Make it yourself - Marinara

I believe that, for the most part, decisions regarding frugality usually come down to saving time or money. This is one of those situations where I do not believe you are saving enough time to justify spending the extra money. Spaghetti sauce - #1 the jarred stuff doesn't taste better & and it's loaded with chemical preservatives and #2 it can not save you more than 2-3 minutes over making your own. This is one of those items you should be making. I usually double the batch & use it for another meal or freeze it.
I buy the huge 6 pound, 6 ounce can of crushed tomatoes at Sam's for less than three dollars. It makes 12 one cup servings. I halved it in the recipe below. Boil a pound of pasta and you've got a meal for 6 for under $2.50! You can't beat that! When I made mine tonight I topped it with homemade mozzarella to the tune of $1.50, bringing the price of our meal to $4.23. I doubled my sauce recipe and will likely have baked pasta or meatball subs later in the week.

Marinara

Ingredients:
2-3 Tbsp Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp dried basil
6 cups crushed tomatoes
Salt & pepper to taste

• Heat oil in a pot over medium-high; Add garlic, cook until garlic is light golden brown, stirring; Add basil.
• Add tomatoes to the pot; Stir to combine; Heat through, stirring occasionally, about 15-20 minutes. Serve over hot, cooked pasta.

PRICE BREAKDOWN:
Olive oil - 15¢
Garlic - 10¢
Basil - 5¢
Crushed tomatoes - $1.43

TOTAL - $1.73
Price per serving (6 servings) - 29¢