Saving Money, Saving Time

 Let's face it.  We PAY for convenience.  So what is a girl to do when she thoroughly appreciates convenience but cannot afford it?  She rolls up her sleeves and gets creative to make 'convenient' happen.

My Make-Ahead mixes

 When I went to Costco with a Money-Saving Mission, I purchased 25lbs of flour.  What do I do with all that flour?  I make my own bread, baked goods, cookies, and...for convenience...do it from a pre-made mix. 

Basically, you get a giant bowl and large quantities of your ingredients out, mix them together in said bowl, and store it all.  Pretty simple...most times a bit messy....but completely and totally convenient (and worth it).

Knowing that I'll be making cakes this time of year as well, I have a cake mix pre-made on the far left.

 It has now been a month, and I can say that it does save time, and money.  I am really adjusting my mindset to recognize that making everything from scratch takes time... but when I was able to throw together delicious chocolate chip cookies in 3 minutes (thanks to my mix), I was oh-so-pleased.

And in case you are interested in doing such a thing, the cookbook my mom gave me is below.  I'm quite smitten with it.