I heartily approve the bread machine. And if you don't like the funky-shaped loaves it produces, you can put it on the dough cycle and then just shape it into a loaf, let it rise a bit, and bake it.
It looks more homemade that way too.
I always put my bread machine on the dough cycle. Sometimes I shape it into rounds so I don't have to slice.
If you want to save money, I have found that pre-packaged mixes aren't much savings if you make bread at home - but if you're travelling, like AOL said, I can see them being a big savings over restaurant fare!