Cover foods with lids or foil to avoid the messes. I think I heard to rub salt into the white line to soften it, but do not want to ruin the garment in case I don't remember correctly. Making your own is usually cheaper, but sometimes the costs are so close that it may be a better use of your time to buy the item instead. Spaghetti sauce does go on sale often and the price is close to homemade. Homemade is around 20 cents cheaper than store bought, if you use the small cans of tomato sauce when they are on sale for 10 cents each.
Some people also prefer the taste of their homemade sauce.
To make homemade spaghetti sauce a bit easier, I have included a recipe for a spaghetti sauce mix. Simmer for 30 minutes. As for Jell-O, making it from scratch saves a few cents per serving, but I buy the store brand boxes. The price is too close for me to spend the time. Puddings are cheaper when homemade, but again, some people may think that the savings isn't worth their time.