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Episode 2973:
Mr. Money Mustache illustrates how a $10 secondhand bread machine revolutionized his household by saving over $750, reducing waste, and enhancing creativity in the kitchen. From making fresh bread to crafting gourmet pizza dough, he demonstrates that frugal choices can be both cost-effective and indulgent, blending practicality with culinary joy.
Read along with the original article(s) here: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/08/my-750-bread-making-machine-2/
Quotes to ponder:
"You just throw in some flour and a few other things, and you have a great loaf of bread in just a few hours."
"But in my own odd life which combines both frugality and decadence, I have found this device to be quite a worthy contributor to the family."
"If you eat bread and/or pizza regularly, I can safely recommend having a peek at your local Craig’s if you want to dip a toe into the breadmaking world as well."
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
[00:00:00] This is Optimal Finance Daily, my $750 bread making machine by Mr. Money Mustache of MrMoneyMustache.com.
[00:00:10] Some consumer products become the butt of many jokes because they're often bought in a fit of good intentions but then discarded almost immediately.
[00:00:19] Treadmills and exercise bikes are in this category, as are juice extractors and bread machines.
[00:00:24] So you can understand the hesitation I felt three years ago when the temptation to own a bread machine of my own started growing within me.
[00:00:32] The justification in my mind was that we're eating a lot of bread at the time and hey, who doesn't like fresh bread?
[00:00:38] So I let the idea sit and rise for a while.
[00:00:42] And meanwhile, the missus and I went over to dinner at the home of some friends one night.
[00:00:47] These friends are a sophisticated and frugal couple from Holland who had just moved to the US.
[00:00:52] They served us an exotic spicy vegetarian meal that was insanely delicious with a slice of steaming seed encrusted fresh baked bread on the side.
[00:01:04] My wife and I said, we need to start eating more like you two.
[00:01:07] The table immediately broke into two discussions.
[00:01:11] The ladies debated the merits of various vegetarian recipes and the men went to the garage to learn about this whole bread machine deal.
[00:01:18] What I learned is that a bread machine is not necessarily a failed consumer product to be scoffed at.
[00:01:24] In the right hands, it's an instrument of supreme frugal gormitude.
[00:01:29] You just throw in some flour and a few other things, explained by European friend, quote,
[00:01:35] and you have a great loaf of bread in just a few hours.
[00:01:38] Since you eat the bread each day, you're forced to make more several times per week.
[00:01:42] There's no chance of not using the machine regularly, so I don't understand why these machines are so often abandoned in the United States.
[00:01:49] End quote.
[00:01:50] I love how Dutch people explain things, by the way.
[00:01:53] It's as if in their country, logic and reason are actually practiced by a majority of the population.
[00:01:59] When you add the cool accent, you have a very persuasive group of people.
[00:02:04] With this new endorsement from a logical person, I had a peek on Craigslist.
[00:02:08] Sure enough, there were dozens of almost new bread machines out there.
[00:02:12] I was able to find one right in my own town at a price of $10.
[00:02:16] The original value of this particular machine was around $100.
[00:02:20] Three years into ownership, I must say that this machine is still a huge hit.
[00:02:25] First of all, the cost savings are significant.
[00:02:27] To buy a good quality loaf of whole wheat bread in the grocery store costs about $2.50.
[00:02:33] To put in flour, yeast, olive oil, water, salt, and sugar cost me about $0.50 to get an equivalent-sized loaf of bread,
[00:02:41] with flour purchased in 50-pound bags from Costco.
[00:02:44] The time investment is also minuscule.
[00:02:47] Without any special preparation, I tied myself in measuring the ingredients into the machine and pressing start.
[00:02:53] Last time I made bread, 90 seconds.
[00:02:55] If you factor in the time needed to walk to the bread section of your store and pick out loaves during regular grocery shopping,
[00:03:02] the net time cost might even be zero.
[00:03:05] Plus, I prevent a plastic bag from being manufactured as well.
[00:03:09] So I've been saving $2 per loaf, two loaves per week, for about three years.
[00:03:14] That's $600 in bread money that's now part of the stash.
[00:03:17] Plus, the bread is much more delicious, and you can even get crazy and make fancy bread.
