I just read one of those "lists" that the Internet passes off as a news article. It was 10 ways to save money. And the thing that got me was "Plant a Garden, you'll get a $500 return...."
HAHAHAHAH! Ok I'm not saying that this is false. You do generally get some return in food when planting a garden. But the full $500 return is after you've found out what varieties go great in your area, have successful pollination, (which varies dramatically from crop to crop,) and dealt with diseases and watering. Not to mention finding out if your soil is high in heavy metals or not which means you need to install raised beds if you want to eat anything.
$500 is such an arbitrary number too. I would say quite high for the average garden. If you have a yard/lawn that's nothing but full sun though you're probably in the best position to see a return.