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Friday, August 27, 2010

Generic Products

This blurb caught my eye on Yahoo today. We buy a lot of generic things (ie the store brands). Almost every store has store brand items from ketchup, cereal, tomato sauce, diapers, soap, shampoo, you get the picture.

I was disappointed in their list of 5 suggestions for generics. In my opinion, it wasn't extensive and it also wouldn't save a ton of money.
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Cereal, sure.
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Rx drugs, you may not have a choice since your insurance may require you to choose generics. If there is a generic, you usually walk out of the store with it and don't get a choice... this is because the pharmacy has a higher profit margin on generics, anyway. They're usually manufactured in Puerto Rico. (Former drug rep here.)
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OTC meds. They're usually sold by the name of the actual drug (ie acetaminophen is the ingredient in Tylenol. Tylenol is just a brand name.)
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Basic Baking Products. Not sure I buy enough of any product to save significant money, but I do buy generics.
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Fresh fruits & Veggies. I don't recall getting much of a choice for produce. I buy what's there. Usually there are different varieties of tomatoes or apples, but not brands.

So. What would our household's list contain? I am actually going to name some store and brand names, to my chagrin. I'm not being paid for this.


-Diapers. Target Up & Up brand when we're not using cloth.
-Milk. Walmart, Giant Eagle & Aldi store brands are much cheaper and don't contain the growth hormones or antibiotics.
-Toilet Paper. Kirkland @ Costco is good as is Target's.
-Paper Towels. When we're not using rags, I really like Costco's store brand.
-Cereal. Kroger has the best generic selection, in our opinion. Trader Joe's is good, as is Wal-Mart now. Watch for high fructose corn syrup!
-Oatmeal. Marc's usually has some off-brand. Giant Eagle has their own brand, too.
-Cheese. Marc's has it for $0.99/8 oz un shredded. Giant Eagle has a store brand as does Wal-mart.
-Ice Cream. I did recently splurge on Ben & Jerry's since I had a coupon, but we've found Aldi has good stuff. Kroger, too.
-Applesauce. Target, no sugar (or substitutes) added, is cheapest and just as good as a brand name.
-Frozen Fruits & Vegetables. Trader Joe is wonderful for these! So much less expensive but they are better. Tons of varieties, too.


What types of things do you buy in generic form?

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