Coupons or Generic?

[Aggiegrl]

Are you a coupon family, a generic family, or a combination of both? What are you reasons behind it?

We are a generic family. I don't subscribe to a newspaper. I rarely find a coupon online that can beat the generic price, especially when you consider the paper and ink used to print it.

We tend to like most generic things. But, we don't eat a lot of processed food. Our shopping is mostly staples like meat, veggies, canned goods, and dairy. There are just a few things we don't buy generic because of taste...like ketchup (Heinz).

 

[wgwtgb]

I'm a generic fan, but there are some things that just arent't he same as the name brand!!!

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Coupon. There are very few generics I like. I'm particular about brands so it's coupon all the way.

One thing I will say is kroger brand anything is really good. I actually prefer their ice cream to brand name.

 

[sydneysmom]

I have to say, a little of both. There's certain things I won't get generic....like Heinz Ketchup. I've GOT to have Heinz .

But for toiletry items like vitamins, tylenol, motrin, etc....definitely generic. That stuff is WAY too expensive just to have a pill that says Tylenol ! I also get generic for frozen veggies, canned veggies, cream cheese, shredded cheese, french fries. it tastes the same to me and it's ALOT cheaper !

 

[Nik's Mom]

I do a combination of both generic and coupons. There are some things that we only do name brand and I use coupons for those items. Other times, with a sale and a coupon, the name brand may be cheaper. If I can get items cheaper with a generic brand, I will buy it.

 

[natashag76]

Both - which ever costs less. There are a few things that I am particular about, but that is more for allergy content rather than taste.

 

[Aggiegrl]

I have to say, a little of both. There's certain things I won't get generic....like Heinz Ketchup. I've GOT to have Heinz .

But for toiletry items like vitamins, tylenol, motrin, etc....definitely generic. That stuff is WAY too expensive just to have a pill that says Tylenol ! I also get generic for frozen veggies, canned veggies, cream cheese, shredded cheese, french fries. it tastes the same to me and it's ALOT cheaper !

Isn't it funny how some people HAVE to have Heinz (me included)? My MIL buys Hunts because its cheaper. She does not understand why we dislike it so much. At the last cookout we had, I had the choice of her Hunts or my father's "low carb/no sugar" Heinz. I took the Heinz!

Funny you mention cream cheese. That's one of my brand name things. I did buy generic cream cheese yesterday though, but it's for DS. I figured it I bought generic I would be less likely to eat it, especially since its full fat. I usually buy the Philly 1/3 less fat. The generic less fat is really bad at my store.

 

[sydneysmom]

Isn't it funny how some people HAVE to have Heinz (me included)? My MIL buys Hunts because its cheaper. She does not understand why we dislike it so much. At the last cookout we had, I had the choice of her Hunts or my father's "low carb/no sugar" Heinz. I took the Heinz!

Funny you mention cream cheese. That's one of my brand name things. I did buy generic cream cheese yesterday though, but it's for DS. I figured it I bought generic I would be less likely to eat it, especially since its full fat. I usually buy the Philly 1/3 less fat. The generic less fat is really bad at my store.

UGH, I know what you mean about Hunts! I'd rather put mustard on a hamburger than eat Hunts!! Our cream cheese from Kroger isn't bad... we get the 1/3 less fat also. (the fat free is nasty !!) Sometimes though Philly is cheaper than the generic so I'll get that. we don't use it alot anyway....

 

[howlongtildisney]

We're a generic family. I've tried couponing several times but find generics are generally cheaper.

 

[Aggiegrl]

UGH, I know what you mean about Hunts! I'd rather put mustard on a hamburger than eat Hunts!! Our cream cheese from Kroger isn't bad... we get the 1/3 less fat also. (the fat free is nasty !!) Sometimes though Philly is cheaper than the generic so I'll get that. we don't use it alot anyway....

