Breakfast at Home Makes Sense…and Saves Cents Too

by Nicole Etolen | Jul 12, 2013 | Random | 109 comments

Disclosure: “The information and prize pack have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.”

When you’re living on a tight budget (which most of us are at this point!), eating breakfast at home just makes more sense than spending cash to grab something out and about. Too often in our busy lives, we end up eating on the run. Lunch at a fast-food restaurant, dinner at a more expensive family restaurant, snacks from a vending machine; all these add up quickly to big bucks. While sometimes you really just don’t have much of a choice but to grab lunch or dinner on the go, breakfast is the one time of day when we tend to have the most time. This makes it the easiest meal to eat at home and save big money.

Breakfast at Home vs Out: Comparing the Savings

Think about the amount of money that you can save by eating breakfast at home instead of out and about. You can typically grab a box of delicious cereal, like Lucky Charms (one of Jake’s favorites) on sale for less than $3. Even if you double up on the portions, you can get a good 5 bowls of cereal out of that! More, according to the back of the box but we usually eat bigger bowls. Factor in milk at $3.50 a gallon (we use 1%), and that’s about $1.30 per serving (assuming you use the whole gallon for those 5 bowls, which really, you probably won’t). Add in your side of juice or coffee (for the grownups) and you’re still at less than $2 per serving.

Now let’s look at breakfast out. The last time I ate a fast-food breakfast, I spent $4 on a very basic, plain egg and cheese sandwich and a coffee. When I eat breakfast at a diner, I’m looking at closer to $7 for a basic meal with coffee. Saving $2-5 every morning really adds up!

We decided to take the Breakfast at Home challenge and skip eating breakfast out for an entire week. While I don’t eat out every day, I would say I averaged three times a week for breakfast out. I estimate that I saved at least $10 this week. If I did that every week, that would add up to $520 a year! Put into perspective, that would more than cover my car insurance for the year.

Enjoy breakfast at home with General Mills

We received a lovely package of goodies from General Mills through MyBlogSpark. It included a box of Honey Nut Cheerios (one of my faves), Lucky Charms, a $25 Visa Gift card, a tube of Trix lip balm and this super cute bowl. The cereal is covering the faces of some of General Mills’ most popular cereal characters.

Jacob loves cereal. He’s an incredibly picky eater, but he does love a pretty nice variety of breakfast cereals! Most of his favorites come from General Mills. He even enjoys eating cereal as a healthy snack! Please don’t pay attention to the messy room, he was in the middle of playing when he decided he needed some Lucky Charms.

To help you save even more money, take advantage of great savings in-store and online on some of your favorite General Mills breakfast items like Honey Nut Cheerios® and Lucky Charms® cereals! It’s easy to save! Just pick the coupons you want and print them right at home from your computer.Visit EveryDaySaver.com/breakfastathome for details!

General Mills Gift Pack Giveaway

Want a chance to win a General Mills gift pack like the one I received? It includes:

$25 gift card
One box of Lucky Charms®
One box of Honey Nut Cheerios®
Big G Bowl
Big G lip balm

Enter below on the Rafflecopter form for your chance to win! Giveaway is open to US residents age 18+ and ends on July 25th at 11:59PM

a Rafflecopter giveaway

109 Comments

Elena on July 12, 2013 at 9:32 pm

My favorite is Cheerios
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Jessie C. on July 12, 2013 at 9:51 pm

Cheerios is my favorite breakfast cereal.
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Carol on July 12, 2013 at 10:51 pm

I like the Honey Nut Cheerios.
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Shana on July 12, 2013 at 11:14 pm

I like Lucky Charms & Frankinberry
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Heather Hayes Panjon on July 12, 2013 at 11:26 pm

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Is My Favorite!
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kolpin on July 13, 2013 at 12:19 am

i like low fat granola
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KAthy S on July 13, 2013 at 1:15 am

I love HOney Nut Cheerios.
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Sherrie C. on July 13, 2013 at 2:17 am

Honey Nut Cheerios is my favorite

callawishes(at)hotmail(dot)com
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Hailey on July 13, 2013 at 2:43 am

I’m a sucker for Lucky Charms
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Mary Happymommy on July 13, 2013 at 8:37 am

I like Golden Grahams.
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Lisa Brown on July 13, 2013 at 8:49 am

Follow on Bloglovin http://www.bloglovin.com/lisabrown
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Lisa Brown on July 13, 2013 at 8:50 am

I like Cheerios
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Lesley M. on July 13, 2013 at 11:55 am

I love Quaker Oatmeal Squares.
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Jessica To on July 13, 2013 at 1:46 pm

Lucky Charms are my favorite.
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shaunie on July 13, 2013 at 4:55 pm

