Welcome to Frugal Friday! You know how the latest thing in lunch box packing is these 100-calorie (or more) snack bags? Well, I did the math and they are a money waster that's for sure. One of the best reasons to make your own snack packs is that you can choose the reduced fat or whole grain snack options whenever possible whereas the prepackaged bags tend to come in the "original" versions. I wanted to calculate the money we would save if we made our own snack bags after bought a big box or bag of the snack and divvied it up into individual snack bags (using the snack bag size baggies). I used the ever popular, strangely irresistible goldfish snack crackers as my example. A 6.6-ounce bag of "Goldfish made with whole grain" costs around $2.39. A box with 5 pouches of goldfish (100 calories each) costs around $3.49. Here's how to make your own goldfish snack bag:

• A slightly heaping 1/3-cup measure is about 41 goldfish and equals about 105 calories.
• The 6.6-ounce bag of goldfish makes 8 servings total - just fill snack bags with slightly heaping 1/3 cup of the goldfish and they are just as easy to add to that lunch bag or box as the store-bought 100-calorie bags.
• $2.39 divided by 8 snack bags = 30 cents each!
• The box with 5 pouches= 70 cents per pouch.

What Could You Save? If you made your own snack bags and put them in your children's' lunch bags every day for a week (5 days) and you had two children, you would save 4 dollars a week! And you were able to increase the fiber a little by switching to the "made with whole grain" goldfish. Related Topics:

• Saving Money the Healthy Way
• 100-Calorie Snacks

Technorati Tags: Frugal Friday , snacks , 100 calorie , healthy diet