Now that I’ve outed myself as a cheapo, I’d like to discuss some of my other cheap tendencies. And also your cheap tendencies. Because you being cheap also makes my being cheap more acceptable.
Before I discuss being cheap, however, lets get a few things straight. I’m not cheap about everything. Tomato products MUST, I repeat MUST, be name brand. Store brands always seem so acidic. Also, I only buy premium brand ice creams because really, if I’m going to make my ass even fatter and muffin top even poofier, then by golly that ice cream is going to taste pretty spectacular. I don’t like generic Cool Whip. I also don’t like cheapy lunch meat. Carl Buddig lunch meats give me the heebie jeebies. Ham, turkey, chicken, and beef should not all be the same color and have flecks of mystery matter scattered throughout.
Now for cheap-o-rama discussions…Many of my beauty products are from the grocery store and are either Equate brand or Suave or Lip Smackers. I do have a few cosmetics from actual cosmetic counters where over painted, black smocked women convinced me that their $32 tube of lipstick is somehow superior to my C.O. Bigelow lip tint. While I covet those fancy schmancy expensive beauty products I just can’t bring myself to spend the money on a brand name.
Pretty much everything else that you could possibly buy at a grocery store or drug store, I buy their generic versions. Even if the store brand is only two cents cheaper, then I’ll buy it because that extra two cents is going to help put my children through Harvard! My new best friend Meijer has her own line of many store brands that have caused me to develop a leetle girl crush on her. Prettily packaged and tasty and GENERIC makes my heart go pitter pat.
Are there things that you are violently opposed to purchasing the generic version (like my aversion to generic canned tomatoes?)
What about diapers? I didn’t even mention diapers before! I’ve not had any trouble with the Parent’s Choice brand, but I just really like how soft the Pampers are for Ella. Carson used to wear Huggies, but they started leaking so now he’s also wearing Pampers and I’m wondering if I could skimp on their diapers and use the money saved to buy myself some fancy schmancy beauty products? Hmmm? (I’m only sort of joking.)
Discuss amongst yourselves. Let the cheap comments flow….
Ketchup MUST be Heinz
Mayo Must be Best Foods
BBQ ssauce must be Sweet Baby Rays
Ranch Dressing must be Hidden Valley
TP cottonelle
Laundry soap has to be Tide, it’s the only one that gets the farmers clothes clean.
and DH deoderant must be Degree
Other than that I am not real brand loyal, generics serve me just fine.
Kiwi’s last blog post..Gifting You My Love
I am a Publix snob. I love their store brand products.
For the newborn baby tushies, I swear by Pampers Swaddlers, however once they get a little bigger I buy generic diapers (Kroger, WalHell or Publix). I’ve been buying generic Pull Ups, by thank GOD my nearly 3-year-old is now wearing big girl panties during the day. Woo hoo!
As far as makeup goes, I am a Walgreens cheapie girl all the way. Same with hair care products. I love Revlon Colorstay foundation and just about anything by L’Oreal or Almay or Neutrogena. Right now my favorite lipstick is Cover Girl’s Incredifull.
As far as food and paper products, I can’t stand generic cereal bars or PopTarts, but I don’t mind generic instant oatmeal or cereal. Paper products I’ll buy whatever is on sale. I ‘m with you on the tomato products, although I did just buy Kroger tomatoes for chili and they were OK!
I can’t do generic sodas. Only real fully leaded Coke.
I also buy a lot of cleaning products at Dollar General. I love their baby shampoo/lavender scent.
WalMart is generally too crowded/on the verge of redneck Armageddon for me. At least the one closest to my house!
There are definitely items where “cheap” just doesn’t cut it, and tomato products for sure fall in that category. Same with cheese products. I just can’t “do” cheap cheese. It isn’t worth it.
Loving your site, btw! I can’t believe I didn’t find you sooner, wish I had . . .