I wish Kroger was closer to us. It is about 25 miles away vs 10 for Walmart, Brookshires, and Albertsons (we live in the country). I usually only go to Kroger once every 2-3 months to stock up on laundry detergent. They are the only ones who carry Planet, which we use because I cloth diaper and because we have a septic that sprays near our animals.

Walmart 1/3 less fat is so yucky!

I'm on the hunt for an acceptable generic light ranch dressing. We generally buy Light Hidden Valley, although I'm not thrilled with the taste.

 

[SGMCO]

I rarely find coupons that I can use. I do buy genaric on things I can't make from scratch. I make as much from scratch as I can. I just made a whole pot of refried beans (cost me $1.00) and will get several meals out of them.

 

[amylynne01]

Couponing for 90% of food/HBA. Things like produce/eggs/milk/bread are all store stuff. If I wait for the best price and stockpile brand names with coupons, those prices are way lower than generics. I buy Prego and Ragu pasta sauce at $1.00 per can - generic is $1.50 at the cheapest. I have a stockpile of Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta that was free after coupon. My girls wear Pampers/Huggies/Luvs - the highest price I'll pay is $4.00 per jumbo. No generic is that low.

It definitely takes me more time to shop and prepare using coupons than if I went shopping and bought generics. But I have time - don't have as much money.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Coupons, definitely. Some things like ketchup or breadcrumbs I don't mind buying generic though. The one thing that I consistently buy generic is bread, our grocery store has the *best* bread, better than the $3.50/loaf name brand!

Oh and I always always buy generic OTC meds. I don't see why I should pay more for the same darn thing, ingredient for ingredient, for something that works exactly the same.

 

[rumrunnergirl]

.

 

[sydneysmom]

I wish Kroger was closer to us. It is about 25 miles away vs 10 for Walmart, Brookshires, and Albertsons (we live in the country). I usually only go to Kroger once every 2-3 months to stock up on laundry detergent. They are the only ones who carry Planet, which we use because I cloth diaper and because we have a septic that sprays near our animals.

Walmart 1/3 less fat is so yucky!

I'm on the hunt for an acceptable generic light ranch dressing. We generally buy Light Hidden Valley, although I'm not thrilled with the taste.

I haven't found any generic that are as good as Light Hidden Valley...we get that too. I have started getting the powdered pack though and making my own. If you use it regularly, it's cheaper. We use skim milk and the Kraft Olive oil mayo to make it and it comes out fantastic. The other brands of ranch light all seem to have a weird taste to them.

totally agree about Walmart cream cheese !!

 

[RooRach0906]

We do both now that we are shopping at Kroger. When we were shopping at Walmart it was all brand because I can not stand their generic its so yucky. My family even tried once to give me their generic Lipton type noodles.. thinking if I didnt see the package I wouldnt know took one bite and looked at them and said this is walmart brand. yuck.
I do whatever I can get cheaper at Kroger right now. The only thing that I will not buy generic is DD formula but that is only because she has a sensitive tummy.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Walmart brand dairy products are gross, excluding milk. The sour cream is awful, I can't imagine how bad the cream cheese is!

 

[Aggiegrl]

The only thing that I will not buy generic is DD formula but that is only because she has a sensitive tummy.

I just switched DS to generic formula. The formula at Target, Walmart, Walgreens and a few other places is made by the same manufactuer/is exactly the same. We were on Similac and my son has reflux issues. The change was no problem for us. I'm so happy to be saving 50% on formula now!

 

[JayT]

I'm definitely a coupon user. For a lot of things, combining sales, coupons, store coupons, catalina, ECB etc. is really a lot cheaper than buying generics.

When I have to buy generic, I absolutely LOVE Targets generic brand (Market Pantry for food and UP for non-food) Sometimes I think that Targets brand items are better than name brand.

 

[Nik's Mom]

If you prefer generic, and you have an Aldi's near you, go check it out. I can't think of a single thing that didn't taste just as good as the name brand there. I usually go to the grocery store with my coupons, then head across the street to Aldi's to get the remainder of my groceries.