We all like to save money.\u00a0 Especially in December, when gifts and other holiday expenses added to your normal monthly bills.\u00a0 One way to do this is to buy generic\/ store brand versions of the products you buy.\u00a0 But we all know those can be hit and miss.\u00a0 Sometimes they are so inferior to the name brand it’s no savings at al.\u00a0 How do you know which ones are good and which ones aren’t?<\/p>\n
I’m here to help!\u00a0 I’ve been though some really hard times financially speaking and I’m just cheap overall- ha.\u00a0 I’ve tried generic just about everything and here are some of the highs and lows I’ve found.<\/p>\n
Generics you should always buy:<\/p>\n
OTC drugs.\u00a0 They are required by federal law to be identical to the name brand product, so there is no reason NOT to buy these generic.\u00a0 I don’t know why in the year 2023 anyone is still buying name brand Advil, Tylenol, etc.\u00a0 You might as well just light your money on fire.<\/p>\n
Pantry basics.\u00a0 Think flour, sugar, pasta, cake mixes, etc.\u00a0 Generics of these are generally functionally identical to the name brands.\u00a0 Unless you need to go gluten free you can easily save money here.<\/p>\n
Most dairy products.\u00a0 Eggs, milk, butter-\u00a0 unless you are cooking for professional chefs no one will be able to tell the difference, so why pay more?\u00a0 Most store brand cheeses and ice creams are pretty good too.\u00a0 You might find the occasional clunker, but the good ones far outnumber the bad.<\/p>\n
Paper products IF you get them from Target.\u00a0 Most generic toilet paper, tissues, paper plates, etc. are really really really bad.\u00a0 But Target has cracked the code and theirs are actually very good quality.\u00a0 Don’t buying these generic anywhere else unless you hate your family and\/ or yourself.<\/p>\n
Greeting cards.\u00a0 Your thoughts are just as well delivered through a $1 card as they are with a $7 card.\u00a0 \u00a0You can get great looking photo cards from Walmart or most drug stores- no need to spend extra for Shutterfly.<\/p>\n
Generics to stay far, far away from:<\/p>\n
Dish soap.\u00a0 It’s so useless I’m not sure why it’s even legal to sell it as a cleaning product.\u00a0 Just buy Dawn.<\/p>\n
Aluminum foil.\u00a0 \u00a0Buy Reynolds or be disappointed.\u00a0 \u00a0Breathe on the cheap stuff it hard and it will rip.\u00a0 There’s also usually less per roll, so it’s doubly a rip-off.<\/p>\n
Anything containing tomatoes.\u00a0 Pasta sauce, ketchup, salsa- the list goes on.\u00a0 No one seems to have figured out how to make any of these generic products well.\u00a0 If you like exceptionally bland food you might be OK with them, but the rest of us will just wish we’d spend the extra dollar and gotten something that contains actual flavor.<\/p>\n
Tampons.\u00a0 Generic feminine pads are usually ok- just a little light on the adhesive backing.\u00a0 But store brand tampons failed me one too many times to suggest anyone else experiment with them.<\/p>\n
Pet food.\u00a0 This is not an area where you want to cheap out.\u00a0 Your pet’s health depends on you.\u00a0 Along with regular trips to the vet, feeding quality food is one of the best ways to ensure the health of your pet.<\/p>\n
What are your thoughts\/ experiences with generic\/ store brand products?\u00a0 Do you think I got something really wrong?\u00a0 Let me know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We all like to save money.\u00a0 Especially in December, when gifts and other holiday expenses added to your normal monthly bills.\u00a0 One way to do this is to buy generic\/ store brand versions of the products you buy.\u00a0 But we all know those can be hit and miss.\u00a0 Sometimes they are so inferior to the name brand it’s no savings… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t