Carrie’s last blog post..Wyatt’s Blog
I’m a huge coupon clipper, and flyer follower. Since our grocery stores are close to each other, I’m able to go to each one for the better deal.
I’m so cheap, that there’s only one thing I refuse to buy generic — Coke products. Before I got pregnant, it was Diet Coke or nothing. I swore off Nutrisweet during my pregnancy, and since I’m still breastfeeding, I allow myself one can of Coke a day. Store brands will not do, and don’t even think of suggesting Pepsi.
I’ve been a bargain shopper from day one, but it was sealed when in my pre-baby days of actual CAREER (shocking, I know) I was in several processing/packaging plants where the same product would roll off the line and either get the generic or the name brand label…the same product…different label and I am not just talking food…WASHING MACHINES before my very eyes which translates to $150 difference in the store.
HRH’s last blog post..Monday morning potluck (if you dare)…
Umm, I can’t think of anything that I won’t try a generic of. I’m cheap like that. Also, I tried generic diapers (several kinds because of leftovers a friend had from her son) when my son was a newborn. I used them, but I mostly hated them. So when I ran out of those I only bought name brand diapers. Pampers Swaddlers for the itty bitty stage, then I liked Huggies after that. About the time my son turned 15-18 months I decided to try generics again. I now use Parent’s Choice. They work fine for us. Huggies are better, but these work fine. Generics leaked for a smaller baby, but not so bad for an older. That’s my 2 cents.
Mommy Daisy’s last blog post..Droppings
How funny. Mine was in Huggies until they leaked, too! Now we’re all Pampers. My hubby would love me to learn from you. I don’t do generic anything.
AnGlOpHiLe FoOtBaLl FaNaTiC’s last blog post..Break Out the Battering Rams!
You are speaking my language, girl! I am the number one cheapo of all time. On most things.
For name brand stuff that my husband will not compromise on, I clip coupons. If you match coupons with store sales, you can get some great deals!
He eats only Velveeta Shells & Cheese (although I did buy the GV brand once and put it in an old Velveeta box to see if he could tell the difference; he could)
I’ve found that pricier kid’s clothes and shoes last so much longer than the cheap ones. When you have 4 kids and expect the clothes to last through at least 3 of them, it makes a big difference.
I don’t like cheap tuna. It tastes far worse than the good brands.
I spend massive amounts of money each month on having organic milk and eggs delivered to us. It is by far the best $ we spend on groceries. My kids drink twice as much milk as they used too. It tastes that much better.
We buy beef in bulk from an organic farmer near us. It is actually cheaper than grocery store beef and tastes so, so, so much better.
Other than those, I buy store brand everything!
Jenni’s last blog post..Misinterpretation
I will use generics for many things, but I have a few things that I will never buy generic for. Generic cheese never tastes as good as the name brand stuff. Toilet paper should never, ever be generic – if it’s not Quilted Northern, it’s not touching my butt. Some soda can be good generic, but it’s hit and miss – different generics are good or bad.
For diapers, I used to be devoted to Pampers, but then they started leaking for Cordy, so she now uses Luvs. I tried just about every generic diaper out there, and Luvs was the only one that didn’t leak often. I still use Pampers for Mira, because like you, I like how soft they are.
Christina’s last blog post..Why Must Healthy Be So Hard?
I will only buy name brand diapers and antidepressants.
Stimey’s last blog post..It’s Finally Happened
Generic is OK for OTC drugs but when it comes to antidepressants or SB’s meds, I’m with Stimey. The generic is NOT always the same.
tulipmom’s last blog post..Pregnancy/Baby Stuff
Oh, my, with you on the makeup. As long as the mascara is waterproof and cheap, I don’t care who made it.
Diapers: kroger makes one that doesn’t leak at night. Nuf said. Wipies are the same…I stopped buying the fancy stuff after Kaitlyn had a few months under her diaper. As long as it’s not making her break out in a rash, it’s good.
