Monday, October 6, 2008

Generic Vs Name Brand

Currently Reading: Just bought Cindy Spencer Pape's Between a Rock and a Hard On, as well as One Good Man. Also bought Sandra Cox's Boji Stones and ordered Linda Wisdom's 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover. It should be here within 2 or 3 weeks:)

I finally got Dreams to open, but after the first several pages, my eyes were tired. I'm moving on. I might read it later on.


I'll confess; when I was younger, it was all about the Name Brands.

Paper towels? Had to be Brawny or Bounty.

Pudding? Snack Pack.

Peanut Butter? Peter Pan, Skippy, or Jiff (grandma's brand!)

Canned pasta? Frank-o-American or at least the Spaghetti-o's brand.

Toilet paper? Mom bought White Cloud.

Cereal? Trix, Fruit Loops, Fruity Pebbles, Honeycomb, Boo-Berry or Count Chocula. My sis liked Raisin Bran.

Laundry Detergent? Had to be Tide with Bleach.

But since becoming a mom, and living in an income bracket that is less than what I grew up in (what's up with that? I married for love, not money. What was wrong with me? Don't answer that...), I've discovered that some generics are just as good as the name brands.

For instance, cereal, canned veggies, frozen veggies, ice cream, box potatoes, bread, laundry detergent, medicine, and even fabric softener I'm perfectly happy with the generic.

But don't take away my Peter Pan peanut butter, Snack Pack or Jello pudding, Spaghetti-Oh's (yes, I still love 'em!), Charmin Toilet paper, and Bounty paper towels. Same for my toiletries. The generics just don't match the name brands.

One exception is the trash bags. I tried the Ruffies, and hated them. I switched to the Walmart brand, and loved them! I could get 50-ct for $6. But...they're slowly disappearing. They dropped to 45-ct...and then 35-ct...and now I am stuck paying $7-8 for 28-ct in the Hefty Brand. The nearest Sam's Club in an hour away, so I let my membership expire. And the trash men in this town will only take the black plastic trash bags; not white, and no paper bags.

What name brands do you firmly believe in? Which products are better in the generic? In today's economy, with everyone tightening their belts, will you give up taste or effectiveness over cost? I've begun planning my name brands into my weekly budget. I've been trying to keep my weekly food bill under $100. But sometimes when dog food, laundry detergent, toilet paper, kleenex, and cold medicine are needed in the same week, I'm looking at a start value of $30. And that means a week of 'How many ways can we disguise hamburger or hot dogs?'

With the holidays arriving, I'll be slowly adding baking ingredients, candy, and the occassional Christmas gift. This Walmart does not offer Lay-A-Way, which sucks. I could put $1000 in LAW and pay $20 a week, getting it out the first week in December. Now I have to buy it all year long, or here and there, or wait until the last minute. And the problem with all three of those methods is I either lose half of it, due to stashing it in various hiding spots, or the kids see that some boxes have mysteriously been shifted in the basement! Hmmm...did Mom do that deliberately? What's hiding back there?

So tell me; how have your shopping habits changed?

8 comments:

Regina Carlysle said...

Generic works for me most of the time. I DO have certain Brands that are just better than the generic but I figure I'm saving in other ways with the GOOD generics. There are several cleaners that have a generic and they are just as good but lots cheaper.

Molly Daniels said...

Yeah. I won't even buy Tide now; I buy the generic. And hubby swears by Downey, but if he knew I'd been substituting the generic for about 4 years now, he'd freak! I just buy the refill and pour it into the bottle!

Anny Cook said...

Hmmm. I save on some things by buying bulk. Certain medications don't work as well in the generic. I'm very picky about my canned beans, but that's a specialty item.

Buy a lot of our cleaners at the Dollar Tree. Ditto party items and aluminum pans and kitty treats.

Unknown said...

I always check the price per ounce and buy which is cheaper which is usually the generic but occasionally not. The hubby doesn't like me to buy generic cat and dog food (and I'm the cat lover, he's only so so about the cats). I don't like the Popeye spinach and actually prefer some of the grocery store brands over that. Ruffies aren't very good so I do usually get Glad or Hefty bags.

Unknown said...

I always check the price per ounce and buy which is cheaper which is usually the generic but occasionally not. The hubby doesn't like me to buy generic cat and dog food (and I'm the cat lover, he's only so so about the cats). I don't like the Popeye spinach and actually prefer some of the grocery store brands over that. Ruffies aren't very good so I do usually get Glad or Hefty bags.

Molly Daniels said...

Yeah; dog gets Purina dog food. No generics for Lucky Puppy:)

JacquƩline Roth said...

Generics generally work for me too. Can't do without
Jiff Peanutbutter. Must have Heinz Catsup. And the pups always get Pedigree. It was one of the few brands not in the poisoning scare.

B.B. Walter said...

See I grew up with all generics. My mom's income bracket as a single mom of three was very slim, so I got used to having the generic of everything. When I married, I bought generic; then my husband introduced me to the World o' Name Brands. Some things I will never go back to generic again; others are just as good so I'm content. Of course, my hubby won't agree that some generic are just as good, so we compromise on a few items, but the majority of our household remains generic brand triumphing over name brand.