We're always seeking new ways to cut back on our living costs.
The recession hit a lot of households pretty hard, and supermarkets have done us all the favour of inflating their prices as a result.
There's been increasing talks about vegetable gardens and returning to basics over the past four to five years.
If you're just thinking about getting in on the action now, here are a few pieces of advice to get you started.
Start with Lettuces A lot of numbers get bandied about regarding how much money you could save by gardening yourself, some claiming as high as 857% produce value compared to the price of the seeds which produce them.
But these statistics ignore the price of getting the bed plantable, fighting off weed and pests and the general cost of your time.
Lettuce is by far the easiest and most profitable way to get started.
They're one of the fastest growers, and can be planted tight enough to smother the chances of any enterprising weeds.
Lettuce is incredibly simple to plant, just dig up some eather and sprinkle seeds in the dirt, they'll probably work out.
As far as profits go, let's assume you plant four square feet of lettuce for each person.
This will provide you with a lot of daily salad for around six weeks.
If you plant a little more intensively you'll have a constantly supply of food for up to two months.
It's easy to see a triple return on your investment, so by all means get started.
Stop Dressing Up This isn't something people immediately consider when they make the leap into amateur gardening, but it's a meaningful one nonetheless.
Home grown food simply tastes better than the packaged pap you pull off supermarket shelves.
It's been tested multiple times on large scales, people prefer the taste of fresh, home grown vegetables, and you will too.
But where does this play into saving your valuable money? Essentially, you can cut down on all that butter, cooking oil, salt and expensive vinegar dressings.
They're tasty, but they're only a substitute for exciting fresh flavours.
The only reason your salad is impalateable without them is because it's a low quality salad.
With the flavours of your home grown food you can cut down on dressings considerably.
They're not only expensive, but entirely unnecessary if you have the right ingredients.
Make Savings So now you've got your lettuces you can begin expanding.
Broccoli is similarly easy to sprout, but needs more definite planting.
When you're looking for a few extra flavours start bagging up tomato plants and see what you end up with.
Onions are a worthwhile investment also.
There's limitless potential, and making your garden more varied and efficient is an addictive part of the hobby.
Start cheap, and stay that way.
There's no reason not to give it a try, so try your hand today.