For starters:
I MUST BUY GENERIC. EVERYTHING.
This one only started a few years ago. I don't know how or why, but now it's pretty much painful for me to buy name-brand. Even worse, I laugh under my breath at other people who insist on spending twice as much for the exact same thing. (hehehehe) There. I just did it again! I'm such a generic snob.
My shampoo and conditioner
From far away it looks just like Garnier Fructis, right? Nope! It's Equate stuff from Walmart. And it works very well and smells like heaven. I realllllllly love this stuff.
(They are in the process of changing their packaging to that boring white label, but it's all the same stuff.) This is "Tranquil Lavendar" scented and WOW, if my laundry doesn't smell fantastic!
A random sampling of my medicine cabinet
Generic, generic. See what I mean? This is one area where I save some BIG MONEY. Read the ingredients. They are the same. That one with the green label - that's generic for Zyrtec. $30 for a month supply of pills if you buy "Zyrtec." This liquid one that I get? About $7.50. Sweet!
A random sampling of my pantry
Pretty much EVERYTHING is generic. When I started doing this, I seriously shaved $40-50 off my grocery bill. For such huge benefits, I'm not terribly picky about any "differences" one might detect. But for the most part - I can't tell the difference!!!
HOWEVER! Having said all that, there is a handful of select items that you do NOT want to buy in generic. Sometimes there IS a difference, and sometimes it IS important enough to just spend the extra money! And here they are:
- Mac and Cheese - it does not taste as good. OK, but not good.
- Trash bag liners
- Diapers for newborns - when they are young and leaks are frequent, get the good stuff
- Band-aids - the cheap ones will not stay put
- Toothpaste - it's truly nasty
- Disposable razors
Ummm... I can't think of anything else right now. If you know of some that I forgot - please pipe up!
And I want to hear if anyone out there shops as a generic snob like me, or if you think I'm crazy?!?!
12 comments:
First of all, were the Golden Grahams generic? Ha ha, that is disgusting.
I used to never buy anything generic. Now, I will try anything generic, but there are definitely products that just don't fly. So far, the ones I can't do are canned green beans, frozen chicken (I bought some Food Club frozen chicken wings and couldn't eat them) and vegetable soup. So I guess my current issues are mostly with generic food products... :)
I can't wait for Part II.
You are awesome. I buy all generic and think I'm pretty dang cool for doing so. We should start a generic club. It's cool to be generic.
My only hang up is ice cream. It's gotta be Breyers. NOTHING ELSE WILL DO.
When I'm shopping at Walmart I do tend to buy the store brand...aka generic brand items. Although lately I've been a little more into buying with coupons using the sales at the regular grocery stores because for most items I can end up saving more money since they'll usually double coupons.
Also to add to your never buy generic list....OREOS. There is a difference between oreos and hydrox cookies to me, and it's painful to eat the generic ones!!
This was absolutely HILARIOUS! I don't mind buying some thing brand-free, but usually using coupons gets me the name brand cheaper. :) I do have things I will never negotiate...
This post made me laugh so hard. YOu crack me up! :) Can't wait to see what's in store.
CEREAL! I just went through Walmart and bought a bunch of the new Great Value white box cereals and they are HORRIBLE. Malt-O-Meal is still a good alternative.
HA HA HA!!! Amy LOVES the Hydrox generic Oreo cookies! But I am with you...nothing better than the original one and only!
Oh, I'm all about generic stuff. As for the Mac N Cheese - I do buy generic but I get the Thick & Creamy type, not the regular kind. I'm with you on the regular - it's gross. But give Thick & Creamy a try. Believe it or not, it is better than Kraft's regular Mac N Cheese. Generic Cereals aren't up to par with brand names yet, and I won't do generic cream cheese. Tried it once and it was grainy. Yuck! But usually everything else I buy is generic or cheap brands like Suave. It's nice to save money, get the same quality (usually) and NOT have to cut coupons.
I can not stand generic mayo or peanut butter. There are other things that just don't taste the same when they are made generic.
You are brave to poke fun of yourself. Thanks for sharing.
I'm LOVING all the feedback you guys - thanks! This has been too fun. I agree with most of the things you have added - except we have been OK with cereals and cream cheese. Hmm...?
For the record, I do NOT like the Hydrox Oreo cookies as much as real Oreos, not at all! SOMETIMES I will buy fake ones though, just to have cheap cookies around.
Awesome post! I'm not a generic snob (LOL!) but I have plenty of items I buy generic or the cheap brands. I don't see the point in paying more for the same thing.
I'm waiting for a "Tightwad Gazette" confession from you now. ;)
I'm with ya on the Mac and Cheese, but I'll have to try the thick and creamy now.
Generic is the only way to save money these days. However once in a great moon the original IF, and that is a big IF its on sale ....
Amy, love the post! I buy about 80% generic--maybe more. There are just a handful of items that are better with the real deal. . . you hit the nail on the head with most of them. For some reason I feel that way about yogurt too. I really like Yoplait and unless I'm putting yogurt in a recipe than its gotta be Yoplait. There are some things where I think the generic is actually BETTER. One example. . . individual cinnamon and apples oatmeal packets, I like Walmart better than Quaker!
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