexpensive accessories that will complete your look — like a witch’s hat, princess wand or clown wig,” Woroch said.

You can even make DIY Halloween costumes for kids for less than $10 with a little creativity. If you have a glue gun, you likely won’t even need to sew these fun easy crafts.

Rather than spend an average of $4 for a store-bought greeting card, Woroch recommended making your own. “It’s a smart way to save money, plus you can be creative and have fun with it,” she said.

Think of greeting cards as DIY art projects. You can print pictures to attach to cards and personalize them. Or, “if you have children, have them draw a cute picture to make it extra special,” Woroch said.

Rather than spend about $75 on centerpiece from a florist, you can make your own for a fraction of the cost, said Cynthia O’Hara, author of the book “Cooking, Baking, and Making: 100 Recipes and DIY Ideas for All Season and Reasons.” To create an autumn centerpiece, cut a hole in the top of a pumpkin and clean out the seeds and pulp. Place a jar in the pumpkin and fill it with fall foliage and wildflowers.

Rather than spend money on harsh chemicals to kill pesky weeds in your yard, you can make your own weed killer solution for a fraction of the cost. The easy home project requires mixing equal parts vinegar and water. Then add four to six ounces of dish soap per gallon of water and vinegar mixture.

Put the solution in a spray bottle or garden sprayer to target the weeds you want to kill. It’s estimated that you could save $20 creating as much weed killer on your own as you would get with a store-bought product that can cause irritation if it comes into contact with your skin.

You don’t have to spend a lot buying expensive fertilizers. You can help your garden grow with compost. You can buy compost at lawn and garden stores, such as Dr. Earth Natural Choice Compost 1.5 cubic feet, from Walmart for $35.55.

Or, you can make your own compost by combining kitchen and garden scraps. Diverting food scraps to a compost bin can help reduce the amount of trash you’ll throw away, which also means you won’t go through trash bags as quickly.

You can find tips on how to make compost at EPA.gov, the website for the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Disclaimer: Prices were compiled on and accurate as of March 27, 2023 and are subject to change.