We all know that the generic, store brand of most goods are cheaper. Most of them are usually just as good if not identical to the name brand. We want to know how much you save by going with the off brand.
Photo by Bossi.
Personal finance site Three Thrifty Guys decided to make a chart of their own experience with this experiment. During a typical shopping trip, the site compared prices between 16 different items they normally buy. They found that what would normally cost $56.24 for name brand goods only cost $41.51 by buying store brand items. A total savings of $14.73. Not too bad!
I was surprised at how quickly the savings added up. Choosing the cheapest option resulted in over 25% savings! For my wife and I (no kids), there would be about a $60 difference between choosing generic brand and named brands each month.
Of course, everyone buys different stuff, so how does your experience differ? Have you ever compared your usual shopping budget to see how much you save by skipping the big name labels? Alternatively, when is it worth it to you to spend the extra money to get a different brand?
Brand Name vs. No-name Brand: A Price Comparison [Three Thrifty Guys]
Comments
3 responses to “How Much Do You Save With Generic Brands, And When Is Spending More Worth It?”
I decided once to be logical and try the generic brand of all foods and other stuff like cleaning. I noticed quickly that most things weren’t any different and I liked some of the generic better (baked beans, veggie burgers). Also, the cheap washing powder doesn’t irritate my daughter’s skin as much.
About 90% of my shopping is now generic, however there are certain things where the non-generic is my preference. The store pasta is fine, but I would prefer Zafarelli. If we weren’t veggos our shopping costs would be minimal.
Coke/Pepsi or AC cola?
There are some things with very noticeable differences others there isn’t. It greatly depends on the product.
The only real way to be sure is to try it.