The tasty way to save money

Earlier this summer I made the mistake of buying no-name pickles. They were much cheaper than the name brand Bicks pickles, but when I brought them home, my wife was appalled. “They don’t taste as good,” she said. “They’re pickles,” I replied. “They all taste the same.” Up until now the Great Pickle Debate has gone unresolved in our household. But I think I’ve finally got the proof that I’m right. The October issue of Consumer Reports has a great article comparing store brands with their more expensive name brand counterparts. We all know store brands are cheaper:27% less on average. But most of us assume that store brands are inferior in taste and/or quality. Not true, says Consumer Reports. The magazine taste-tested 29 categories of foods and found that in 19 the store brands and name brands were equally good. In four other categories the store brand won and in six the name brand won. Fact is, name brand products don’t cost more because of better ingredients. It’s because name brand companies spend more on developing the product, designing the package and marketing it. Consumer Reports estimated an average family could save over $1,100 a year simply by substituting national brands with store brands.

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