Do you have Smart and Final stores in your area ? I got eggs yesterday for 89 cents and butter for 1.79 . That is very cheap for our area. They have their own brands but I notice no differance in flavor or quality . Most of their sizes are too large for me so I only go once in awhile .
I consider cost and taste preferences when buying our food. Branding is pretty low on my priorities. I'm not afraid to buy the cheapest brand of many foods, and if it's good, I'll rebuy it. I've had as many disappointments with nationally advertised brands as store brands, so I tend to prefer store brands (at least if I don't like it, I've paid less for it).
I love Aldi's and Walmart's store-brands (both have satisfaction guarantees. Walmart will replace or refund and Aldi's gives a double-your-money-back policy. We've used Aldi's double money back guarantee on a couple occasions, though neither for quality/taste issues. One was a cereal box with a cut in the box (almost invisible, but it slashed through the box and the bag inside - probably when the stock person was opening the case), and the second was a jar of mustard that had a loose safety seal. We were really impressed with the reaction to the mustard. We only wanted a replacement, but were told to take two or take one and get our money back. We chose two mustards, and the clerk opened a new box and gave us two bottles after checking the seals - and she pulled the entire box of mustard that our original jar had come from. She said, they'd check each jar when they had time, but didn't want it on the shelves until they could be sure that it wasn't a factory problem.
I have very little brand loyalty. If the generic is available and cheaper, I'll get that. If the name brand is on sale and it's cheaper, I'll get that. The few brand loyalties I have are for personal products and Surf laundry detergent (it's the only kind that doesn't irritate my skin). Otherwise I'm all about saving the money.
agreed, sidhe. I usually buy whatever is cheapest! Mostly I can't tell a difference or don't mind if I can - honestly I can't think of any store brand foods I've tried that were really bad.
I buy lots of Safeway brand items, including olive oil, breakfast cereal, frozen lasagna (for lunches), English muffins and milk. I stick to my Orowheat 12-grain bread because once I bought a store brand version and it tasted like sawdust. I've tried lots of spaghetti sauce in jars, but my favorite is Western Family brand and now it's the only one that I'll buy. I will buy just about anything with the Kirkland brand and I don't think I've ever had a bad experience. I always buy Kirkland butter, shrimp, frozen chicken.....you name it.
I buy Aldi's brand cream soups and tomato soups, and they're better than Campbell's in my opinion (and about half the price). A friend recommended them to me when I asked for his "secret ingredient" in his green bean casserole (the classic cream of mushroom soup, grean beans, and Durkee fried onions mix). His "secret" was Aldi cream of mushroom soup. It's the only cream of mushroom soup that I thought was good enough to eat as soup, not just in recipes. It has a much more pronounced mushroom flavor than Campbell's and sells for only about 50 cents per can.
There aren't many brands I seek out, but those I do are often store brands. For example my favorite diet orange soda is the "Big Chill" diet orange soda (I believe it's the IGA store brand). My Favorite spaghetti sauces are the Aldi's brand sauces. They're one of the few sauces that I don't feel I have to "doctor" with my own ingredients (I may add a little more garlic, or additional vegetables, but that's about it).
My favorite salsa is the Walmart brand's black bean and corn salsa. It also makes an excellent simmering sauce for chicken. I just pour a jar over chicken pieces in a deep skillet or dutch oven, or in a crockpot. If I'm cooking on the stovetop, I add about 1/3 of a jar of water, and simmer until the chicken is done. YUMMY! It's really good with almost any salsa, in fact I've found that if I buy a salsa that I don't care for straight from the jar, it usually still makes a pretty good cooking salsa. Just be sure to buy a salsa one heat level below your preference. So if you like a medium salsa with chips, use a mild salsa for cooking. If you like a mild salsa, then use a mild salsa, but dilute it with an equal part of plain tomato or V-8 juice or tomato sauce.
I know you all are mostly comparing foods, but how do you feel about cosmetics? I noticed Target, CVS, Walgreens,etc all have their own versions of skincare lines- like the store brands of Olay Effects is quite a bit cheaper, has the same ingredients,..but are they the same quality?
My boyfriend complains about when i buy generic brands sometimes, not always, it usually depends on what it is. If it's Triscuits, he'll complain because the generic ones "aren't as big" as the name brand. Peanut butter just isn't as good if it isn't Peter Pan. However, that's his issue. I never notice a difference between name brand vs. generic really. once in a while there may be like a size difference or what have you, but other than that, there isn't too much of a difference.
I know you all are mostly comparing foods, but how do you feel about cosmetics? I noticed Target, CVS, Walgreens,etc all have their own versions of skincare lines- like the store brands of Olay Effects is quite a bit cheaper, has the same ingredients,..but are they the same quality?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I buy the Target version of Aveeno hand lotion and it's fine (and way cheaper!). But I tried the Target version of the Aveeno gentle facial scrub and didn't care for it at all; I threw most of it out. I haven't seen the generic cosmetics. I'm really picky about my facial moisturizers so I tend to stick with the name brand stuff on that--my skin is so sensitive to break outs that I don't want to shake things up. Oh, I use Target shave gel on occasion and it seems fine. Normally if I'm going to go cheaper on things like shampoo I'll go with Suave (but right now I'm using the giant Kirkland shampoo/conditioner and loving it).
I buy Walgreen's and Walmart's version of Head & Shoulders (my dermatologist recommended that I use a dandruff shampoo with zinc pyrithione as my only soap, because the zinc compound kills bacteria, viruses, and fungi/yeasts that cause many skin irritations). I like the scent of the Walmart version the best. I will buy the Head & Shoulders hair conditoner occasionally, because there is no store-brand version. Usually though I use the Walmart 2in1 shampoo/conditioner. I use it as my face soap, body wash, and shampoo. It's been wonderful for my complexion, as I was having problems with rosacea, breakouts, and a flaky/crusty/oozy rash caused by seborrheic dermatitis. I was also having a dermatitis on my feet that was insanely itchy and dry. It was horrific, but the dandruff shampoo has been great (it has to be a zinc based shampoo, not selenium).
I also use Walmart's version of Oil of Olay for sensitive skin with Spf (I think it's called "Oil of Beauty."
It's a name brand, but not an expensive cosmetic, but I find that the Cover Girl Mineral Makeup works as well for me as the far more expensive brands of mineral makeup (it does come in fewer skintones, but the second palest color works fine for me). I'm very allergic to most makeups, and can only wear the mineral makeups - and even then only for a few hours or I break out pretty badly. Either cystic breakouts or red, dry, flaky itchiness.
I'm allergic to beeswax so I have to be careful of lipsticks. It doesn't matter the brand. It's so common in lipsticks that it's hard to find a brand (cheap or expensive) that is beeswax free.
