Abandon Brand Names

The single most effective strategy for dumping cost at the grocery and other stores is this: IGNORE THE NAME.  It was actually in a high school marketing class that I first learned that off-brand things are often made by the same factories making the name brand stuff.

Think about it.  There are factories making Glad sandwich bags.  There are factories making Ziploc sandwich bags.  Do you really think there are whole factories dedicated to making Walmart Great Value sandwich bags?  Or do you think they farm it out to one of the big companies?

I'm not saying that off-brand and name brand are exactly the same (although some times they are).  They might be made to a lower standard, or with different materials, or a different pattern, etc.  By buying cheaper, you  may be getting what you pay for.

But seriously...what do you need the product to do?  Can that be done with the cheaper option?  THEN CHOOSE THAT OPTION.

Example:

$5.98 for 260 bags.  That's $2.30 per 100.

$3.97 for 200 bags.  That's $1.99 per 100.

Are Ziploc bags better quality bags?  Probably.

But I'm using these bags to keep goldfish crackers from spilling all over my son's lunch box.   For that, I don't need something especially thick.

Nor do I need to be paying for name.  Every penny counts.