Baking on a Budget
Baking can be expensive there is no doubt about that. If you are wanting a nice stand mixer they start at $300 and go up from there. Which I know is out of some people’s price range, it was out of mine for the longest time. I had to save up a lot of money and wait for the mixers to go on sale before I bought mine.
If you are just starting out baking or if you have been baking for a bit but money is tight here are some tips that I find helpful, and I use these to this day.
Cupcake/Muffin Liners – I seriously hate spending money on these. I get that these are necessary but I think this is such a waste of money. I get these at Dollarama for $1.25. You get 100 in a package and for that price, I am alright purchasing them.
Parchment Paper – I use this a lot and go through it very fast. Depending on how much I am baking I can go through a roll in a month. Normally I use a roll every couple of months but even that can cost a lot of money. I have been purchasing parchment for Dollarama as well. You can get a roll there for $2.50 which is a huge saving from the $3-$5 at other places. I know the .50 doesn’t seem like a lot but over the course of a year, I get a roll for free.
Spatulas – these are a staple in baking but they can also be quite pricey. I have found some of my favourite spatulas at Winners/HomeSense for a decent price. I also found some fun coloured ones at T.J.MAXX and Dollarama as well.
Flour – I am not faithful to a brand of flour. I honestly can’t tell the difference between name-brand flour and no-name brand. I like flour that is on sale and when it is I usually buy a couple of bags. I was fortunate enough that before COVID 19 happened I found some flour on sale at Superstore and I bought 2 bags of it. Then COVID happened and nowhere had flour except for me, I had two 10 kg bags in the basement.
Frozen Fruit – I have found two different types of frozen fruit that I love and neither of them is very expensive. Walmart’s brand Great Value Cultivated Blueberries are my all-time favourite! They are full of flavour are huge, and are cheap, it’s $4 for a small bag. If I am looking for other frozen fruit like raspberries or strawberries I usually get the Presidents Choice berries from Superstore. They have great flavour as well and they usually have a deal where you buy two packs for $9.
Butter – I know butter is expensive and I also know not everyone can afford to use it in baking and I respect that. If all you can afford is margarine that is fine. I personally am not a fan of margarine so I wait for butter to go on sale and I stock up on it. You can find it at Co-op for 3 pounds of butter for $9 or sometimes Superstore will have them on sale for $2 a pound. When this happens I am that person that goes in and buys the limit multiple times or I make Kevin come with me and we go in multiple times as well. Butter freezes really well and lasts frozen for a really long time. You just have to remember to take it out and defrost it before you use it.
I hope these tips help you with baking on a budget. If you have some great tips please leave them in the comment section, who doesn’t love saving money?
