While I don’t always think that buying generic is the best idea, there are some staples which I pretty much always buy generic.

All over-the-counter medicines (and I guess this would apply to prescription meds as well) are goverened by the Food and Drug Administration. Any products with the same active ingredient must all meet the same effectiveness standards. This means that your Target version of Tylenol will do exactly the same thing as the real deal. The Target vitamins are the same as the expensive vitamins. And have you compared the price difference between Tylenol its non-name-brand counterpart? The difference is DOLLARS per bottle! Crazy.

Now there is one side note I must make. I do buy name brand for my kids. We’ve tried generic for their meds but they taste HORRIBLE. I ended up throwing it out and buying good ole Tylenol. Pills – generic good. Something you have to taste – generic bad.

Here are few things that I have tried generic (or store brand) and will never do again. Yes, they were cheaper but it ended up costing me more in the end or didn’t even come close to doing what it is supposed to.

Dryer Sheets
The store brand sheets don’t appear to do anything. One load I removed from the dryer nearly knocked me to the floor with the voltage coming off the towels.

Laundry Detergent
The store brand wasn’t that much cheaper than my Cheer. And it made my clothes smell funky.

Bread
The store brands I’ve tried go stale within just a few days and had to be thrown away. My Sara Lee stays fresh and we always get the whole loaf eaten before it goes stale.

Macaroni and Cheese/Spaghettios/Spaghetti Sauce/Other Quick Foods
All bad and not for human consumption, according to my family.

The jury is still out on shampoo and conditioner. I used to be an Aveda girl. LOVE THE SMELL! I’ve wisened up and dropped Aveda and went down to more reasonable brands such as Pantene and Garnier. I now have a Target version of Pantene. Smells good. The only difference I can see is that it’s much runnier and doesn’t leave my hair feeling quite as smooth. But it seems to be doing the job.