Saving money - off brands

[Morbius]

As a cost-saving measure I have been trying generic or cheaper varieties of various products, with mixed results. I list some of these below:

Generic strawberry preserves: like rock. Absolutely awful; better to spend more on Smuckers or the like. Too thick to spread on bread without tearing the bread!

Generic butter, milk, cheese, eggs: always check the dates. If the sell-by date is later, get that one. There is no difference in flavor between brands. Just get what's fresher and you'll be happy. Mostly, anyway. I would be careful with the packaging on some cheaper varieties of sliced cheese; you can't reseal them.

Generic dried pasta: I can't taste a difference between Creamettes, Prince, and the generics. Maybe Barilla is better, but it's not worth twice the price. In my opinion, anyway.

Generic mac & cheese: not as good as Kraft but not bad at all. You'd almost have to have them side by side to taste a difference. I've found the best thing to do is buy the cheaper stuff and mix in some real cheese along with the margarine and the milk. It tastes pretty good.

Sausage: we like sausage, so I have tried alternatives to Jimmy Dean and Bob Evans. I don't like any of them.

Salty snacks: I've tried cheap alternatives to Cheetoes, Doritos, Fritos, Lays and so on. Mostly, the premium brands taste significantly better. Pretzels are one thing where the cheaper brands seem close in quality to the big brands, but that's all.

Soft drinks: many small, local brands of soda taste just fine to me. I'm not the kind of guy who drinks soda every day, but I like the occasional root beer and/or red pop, and Faygo tastes just fine to me - less than half the price of Coke or Pepsi. I do like premium kinds of soda once in a while, like Sioux City Sarsaparilla or Stewart's Root Beer, but there aren't generic equivalents.

Juice: I can't taste a difference between most brands of apple juice from concentrate. Martinelli's apple juice is quite expensive but it is incredibly delicious. Aside from that, though, I find little difference between the bottles which run $2.99 per half gallon and those costing $1.49 per half gallon.

OK! That's not a complete list but it's a start. Has anyone had similar experiences trying to save some coin on off brands?

[BOSSHOG]

1. We've found the store brands of "envelopes" of tuna

Are same as the name brand and much cheaper. I guess ya can’t do much to make tuna taste bad to sell it for less. We buy lots of tuna for the local food bank.

We pay premium for peanut butter. Lordy I can’t handle the store brand peanut butter.

And, scour the grocery ads every week. You’ll find a bargain or two.

[Morbius]

3. I agree about the peanut butter.

Jif, Skippy and Peter Pan are the only brands I'll consider... and I don't think I've seen Peter Pan in years.

Interesting about the tuna. I used to buy Bumble Bee tuna but decided I didn't like it much. Chicken of the Sea is generally about $1 a can, so that's what I've been getting. I could look into the envelopes, but I don't know they'll ever be cheaper than canned.

[BOSSHOG]

6. I make a bigger mess with the cans then the envelopes

And often the cans are oily on the outside. We stay well stocked in peanut butter. My wife Skippy, me Jif.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. Store brands and Pro tip

Mac & cheese, salty snacks, sausage, soft drinks are hyper-processed. They have almost zero nutritional value aside from calories, and they carry questionable additives. Not worth the money. Ditching them is a good way to "save some coin".

Off-brands are different here.
I buy off-brand cheddar cheese (store brand), old aged. Better tasting than Cracker Barrel or Armstrong's.

Store brand green tea; not as good but plenty good enough.

Store brand flour: chef told me it is the same mills as name brand. Can't detect difference. I bake my own bread.

Store brand tuna: plenty good enough, name brand is better. Store brand canned salmon, fair to good, I don't know what the name brand is like.

Store brand olives: Great.

Store brand cinnamon: good, name might be better. Italian seasoning: bought it but has not come up in rotation.

Store brand dish detergent, dishwasher pods, dishwasher rinse, hand soap: no detectable difference. Don't neglect saving on non-food supermarket items by buying off-brand.

Beer & cider: I go the other way, I go above brand to craft brews. Life is too short for factory beer. I don't consume much. 1 to 3 a week.

[chowmama]

4. (Sage) Breakfast sausage.

