Buying VS Freezing: Time and Money

Washing, chopping and freezing fruits or vegetables when you can buy a premade bag at the store for less than $5 may seem totally ridiculous to some people but it can actually be a great way to save money. If you're used to simply grabbing a bag from the frozen section, it may seem like a lot of effort but I enjoy spending time in my kitchen (unless it's to do dishes), so I don't mind the work and the amount of money saved is worth it for us. I decided to do some calculating and give a little break down of the time involved and the money saved so that you can see if self freezing is worth it for you and your family.

Fruit:

In my area, a 600g bag of fruit costs about $5. The cost for me to freeze my own 600g of regular price raspberries would be $3.48 but I almost always get my fruit on discount meaning it`s usually closer to $2.22. We use about two bags per month. 

Savings per month: $5.56

Savings per year: $66.72

Even if I always had to buy my fruit at regular price, I would save about $36 a year. 

Freezing berries literally takes me about 1 minute. I rinse them in the container and then bag them and throw them in the freezer. Obviously other things like mango, peach and pineapple take a little longer because of the cutting. 

Vegetables:

To buy frozen vegetables is pretty cheap, I can get a 1 kg bag for $4 but freezing my own is even better. Today I froze a 1kg bag of carrots for $1.10. Generally, we use about two bags per month.

Savings per month: $5.80

Savings per year: $69.60

Carrots and other vegetables do take more time and effort than fruit, however. It took me about 10 minutes to peel and cut them and then just under 10 more minutes for the blanching process. 

I don't find that it's too much effort and I think it's worth the $125 for us. I don't know how big of a difference it makes, but I also like the fact that everything is processed by me in my own kitchen. It just feels healthier. Looking forward to growing and freezing my own garden vegetables next summer as well!