I found out the hard way not to use any old dishwasher detergent — all my glassware became cloudy and etched and this milky look was non-reversable. Had to buy new glassware. Therefore, I now use the kind of Cascade that prevents etching.

Other than that, I’ve found only two products I don’t like in store brands. One is the Wal-mart Great Value version of Silk chocolate soy milk. I compared ingredients and they were the same. But the GV version has 10 extra calories and I believe they put in more sugar.However, another food store in my hometown, HEB, has a store brand chocolate soy milk that tastes identical to Silk’s and I buy that –it’s about 30 cents cheaper than Silk brand. HEB has a lot of copy cat foods with its various store brands and they’re great.

The second product I disliked, Wal-mart Equate’s version of Neutragena acne wash, didn’t have the same “tingle” feeling to it. I compared both tubes at the store and discovered a key ingredient is listed lower on Equate’s ingredients list; that means they’re using a lesser amount of it.

I buy most of my OTC medicines from Wal-mart; you can really save on their Equate version of Benedryl pills for your allergies — at about $3 a bottle, it’s much, much cheaper than any other store’s brand. Other stores usually charge $6 or $7 for their store brand while the name brand is $10.

I get most of my beauty products from Wal-mart, too: their Equate version of Head & Shoulders is dirt cheap but I wish they’d bottle it in larger sizes. Tres-somme shampoo at Wal-mart comes in large bottles, very thrifty.

I’ve found I can buy Great Value food products at Wal-mart cheaper than using a coupon to buy their name brand equivalent. So I’ve stopped clipping coupons.

I believe Walgreen’s 1000 sheet per roll toilet tissue is nothing more than ScotTissue and sometimes they really have good sales on that product.

Pepsi Products
Heinz Ketchup
Cottonelle TP
Glad Trash bags
Velveeta
Tampax
Jiff PB

Sometimes it really is about the quality vs savings!

Woo hoo!

Hellmans Mayo (any type)
Heinz Ketchup
Tide Laundry Detergent (powder or liquid)
Pedigree Dry Dog food (the dogs actually prefer it to the higher priced brands and over the store brands)

TP as long as it is safe for septic systems, I’m ok on, I usually use Marcal or Scott Tissue. They have more sheets per roll. The other brands usually don’t have as many sheets.

I’ve been shopping more & more at the Aldi for my basics and staples (sugar, eggs, rice, canned veg,dairy products,salsas, various snack foods) and some of their store brands are very good. Some items are not, I think you have to at least try the generic.

I do have to say though, I used to be really picky about the velveeta too, but I’ve used Aldi’s brand several times and it’s pretty good! You should give it a try :)

One thing my fiance, Mark, won’t do generic on is ketchup. It has to be Heinz.

I hate to buy generic pads (I know, TMI) I’m pretty loyal to the Stayfree brand when it comes to that. I can’t stand anything else. I used to buy them at Dollar General for .25-.50 cheaper than Wal-Mart, but I think it’s about the same now. I guess I can stand to spend $3 on something that’ll last me several months.

I’m also kind of loyal to Pure Silk (by Barbasol) shave cream. I will not buy it anywhere but dollar stores though. They used to come in 14oz cans for less than a dollar, now it’s a 9oz can for sometimes over $.50 more! (My dad pointed out how silly it is that I complain about that, but so what! lol) We typically go to stores like Deals, Dollar Tree, etc. about once a month, so I just pick up a couple cans then if I need ‘em

We don’t usually buy generic cereal either, but we only buy cereal when it’s on sale or we have a coupon. We usually get a lot at one time too.

We never buy 1-ply tp. Even though Mark will eat pretty much anything, I prefer Ragu pasta sauce (all pasta sauces seem to taste the same to me so I got sick of them. I bought a couple Ragu jars when they were on sale at Meijer, and really liked them.. so I’m hooked!). I can’t think of anytime we’ve bought generic toothpaste or deodorant..

I like Suave’s version of Brilliant Brunette shampoo and conditioner. I’ve used both brands and wasn’t disappointed with Sauve, so I typically buy that.. for, what, $4 cheaper than John Freida?

We save a lot of money by buying our laundry detergent at Meijer when it’s on sale. I forget the brand, but it’s the big jugs buy one get two free.. so we spend $11 for three of those big jugs which last us a LONG time.

Sometimes I make the mistake of thinking I’m getting a deal just because something is cheaper. Dish soap, for example. I would buy whatever was cheapest. Mark’s mom bought us some Dawn one time when she went shopping for us (she’s our neighbor so sometimes it makes things easier since I don’t drive) and I realized that it’s worth the extra dollar I’d spend on that. I tend to think more about price than value.

Wow, this is getting long! haha. Anyway, there are lots of things that I prefer name-brand too because sometimes it is better to spend a little more, but I’ve been known to go cheap on just about everything. (It’s only been since I’ve been with my fiance that I’ve been “splurging” more on stuff)