Saving money at the grocery store always remains my top priority. Money is tight in this house – like most households across America. So, I have to make tough choices when it comes to food purchases.
Generic items work most of the time, but not always. There’s little difference to me between a brand name gallon of milk or the store no-name brand. And, for the most part, potato chips are the same whether it has Ruffles written on it or the store brand that no one has heard of before. And I don’t really need The Quicker Picker Upper when the store brand of paper towels works just as well.
But there definitely are some products where the brand name makes the difference. Breakfast cereal is a perfect example. I want Cap’n Crunch, I don’t want the knock off. I want Kellogg’s Raisin Bran – the no-name just isn’t the same. And, give me a cola with a name I’ve heard. What is Choice Cola anyway? I’ll take a Pepsi.
I went to Kroger’s today with my sister. She was on a mission. It was double coupon day and she was ready. Boy was she ready!
Armed with a shopping list and an envelope full of coupons, she scoured the store in search of very specific items – a cart full actually. In the end, the register rang up $102 in purchases. Then she handed over the wad of coupons she’d been holding back. End result: $72. She got over $30 in food and personal care items for nothing – all because she read the Sunday newspaper and clipped a few coupons. The really nice part was that – with the exception of store brand ice cream – every item she purchased was a brand name.
I decided to do the same, so I made out my trusty shopping list. I get paid once a month, so my shopping list is always quite long. I then scoured through yesterday’s newspaper and clipped coupons. Unfortunately, only two coupons were for items I need and both were brand name products. And, unfortunately, even discounted both of those products are significantly more expensive then the store brand equivalent. I guess couponing works for some people and not for others.
In the end, it’ll be cheaper for me to buy store brands then try to find a coupon for a name brand product. Well, except for my Raisin Bran. I won’t sacrifice taste for money when it comes to breakfast cereal.