Pork, no less than 20% fat

Per # of meat Per 5#

Salt Scant ½ tsp 2 ½ tsp
Pepper 1/8 tsp 5/8 tsp
Sage (opt.) up to ¾ to 1 tsp 1 ½ Tbsp or less
Thyme ½ tsp 2 ½ tsp
Marjoram or oregano ¼ tsp 1 ¼ tsp
Red pepper flakes 1/8 tsp 5/8 tsp

This is fairly subtle in flavor and can be adjusted to taste. You might eventually arrive at something you prefer to any of the commercial alternatives.

I just make it as bulk and don't put it in casings.

[chowmama]

7. Well, that didn't work well.

Salt - Scant 1/2 tsp for 1#, 2.5 for 5# meat. Go scant; you can always add more later.
Pepper - 1/8 tsp for 1#, 5/8 for 5#
Sage - up to 1 tsp for 1# (I usually use less), up to 1/5 Tbsp for 5#
Thyme - 1/2 tsp for 1#, 2/5 tsp for 5# (I'm a fan of thyme with pork)
Marjoram or oregano: 1/4 tsp for 1#, 1.25 tsp for 5#
Red pepper flakes - 1/8 tsp for 1#, 5/8 tsp for 5#. This is pretty mild, but if you really hate it, leave it out entirely. Or you can make it hotter.

[SheltieLover]

5. I love Aldi generics

The "oreos" taste exactly like the originals.

The ritz-type crackers are every bit as good as name brand.

Same for eheat thin-type crackers.

Same for potato chips, tortilla chips, frito-type corn chips, & dorito-type chips.

Butter is as good as name brands.

Mocha iced coffee is better, imo, than name brands.

Olives, banana pepper rings, ripe olives, & salad dressings are all excellent.

And, best part, they offer a double satisfaction guarantee. If you don't like something, return it & you get your money back and a product of equal or less cost free.

The only things I don't like of Aldi's is their dill pickles. Mushy. Yuck. Lol

But I save hundreds each month shopping there, even ordering through Instacart.



On edit: seriously, do try their peanut butter sandwich cookies! Muvh lower sugar than most cookies, under $3/bag, & imo better flavor than Planter's.

[Morbius]

8. Ooh, good point on the generic cookies.

I think Oreos do taste better, but the difference is small enough that we get store brand chocolate sandwich cookies. We have the off-brand golden sandwich cookies in the cookie jar right now. About half the price!

[SheltieLover]

10. Yes most of Aldi generics are half the price!

And I'd forgotten to mention their peanut butter sandwich cookies. Omg they are so good & much lower sugar content than other cookies. Can't recall exact price, but under $3.00. Better than Planter's imo.

[wyn borkins]

9. We Agree (and thank you kindly for your detailed listing) (n/t)

[SheltieLover]

11. Try the peanut butter sandwich cookies! Seriously delic!

And under $3/package. Much lower sugar than most cookies!

Enjoy!

[LogDog75]

12. I like off brand cereal

I rarely by General Mills, Post, or Kellogg cereals. Instead,I buy Ralston Tasteoos (Cheerios) and Raisin Bran cereals. The military commissary has their own brand of Honey Nut Cheerios under their Freedom’s Choice label. Both off brands taste good, nearly as good as the name brand, but they cost much. Less.

Back inn the 70s, one of the political science course I took the instructor said just about any product you buy in a supermarket is made by three companies. He then challenged us to name more than brands for a supermarket item and I don’t think we’re could. He then told us most of. The store label products are made by one of three companies that make that product.

I buy Costco’s Kirkland’s brand Aller-etc which is generic Zyrtec. Zyrtec 10mg for 120 tables costs $41 and 365 tablets of 10mg. Aller-etc costs $15 at Costco. For most over-the-counter drugs, if you compare the labels of the brand name and store or off-brand drugs, you’ll see the store or off-brand labels will cost less. The same goes goes with prescriptions but you should ask your doctor if a generic is available.

[Morbius]

13. Good point about the pills.

I have a problematic stomach and sometimes take famotidine tablets, which is the generic name for Pepcid. I pay around $.10 a pill; Pepcid is around $.64. It's a really good idea to research pills. My wife takes omeprazole; it turns out the prescription form with a coupon is cheaper than the over-the-counter price!