- Great Value Chicken Seasoned Coating Mix
- Berkley Jensen (BJ’s) or Up & Up (Target) tissues
- Berkley Jensen Toilet Paper
- Choceur Peanut Butter Cups (Aldi)
Everyone has preferences. My mother is appalled that I buy generic facial tissues. My husband is convinced that Pampers are the only diapers that don’t leak. My mother in law can’t tolerate any peanut butter that isn’t Jiff. I insist on Heinz ketchup. We like what we like. Nothing compares to our favorite trusted brands!
It is a little risky to try out a store brand. What if it is inferior? Maybe it will be less potent, smell funny, break easier, be runnier, or lack that little pizzazz you were expecting. With everything costing so much more money now, it can be risky to take the plunge. You might feel like Gob from Arrested Development – “I’ve made a huge mistake!” It might not always work out the way you want it to.
Except sometimes it does.
- Years and years ago, I baked chicken using Shake and Bake seasoning. And then one day I paid a little bit of attention to the price of the generic version and took the risk. Great Value actually has more flavor than the name brand. That was the moment I first took notice that a popular name didn’t always mean that it was better.
- I have been using Up & Up tissues for a long time. They cost about 30 cents less per box than the brand name (when purchasing the square boxes in a 4 pack) and you get 5 more tissues per box. You aren’t going to be able to plan a dream vacation with your savings from buying some tissues, but it might let you save enough to buy those peanut butter cups from #4 in my list. I have also just recently purchased a 12 pack of square boxes from BJ’s. This was a risky investment because if I hated them, I had to get through 12 boxes before I could get back to my precious Up & Ups. These are about $1.21 per box, which is close to 11 cents cheaper than Target. The best part is that I love them the best. They are 3 ply and you get 65 per box. The boxes are cute too. It was definitely a great buy.
- I don’t have a lot to say about the toilet paper. I buy the Berkley Jensen Ultra Soft in the blue packaging. It is $19.99 for 244 sheets. Charmin, which I had been buying previously, is $31.79 for the same amount. I truly like Berkley Jensen better. It is a little less fluffy and seems wound more tightly on the roll. If those features matter to you too, give it a try. Bonus offer: if you live near me, I can let you have a free sample of the tp and the tissues. It doesn’t get better than this!
- The Choceur peanut butter cups from Aldi are better than Reese’s – there, I said it! And I meant it too! The chocolate is creamier. The peanut butter is creamier. They come in a zipper bag that you can toss into the fridge or the freezer so you can pretend like you will save them for later. The problem is that they are even better when they are cold, so either way, they won’t last long.
What store brands have you discovered are better than their name brand counterpart?