HoneyNut Cheerios
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latanya on July 13, 2013 at 8:07 pm

Cinnamon toast crunch
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soha molina on July 13, 2013 at 9:04 pm

cocoa puffs
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Cheryl F. on July 14, 2013 at 12:41 am

Quaker Life
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Deb C on July 14, 2013 at 2:54 am

My favorite is Chocolate Cheerios.
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Ann Fantom on July 14, 2013 at 7:25 am

My favorite cereal is Fiber One
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Tari Lawson on July 14, 2013 at 7:27 am

I Like Honey Nut Cheerios.
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Cynthia C on July 14, 2013 at 7:34 am

I like shredded wheat
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Margaret Smith on July 14, 2013 at 10:21 am

My favorite is Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Thanks so much.
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Claudia on July 14, 2013 at 11:57 am

My favorite cereal is Honey nut cheerios.
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Anna Memphis on July 14, 2013 at 1:42 pm

Cinnamon Toast Crunch
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McKim on July 14, 2013 at 2:39 pm

I like the Reese’s cereal.
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Christina Sparks on July 14, 2013 at 3:40 pm

My favorite is Cinnamon Toast crunch.
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Kate F. on July 14, 2013 at 3:59 pm

My favorite cereal is Cocoa Puffs.
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Janet F on July 14, 2013 at 6:32 pm

I like Raisin Bran.

janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com
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Suzanne K on July 14, 2013 at 8:52 pm

I like shredded wheat
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Geoff K on July 14, 2013 at 8:52 pm

I love Multigrain Cheerios and Honey Nut Chex.
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Jody Sisson on July 14, 2013 at 9:17 pm

Honey Nut Cheerios are my favorite.
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katie k on July 14, 2013 at 10:45 pm

lucky charms and other “kids” cereal 🙂
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Monique Rizzo on July 15, 2013 at 2:36 am

I love Cocoa Puffs.
Thanks for the chance.
mogrill12@gmail.com
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Austin Baroudi on July 15, 2013 at 2:12 pm

I love apple cinnamon Cheerios!
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Denise S on July 15, 2013 at 3:35 pm

I like Golden Grahams.
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Emily on July 15, 2013 at 5:14 pm

My favorite is multi grain Cheerios.
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June Lisle on July 15, 2013 at 5:16 pm

One of my favorite cereals is Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
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kelly g on July 15, 2013 at 5:31 pm

lucky charms or fruity peebles
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Barbara Montag on July 15, 2013 at 7:09 pm

I love Banana Nut cheerios – thank you.
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- Barbara Montag on July 15, 2013 at 7:12 pm
  
  Bloglovin barbaramontag barbara dot montyj at gmail dot com
  Reply
Amanda Waters on July 16, 2013 at 8:16 am

Honey Nuts Serios are the BEST !!!
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Jessica B. on July 16, 2013 at 9:23 am

I like Frosted Flakes.
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wendy r on July 16, 2013 at 9:37 am

my favorite cereal is cinnamon toast crunch!
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michele p on July 16, 2013 at 4:42 pm

lucky charms and golden grahams are my faves
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Danielle Papsis on July 16, 2013 at 6:10 pm

I like Honey Nut cheerios.
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Crystal F on July 16, 2013 at 11:53 pm

I like Honey Bunches of Oats with strawberries but my girls like Lucky Charms. Thank you!
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Laura Jacobson on July 17, 2013 at 1:02 am

Oh my favorite is Lucky Charms!
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Helen on July 17, 2013 at 2:05 pm

honey nut cheerios
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tammy shelton on July 17, 2013 at 2:34 pm

Honey Nut Cheerios
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susan smoaks on July 17, 2013 at 2:51 pm

lucky charms is my favorite breakfast cereal
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Tanya White on July 17, 2013 at 9:12 pm

I love Lucky Charms.
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Stephanie Larison on July 17, 2013 at 10:41 pm

Honey Nut Cheerios are the fave here.
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Maryann D. on July 18, 2013 at 5:57 am

I enjoy any of the Fiber One Brands of cereal.
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Tabathia B on July 18, 2013 at 2:37 pm

cinnamon toast crunch and frosted flakes
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Darlene Jones-Nelson on July 18, 2013 at 3:03 pm

I love Bananna Nut Crunch.
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Christine on July 18, 2013 at 8:27 pm

cheerios
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Crystal on July 19, 2013 at 9:39 am

My favorite is Honey Nut Cheerios!
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Cheryl on July 19, 2013 at 4:39 pm

My favorite Big G cereal is the original Cheerios in the yellow box.
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Amy Z. on July 19, 2013 at 5:13 pm

I love Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
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Deborah Wallin on July 20, 2013 at 7:53 pm

I like honey nut cheerios
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kim on July 20, 2013 at 8:24 pm

I love frankenberry cereal
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Wild Orchid on July 20, 2013 at 10:17 pm

Lucky Charms.

