Buying generic brand items is a great way to save money. Many generic brands are just as good as more widely recognized national brands. But, since the companies don’t typically spend the same amount of money advertising their products, generic brand items are usually less expensive.
Not all generic brand items are created equal, though, and cheaper isn’t always better. I’m all for saving money, but when a product just doesn’t do a good job, I see it as a waste of money. So, instead of saving money, you might just be throwing it away when you buy some generic brands!
Here’s a quick list of some of the generic brand items that usually aren’t worth the savings…
- Dish Detergent. Name brand dish detergents, like Dawn, can be pricey, so it’s pretty tempting to grab that gallon jug of generic brand dish detergent for a buck! You might not be getting the best deal here, though. Generic brand dish detergents generally don’t do as well of a job as the more well known brands, and you’ll often end up using twice as much as you normally would.
- Toilet Paper. Generic brand toilet paper is often very thin, one-ply, and flimsy. You’ll typically feel the need to use several sheets of generic brand toilet paper to avoid the dreaded “finger through the TP” issue.
- Paper Towels. Like toilet paper, generic brand paper towels are thin and flimsy. Wiping up spills requires way more paper towels than you should be using, and a roll will go twice as fast.
- Garbage Bags. When it comes to containing your trash, thicker is better. And, generic brand garbage bags just don’t cut the mustard! They’re thin and flimsy, and they’re way more likely to rip, leaving you with a big mess to clean up. Hopefully not with your generic paper towels!
- Pasta Sauce. I love a good pasta sauce, especially Alfredo sauce! Every generic pasta sauce I’ve tried, though, has been just plain awful. The spaghetti sauces are too bland, too sweet, not sweet enough, or—my biggest pet peeve—too thin. In my opinion, store brand pasta sauce just isn’t worth it!
- Deodorant. While I’m usually a pretty big fan of buying generic toiletries to save money, I draw the line at deodorant. Generic brand deodorant just doesn’t work as well as the more well known name brands, leaving you a stinky sweaty mess.
- Toothpaste. I’m not saying that generic toothpaste is any worse than name brand toothpaste, but why pay for something you can get for free or almost free? Nearly every week, at least one store has a sale on toothpaste that will make it free after using a coupon. The one downfall to generic brands is that you typically can’t find coupons for them. So, while you can usually snag generic brands for cheaper, it’s usually impossible to snag them for free!
