Buying the store brand of an item, from diapers to food is usually a great way of saving money, especially if you don’t have coupons. But let us face it. Some generic brands are better than others. It can be intimidating trying new generics when you have never tried them before. You don’t want to wind up with a leaky diaper or sour mayonnaise.
Over the years, my friends and I have tried many different kinds of generic items. You can use our experience to make the best choices, and to save yourself both the legwork for trying different generic brands and the potential waste when things don’t turn out to be quite as good as you hoped.
Baby Stuff
For diapers and wipes, we have found that the Target brand is wonderful. The diapers are unscented, soft and secure. They run a little bit larger than the “fitted” brand name diapers, which means that you may be able to keep your baby in a smaller size longer, saving you money.
The wipes are very strong and cloth-like. I couldn’t believe that they were a generic brand, since I like them better than the name brand wipes. They hold up on the toughest messes, too.
Dairy
For diary products, such as sour cream, ricotta cheese and yogurt, I have had great luck with the Giant grocery store brand. In fact, I actually prefer it to other brand names that cost up to twice as much. Milk is an exception, because I prefer hormone-free or organic milk, and the best price there is at Trader Joe’s, hands down. Trader Joe’s also has great natural yogurt, and they sell different flavors in the large containers for even more savings. Trader Joe’s cheese stick snacks for the kids are also inexpensive, larger than most and tasty.
Would you like to know more about generics, including laundry detergent? Check back to the Frugal blog for a future post!
You can read more blog posts by Mary Ann Romans here!
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