The biggest thing about cooking is spices. You dont need fresh, dried and in a jar fine. But go get yourself a few tiny containers of:

• garlic powder
• oregano
• rosemary
• thyme

Aldi has these, like $2 each and you can easily make a dozen meals from that much if you're feeding one or two people. For most things you can do the large content in single cans while doing spices to taste but typically 1-2 teaspoons.

• 1x can of tomato sauce
• 1x can of tomato paste
• optionally 1x can of diced tomatoes
• 1-2 tsp of each: garlic, oregano, rosemary, thyme
• 1 tsp salt

Put it all together, simmer and stir until warm.

Bonus

Dont let anyone tell you cooking is difficult. Want to beef up your sauce? A pound of ground beef or ground sausage cooked for 10 minutes can be added in. Green bell peppers and onions, chopped and quickly sauteed, just toss them in.

What's the key to frugal cooking? Go buy the amount of food you need. Buy one pepper and one onion. If the store only sells them in larger quantities make multiple servings and then have a week of things that use pasta sauce.