Monday, July 27th, 2009...2:00 am
Store-Brand Savings
Recently, I received a package from CVS, chock-full of household products I use everyday. Naturally, I’m apt to purchase store brands whenever possible, because I know how much money I can save doing so. This package was no different–it was all store brands, all the time.
What was so cool about this CVS package was it contained a price-comparison sheet–store brand versus name brand. My jaw almost hit the floor when I saw how much money choosing store brands can save me.
Here are some examples so you can see what I’m talking about:
CVS/Pharmacy Age Defense Face Sunscreen SPF 70: $9.99
Name-brand Ageless Face Sunblock Lotion SPF 70: $11.99
Savings: $2
CVS/Pharmacy Allergy Relief Tablets 24-Hour Non Drowsy: $7.19
Name-brand Allergy Tablets 24-Hour Non Drowsy: $11.99
Savings: $4.80
CVS/Pharmacy Dental Flossers: $2.49
Name-brand Flossers: $3.49
Savings: $1
CVS/Pharmacy Ibuprofen: $3.29
Name-brand Ibuprofen: $4.29
Savings: $1
CVS/Pharmacy Earth Essentials Storng & Absorbent Paper Towels: $2.69 (Yes, I’m working on my paper towel habit)
Name-brand Eco-Friendly Paper Towels: $6.99
Savings: $4.30
All told with just five products, you save $13.10 by choosing a store brand over a name brand. When you add up all of the savings in the package, $53 stayed in your pocket instead of shelling it out for a brand name.
Now I’ll admit that in certain instances I’ll choose a brand name over a store brand–usually when it involves food. I find that with granola bars, for example, Quaker’s chewy granola bars taste way better than my supermarket’s brand. Same thing with General Mills’ Honey-Nut Cheerios. In fact, we recently did a blind taste test at our breakfast table, comparing the “real” Honey-Nut Cheerios with the store-brand honey-nutty oat-os (or whatever it is they call it). After a few spoonfuls, my daughters gave the thumbs up to the Honey-Nut Cheerios and asked if they could give the store-brand bowl of cereal to the dog instead.
Bottom line: when you’re on a budget and taste isn’t a factor, choosing a store-brand product over the more expensive name brand makes the most frugal sense.
I buy a lot of CVS brand items — they’re great. The only branded food I buy? Cheerios! Plain Cheerios, though, not honey nut.
Thanks for the tips. I usually don’t buy at CVS, but I think I am going to change my shopping habits
I’m all for store brands in most cases – ibuprofen is ibuprofen. But we discovered that not all over-the-counter remedies are created equal. Years ago our daughter needed Benedryl for yet another allergy attack. Frugal me bought the CVS version. It did nothing for her symptoms – and she didn’t know she was getting something different from the usual pink liquid. After a day of misery, I went back to the store and bought the “real thing.” And it worked the way it was supposed to. Lesson learned.
Generic medications are a great way to keep your prescription drug costs down. What really gets my goat is these new drugs where they put two generics together and then charge an arm and a leg for it! I’ve seen ads on TV for Caduet. It has two ingredients. One is Amlodipine and the other is Atorvastatin. With my RxDrugCard I can get 30 tablets of Amlodipine for $9 and 30 tablets of Simvastatin for $9. I’ll bet they are charging more than $18 for this! The unthinking public is going to pressure their doctors into giving them something just because it’s new, when something old or generic would do the job for cheaper.