I cannot, absolutely cannot wear generic maxi pads. It has to Always. HAS to be. Same with toilet paper. Generic stuff falls apart. Rapidly dissolving Ew. Chips and candy and soda pop, also must be name brand. Especially my diet coke.
Oh, and as a former Michiganer, YAY MEIJERS!
I too love me some Meijer.
Heather’s last blog post..Tasty Tuesday – B.R.E. Meatloaf
I’m in! I too will not skimp on diapers, though. I found the generic ones horrible. And with Elliot, the Huggies leaked, so we used Pampers. With Arlo, we’ve been using Huggies (they don’t leak with him and I can get them at Costco – I do loves me some Costco).
andi’s last blog post..I must have made it to the big time, Interwebs!
It’s not just Meijer brand, it’s a better brand. It’s the god’s honest truth. Meijer Organics is WONDERFUL. Meijer Mac & Cheese tastes BETTER than Kraft.
I won’t buy store-brand diapers (though we cloth diaper now) or wipes. Sometimes wipes, but not usually. And I’m with you on the Ice Cream. Tomato SAUCE needs to be name-brand, but tomatoes don’t bother me. Pretty much anything else, I’m happy with store brand.
Oh, you people don’t know what cheap is!
I’m so cheap I always used cloth diapers
Ok, ok, so I did use disposables for travelling and such, and when i did, I went top of the line with huggies. but it depended on the child – have you noticed how different brands work differently for different bottoms? I’ve always wondered if they actually change the shape of the nappy between children (an obvious conspiracy!) or if little bottoms are that different…
No cheap shampoo, I’ve tried the Panteen version of the Equate, it’s just not the same. No cheap yogurt, just doesn’t taste the same.
Generic meds all the way, milk, butter, cereal all cheapy.
Rose Daughter’s last blog post..Domestication
When DH and i first moved in together this caused so many fights, see he grew up with way to much money and refused to get cheaper anything. When your living on about £20 ($40) a week which inlucded stuff like petrol we had to try and comparmise but he would refuse.
Although certain stuff like baby wipes, washing powder, dishwasher tablets i would not even do
Laura McIntyre’s last blog post..Its Really True?
Has to be Carnation hot chocolate powder. Generic tastes like cocoa with sugar granules. Bleck. Also on my brand name list is Miracle Whip (no “Whipped Salad Dressing” for me).
As for baby stuff, I only buy Pampers (had bad luck with generic) but I generally buy only generic quilted wipes. They’re so much thicker and luscious than Pampers wipes.
Mrs. Mustard’s last blog post..It’s Business Time
I will not do geverics on diapers, it has to be huggies. toilettee paper has to be charmin, soda has to be coca cola and detergent has to be Tide. Because I follow the sales at the near grocery store I am able to buy diapers at a much better price, plus I clip coupons, so the package of huggies that would cost me 12$ ends up costing me only 6$ because it goes on sale for 7.99 and i have $2 coupon that I used towards it. You can not buy store brand for 6$, so it is worth waiting for the sale, and I buy lots of it, last time I bought 7 packages.
And I refuse to buy formula for my baby, i rather breastfeed and pump than spend money on something that is less than optimal for my baby, that is being cheap.
[...] covet a Dyson, yet as you recall I’m cheap and I want to be absolutely sure that I won’t be wasting my money. Reading through page [...]
[...] Being thrifty, I often buy whole chickens or chicken thighs at the grocery store. (Which, by the way, I miss Meijer so much, it’s physically painful to even think about.) I don’t know why I keep torturing myself, though, because COME ON! I should just spend the extra money to buy the pot roast or pork tenderloin instead of causing myself immense amounts of stress related trauma due to utter inability to cook chicken. [...]
[...] bloggity people on the planet: Editor-in-Chief, Megan of Velveteen Mind and Managing Editor, Jennifer of Playgroups are no place for children. (I love these two. I wanted to take them home in my purse after BlogHer, but I don’t know how [...]