Make it or buy it?

So I had a big pot of spaghetti sauce bubbling away on the stove top this afternoon. I left the house briefly a few times and when I re-entered, the savory scent of tomatoes, oregano and garlic had my mouth watering. Somewhere around the time of my husband's first layoff I decided that it might be beneficial to make some foods myself rather than buy them. (read "frugal"- the new buzzword, here)
A few notes.
     I love to cook and find it very therapeutic.
     My family loves to eat, so money or not, there needs to be food in this house.
     Some things are easy to make from scratch, but let's face it, some things are a hassle and better left to the commercial industry.
So what do I make from scratch now, that I used to buy? spaghetti sauce, bread, granola bars and cookies, ketchup, jelly, apple sauce, boursin cheese. Oh- and kale chips. Not that I ever bought them. Actually I had never heard of kale chips before, but these little "chips" are easy and cheap to make. They are salty and crunchy, yet they melt in your mouth. But... they make the house smell like cabbage, so maybe make the kale chips first and the spaghetti sauce second.
Well, I think I've strayed from my topic here. I came across a fabulous book. It's called Make the Bread, Buy the Butter. It's by Jennifer Reese. I feel like Jennifer and I are kindred spirits (to borrow a phrase from Anne of Green Gables). I could have written the beginning of her book- if I'd thought of it first, darn it. In her introduction she describes her ongoing mental battles at the grocery store, debating the merrits of buying ready made, hydrogenated fat laden cupcakes versus the time taken to make cupkakes; grocery store tomatoes versus garden grown and even eggs; supermarket, farmers market, or your own free range chickens. Jennifer took the time (after her own loss of job) to determine whether a whole range of foods are better bought or homemade. It turns out that it's really easy and relatively cheap to make your own cream cheese. Who knew?
Like Jennifer, I don't advocate making everything from scratch all the time. But when you have the time and the desire, why not make it yourself? 9 times out of 10 you'll end up with a tastier and healthier, if not cheaper result.