Being brilliantly thrifty.
After seeing the $14.98 pumpkin cheesecake at the shop, I bought a $1.68 box mix, and added 3/4 cup 'fresh' pumpkin puree I'd made and put in the freezer. I slow cooked in some pumpkin pie spices, then let it cool. I used it as part of the 1.5 cups of milk it called for. A taste test told me it not only worked, but tastes amazing for barely any cost at all, compared to the pre-made one.