Skip the Packaged Goods

One great way to save on cash is to not buy pre-packaged foods. A couple things that will cost less if you make them yourself include bread (which costs about 30 cents to make), cookies, power bars, and granola bars. Alton Brown (who is awesome by the way) has an excellent recipe for granola bars:

Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar 
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 chopped dried fruit

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x9-inch glass baking dish and set aside.

Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.

Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Source: foodnetwork.com