Frugal Challenge: Burritos

For this Frugal Challenge I decided to compare store bought burritos that you heat and eat to the ones I make from scratch. This is only a comparison of the cost not a comparison of taste. We like both the store bought and the from scratch. I buy the store bought for convenience but wanted to know how much money I was giving up for the convenience.

So here is what I found:

Store bought ones I purchase at $2.99 for a package of 8 making them $.37 each.

Homemade with dry beans cost me:

• Tortilla 10pkg $.50 to $.99
• Ground Beef $.80 per cup $.20 each burrito
• Dry Beans cooked $.40 a batch or $.05 each burrito
• Taco Seasoning bought in bulk $.03 per batch of 8 or $.004 per burrito

So the Homemade ones with dry beans cost between $.31 to $.36 depending on how much I pay for the tortillas

Homemade made with Canned Beans cost me:

• Tortilla 10pkg $.50 to $.99
• Ground Beef $.80 per cup $.20 each burrito
• Canned beans $.69/can or $.09 each burrito
• Taco Seasoning bought in bulk $.03 per batch of 8 or $.004 per burrito

So the Homemade burritos with the canned beans cost between $.34 to $.39 each depending on the cost of the tortillas.

So as you can see you can save a little money by making them yourself but probably with the cost of the energy to cook the beans it will end up about the same as store bought. If I am making beans from dry in my crockpot I will make a large batch and freeze the rest to have them ready for a recipe such as this one which saves money over the canned beans. But I usually keep a few cans on hand for occasions when I want to make these burritos but don’t have any beans cooked in the freezer.

We will usually use the store bought burritos for a quick lunch to keep from going out to eat. The homemade ones I usually make for a dinner when I am menu planning and then freeze extra.

Now how much can you save a year if you make the least expensive from scratch burritos above once a week compared to purchasing them at the store you can save up to $3.12. Not much savings but it is good to know when I am not feeling like making them I am only giving up at the most $.06 each which I think I can live with for the convenience.