Entered the rafflecopter as “Wild orchid”

Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 at gmail dot com
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Audra Weathers on July 21, 2013 at 10:41 am

honey nut cheerios
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diane Baum on July 21, 2013 at 12:50 pm

I love lucky charms
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Robin on July 21, 2013 at 5:22 pm

Lucky Charms is my favorite cereal
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deana c on July 22, 2013 at 7:00 am

My favorite breakfast cereal is Grape Nuts.
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Jennifer R. on July 22, 2013 at 11:08 pm

My favorite breakfast cereal is Multi Grain Cheerios.
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jeni lutz on July 23, 2013 at 9:51 am

lucky charms
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Theresa D on July 23, 2013 at 2:53 pm

I like Honey Nut Cheerios
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Olivia Hamilton on July 23, 2013 at 2:59 pm

like honey nut cheerios
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Candice Hull on July 23, 2013 at 4:59 pm

I know it should be some shredded wheat, whole grain, fiber packed wheat germ type stuff, but it’s actually a tie between Lucky Charms and Fruity Pebbles.
Thanks
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Katie K on July 23, 2013 at 5:37 pm

lucky charms!
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Daniel M on July 23, 2013 at 7:20 pm

honey nut cheerioS!
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Susan Smith on July 23, 2013 at 10:20 pm

I like Lucky Charms
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Nicole C. on July 24, 2013 at 8:16 am

My favorite is Golden Grahams.
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Ellie W on July 24, 2013 at 9:44 am

Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
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Rebecca Peters on July 24, 2013 at 10:42 am

I like cheerios
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Michelle W on July 24, 2013 at 12:25 pm

I love Fruity Pebbles
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Kimberly Hilbert on July 24, 2013 at 2:51 pm

I love all the fiber one cereals.
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Debra Hall on July 24, 2013 at 3:59 pm

my favorite is cheerios
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joseph gersch jr on July 24, 2013 at 5:59 pm

i love lucky charms
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Carolsue on July 24, 2013 at 6:57 pm

My favorite breakfast cereal is Basic 4 — too bad it’s getting so hard to find.
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angela cisco on July 24, 2013 at 7:35 pm

I like Cinnamon toast crunch.
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Deb S on July 24, 2013 at 8:24 pm

My favorite breakfast cereal is Lucky Charms.
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Breanne on July 24, 2013 at 10:29 pm

Frosted Mini Wheats
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dani marie on July 25, 2013 at 12:16 am

cinnamon toast crunch.
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Jimmy on July 25, 2013 at 12:28 am

I like honey nut cheerios
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Roxann on July 25, 2013 at 2:31 am

Cinnamon Toast Crunch is my favorite.
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zenetta on July 25, 2013 at 4:02 am

I love cheerios.
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Mya Murphy on July 25, 2013 at 7:26 am

Special K red berries.
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K. Cleaver on July 25, 2013 at 7:30 am

Total is my favorite cereal.
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Sherry Conrad on July 25, 2013 at 10:25 am

Cheerios fan here.
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Cálaeb Temple on July 25, 2013 at 11:25 am

honey nut cheerios.
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Tiffany Schmidt on July 25, 2013 at 12:39 pm

Frosted Mini Wheats and Basic Four
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Terry Cross on July 25, 2013 at 1:48 pm

Cheerios
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Denise Donaldson on July 25, 2013 at 2:55 pm

apple jacks
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joseph gersch jr on July 25, 2013 at 3:35 pm

i like lucky charms
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Erica C. on July 25, 2013 at 3:58 pm

I like AppleJacks.
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Karen on July 25, 2013 at 4:59 pm

Raisin Bran
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CharityS on July 25, 2013 at 6:30 pm

I love Frosted Flakes.
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Mary Cloud on July 25, 2013 at 8:11 pm

I love Lucky Charms
annabella @ centurytel dot net
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Bryan E. on July 25, 2013 at 8:15 pm

Thanks for the giveaway…Wheaties !!!
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Sand on July 25, 2013 at 9:39 pm

I like Cheerios!
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Samantha on July 25, 2013 at 9:59 pm

Frosted Flakes!
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Laura Unger on July 25, 2013 at 10:00 pm

Cheerios are my favorite!
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Vikki Billings on July 25, 2013 at 10:09 pm

Lucky Charms are my favorite cereal!
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Michelle Tucker on July 25, 2013 at 10:19 pm

I like Honey Nut Cheerios.
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Lisa Garner on July 25, 2013 at 11:11 pm

My current favorite is Fruity Pebbles.
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