My mother always bought name brands.  Was it the taste?  No, she didn’t want the black-n-white generic cans and boxes in the cart.  What would people think?

Luckily, food manufacturers and marketers have become smarter and that part of my mother didn’t rub off on me.  And in these tough economic times, frugality rules!

Most people think the generic brands taste bad or are of low quality.   On the contrary, the ‘generic’ foods of today, smartly packaged as “store brands” are often times your favorite brands with a different label.  HUH??  Name brand companies compete for the lowest bid to get the store brand label.  From apple juice to grass-fed New Zealand lamb in the butcher case.  It optimizes their factory output and allows them to average out costs of ingredients.  It allows the food manufacturer to hedge their bets in a sense by playing both ends of the grocery shopper market.

How can you tell?

Look at the label and list of ingredients.  If they are the same or near-same, give the store brand a try.  I’m at the point now that I forgot I used to buy the name brand on some items.  I simply couldn’t tell the difference in a taste test.

Generic Groceries to Buy

Staples such as rice, flour, sugar, salt, milk, applesauce, apple juice, frozen vegetables, frozen juices, vinegar and pull-ups for the toddler all make for great store brand or generic purchases.

However, Some items I just can’t leave the brand – Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, toilet paper, certain salad dressings… no generic substitutes that are comparable so far.  (Note: if you have children, do not try and swap out the Kraft Mac & Chew or you will forever be stuck with the generic on your shelf.. mine is going to the food bank).

Also, most things either taste very similar, or are typically as good, and maybe even better, however there are some things that definitely DO NOT!  These are:

• Cereal
• Maple Syrup
• Oreo

The things you typically do not want to do this for are the very sweet items you buy!  For some reason they just don’t do!

How much can you save when you buy Generic?

Plenty!  On average I’m finding by buying the store brand I can save 30% or more on my entire grocery bill.  This does not include store specials or coupons which also come in handy and can help with the grocery budget.  When you do this yourself you will see firsthand the effect this has on lowering your bill significantly!

Who’s buying generic?

These days it’s the same as asking “who’s going green?”  The answer – who isn’t?  Even the Wall Street Journal covered our changing habits in frugality at the check-out referencing a report out by Information Resources Inc. (IRI) titled  ”Shopper in Crisis” citing

 41% of upper-income consumers reduced spending on nonessential groceries, and a fourth of these consumers said they gave up favorite brands over six months… Nearly one-third of high-income shoppers said they bought more private-label products during the second quarter, up from about 20% in the first quarter of this year.

So Today’s Budgeteers – what do you buy generic and what brands won’t you part with, even when it comes to your last dime?

Below you will find the best coffee makers currently out in the market today that have been reviewed by experts in their field, and have found the best coffee makers for people who are on a certain budget, but who want a great product at the same time!  So here is our recommended “best cheap” coffee makers!

Hamilton Beach 46310 Front Access Easy Fill Coffee

We have put the time and effort into finding you the best coffee maker their is if you are on a budget, but want a great coffee maker!  The Hamilton Beach 46310 Front Access Easy Fill Coffee has everything you could want in a coffee maker, and more, while also being at a price-point that you can be very happy with!  So if coffee is a must for you, then this unit is a must for you too!

• Front Access Easy Fill for the Simplest Coffee Brewing
• Swing out Brew Basket Easiest of Cleaning
• Programmable Clock and Brew Setting
• Automatic Pause & Serve With No Messy Pour
• Many Different Brewing Options
• Unbeatable Price!

Price: $39.99

Below you will find the best all-in-one printers currently out in the market today, that have been reviewed by experts in their field, and they have found the best all-in-one printers for people who are on a budget, but who want a great product at the same time!  So here is our recommended “best cheap” all-in-one wireless printers!

Wireless printers are quite handy and convenient at use and that’s why these are highly demanded by the people for office and school use. There are many wireless printers in market but they all are really expensive and out of your range that’s why our team of BestForCheap.com took surveys of different markets and presents you the below Beat cheap wireless inkjet printers, they all are worth buying:

HP ENVY 5055 All-in-One Instant Ink Ready Printer

The ENVY 5055 All-in-One Instant Ink Ready Printer is our most recommended all-in-one wireless printer because of how highly efficient the unit is at such a incredible budget price-point!  The HP ENVY 5055 All-in-One Printer is capable of printing photos directly onto pages with ease and with such high quality and resolution it is truly a remarkable feat. This wireless printer is ultra compact so it doesn’t require big space; it can sit in very small places without any compromise and produce brilliant quality work. Its built-in Ethernet lets you print your stuff wireless without having the need of connecting it to any device. This wireless printer also has automatic two-sided printing feature. Best recommended for office and home use!

Key points:

• Is Instant Ink Ready!  Meaning it can order ink instantly when you need it for you!
• Saves up to 40% less energy and CPP than laser printers
• Integrated wireless networking and automatic two-sided printing feature
• Ultra compact and stylish
• Produces quality print images

Price: $79.99