“Cooking from scratch is always the most FRUGAL way to go!” While, generally speaking I would agree with that statement, there are times it makes more CENTS to use a mix. When you purchase convenience foods you often pay more for the convenience than for the food. Take pancakes for instance. The recipe in my cookbook makes 10 pancakes. 
I’m full after 4. I don’t care for reheated pancakes. So 6 pancakes become food waste.
On the other hand I know just how much of the mix to use for my breakfast. 
I just have to add water (and sometimes blueberries)
and I have the perfect sized breakfast.
Even as a single person I do a lot of scratch cooking, but another area that I choose the ready made route is salad dressing. 
Homemade recipes call for lots of unique ingredients and don’t have great shelve life. Store bought on the other hand go on sale frequently and last FOREVER (since my consumption of preservatives is generally low this doesn’t bother me too much). I do make my own 1000 Island. I simply mix together (home made) dill pickles, mayo and catsup.
What mixes do you use instead of cooking from scratch?