[00:03:22] At various times, I've made more decadent types of bread, such as my beer, cheese, bacon, and olive bread.
[00:03:29] That stuff is bad.
[00:03:31] You can throw in flax seeds, sesame seeds, even random crickets and ants from your backyard
[00:03:36] if you want to get really international-slash-African with your recipes.
[00:03:40] Olive ant bread could be quite interesting.
[00:03:43] But wait!
[00:03:44] There is an even more exciting contribution this $10 machine has made to my life.
[00:03:49] It has completely eliminated the temptation to order pizza.
[00:03:53] Nowadays, I make the pizza dough in the machine,
[00:03:56] and I roll it out into enormous thin crushed sheets, which I bury in gourmet ingredients.
[00:04:01] It's just ridiculously delicious.
[00:04:04] I also make little personal 8-inch pizza crust by the dozen and freeze them.
[00:04:09] These are whipped out every afternoon and made into near-instant pizzas
[00:04:13] as lunch or after-school snacks for my little son.
[00:04:16] If you have a party at your house where pizza is in demand,
[00:04:19] you roll out some big fancy crusts and let the guests create their own edible works of art.
[00:04:24] It's a highly sociable alternative to ordering pizza that improves upon the experience in every way.
[00:04:30] It's hard to estimate how much cash this machine has saved me.
[00:04:34] At a minimum, it would be $600 in bread,
[00:04:38] plus a random allocation of $150 for pizza savings, so $750.
[00:04:43] More realistically, we used to order pizza at least once a month at about $20,
[00:04:48] including tax, tip, and delivery.
[00:04:50] Nowadays, the raw ingredients cost $6 for a giant pizza.
[00:04:55] 3 years times 12 pizzas times $14 in savings per pizza is actually $504 worth of pizza,
[00:05:02] making this machine worth a total of over a grand so far.
[00:05:07] Regardless of the actual numbers, I am a happy mustachian.
[00:05:11] When it boils down to it, a bread maker is just another motorized consumer product that a true
[00:05:17] minimalist would scoff at.
[00:05:18] But in my own odd life, which combines both frugality and decadence,
[00:05:23] I have found this device to be quite a worthy contributor to the family.
[00:05:27] If you eat bread and or pizza regularly,
[00:05:30] I can safely recommend having a peek at your local Craig's
[00:05:33] if you want to dip a toe into the bread making world as well.
[00:05:40] You just listened to the post titled,
[00:05:42] My $750 Bread Making Machine by Mr. Money Mustache of MrMoneyMustache.com.
[00:05:49] As someone who is a huge fan of bread and pizza, I found this article mouthwatering,
[00:05:55] especially since I'm currently staying away from carbs and sugar,
[00:05:59] which is the only reason why I didn't hop on Craigslist and immediately buy a bread maker.
[00:06:03] But I think the overall point here can apply to many other frugal choices we make.
[00:06:09] Sometimes the frugal choice is the superior choice for more reasons than just saving you money.
[00:06:15] In the case of this bread maker, Mr. Money Mustache is getting a better product.
[00:06:20] He's saving time.
[00:06:21] He's reducing packaging waste.
[00:06:23] And he's tapping into his own creativity with different recipes.
[00:06:27] All of those benefits are in addition to the money he's saving.
[00:06:31] I enjoy these benefits from cooking in general and highly recommend that if you don't enjoy cooking,
[00:06:37] start small.
[00:06:39] Learn how to cook a simple piece of meat like chicken.
[00:06:43] Top it with some homemade pesto and eat it alongside a decadent salad.
[00:06:48] I'm actually describing last night's dinner because it was oh so good.
[00:06:52] It's amazing the meals you can come up with from just some basic knowledge on a few cooking techniques
[00:06:58] and simple ingredients.
[00:07:00] You'll save money, time, and enjoy much better food than what you can get by ordering takeout.
[00:07:06] Trust me on this one.
[00:07:08] That should do it for another edition of Optimal Finance Daily.
[00:07:12] I'll be back tomorrow as usual.
[00:07:13] So we'll see you there on the Wednesday show where your optimal life awaits.
[00:07:17] Good night.
[00:07:17] But I'll be back tomorrow as well.
[00:07:17] I'll be back tomorrow.
[00:07:17] Thank you.