The Cream of Soup Budget

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

08 Jun 2008 10:56 AM

Isn't it funny how even someone who has been practicing living frugally for a while now can still learn new things? Times can change making certain practices that were once very frugal only moderately so. Also, new information pops up all of the time, or at least our awareness of that information does.

Both of these factors came on to play with what I am going to talk about next, my use of those canned "cream of..." soups.

Previously, I used a lot of canned cream soups in my cooking for a few reasons. The first was that these soups were very easy to find and relatively inexpensive. I could often pick up these cans at 12 cents each, making them a very economical way to stretch a meal. The second reason is that these cream soups were easy to incorporate into casseroles and crock pot or slow cooker recipes. Casseroles and the crock pot are two definitely ways of saving money on the food budget. Of course, we aren't talking gourmet meals, but they are very family friendly.

Now, I don't use these soups very often, preferring to make my own versions. This saves money and our health as well. The price of these soups has been going steadily up in cost. Instead of 12 cents a can, the best I can do is 50 cents a can. Making my own cream of chicken soup, for example, costs less than a dime, especially when I use my own homemade chicken stock. That is a significant savings.

The other reason I am now making my own "cream of..." soups is that I can control the ingredients. These soups tend to contain MSG, an ingredient that we are avoiding. You can buy MSG free version of these soups, but then expect to pay at least $1 a can, or more than 10 times the cost of making it at home.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don't miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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