To make or not to make?

We're big on homemade around here. We've tried making a lot of stuff, and have successfully done so over the years for several staples: granola, baked goods and pizza crust are just about always homemade around here, and in less chaotic stages of my life so is bread, raspberry jam (when I can find a free source of wild berries) and occasionally yogurt (no homemade cheese, which will probably remain the case after seeing pictures of Aaron's cheesemaking adventure). I've always wondered about whether homemade stuff is actually cheaper, though-- once, we roasted a whole turkey (in the heat of summer... bad idea) because we thought it might be a cheaper source of lunchmeat.. which in the end, I really am not sure that it was. Partly because we ended up eating it much quicker than regular lunch meat.

So the frugal person in me loved this analysis at slate about what homemade items are worth making at home. My one major disagreement is over granola: we make our own granola out of oats, wheat germ, flour, oil, water, honey, and vanilla, and when each of those ingredients is bought in bulk, it comes out much cheaper than any store bought version. But all in all, I appreciate the article. The verdicts? Yes to bagles, yogurt, jam when fruit is free, and granola. no to cream cheese and crackers.