WEBVTT - Choosing Name Brands Over Generics #236 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.800 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I and Matt. 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:26.599 Today we're discussing choosing between name brands and generics. This 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:28.600 episode is gonna be dedicated to what I feel is 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:31.640 like a classically frugal question. Should I go with the 0:00:31.720 --> 0:00:33.879 generic version or should I go with something that's more 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:36.519 name brands. So that's what we're gonna be tackling this episode. 0:00:36.520 --> 0:00:39.040 We're gonna cover some of the different UH categories of 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:42.080 products where we feel going generic makes a lot of sense, 0:00:42.080 --> 0:00:43.720 and we're gonna talk about when it makes sense to 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:45.920 go with the name brand and how to just really 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:48.800 think about it. Well, looking forward to talking with you 0:00:48.840 --> 0:00:51.440 about this, buddy. Yeah, man, I think some personal finance 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:54.440 people who nerd out might be like store brand always 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:56.400 all the time. And you know, I think you and 0:00:56.440 --> 0:00:58.360 I were partial to to store brands, were partial to 0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:01.040 generics and a lot of instances, but not in every case. 0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:03.080 And so yeah, we'll kind of give those parameters on 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:05.440 how to think about which one you choose. Matt. Before 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:06.640 we get to that, I wanted to give a quick 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:09.280 shout out to my seven year old. It's her birthday today. 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:13.080 She listens to the show, right, Oh, yeah, of course, yeah, 0:01:13.120 --> 0:01:16.319 and uh so she just turned seven. But yeah, I 0:01:16.319 --> 0:01:17.839 had a question for you because one of the gifts 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:20.080 that I gave her today actually purchased at least a 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:21.720 year and a half maybe two and a half years ago, 0:01:22.640 --> 0:01:24.240 and I just kind of had it sitting up in 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:26.479 the top of the closet soever around Christmas time. Cost 0:01:26.600 --> 0:01:28.920 actually has a pretty decent selection of presents for kids, 0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:32.240 and I knew when I saw this gift, oh man, 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:34.679 seven year old son was gonna really love this, but 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:36.880 five year old Talma, I can't really play with this yet, 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:39.600 and so I ended up buying it ahead of time 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:41.440 and just kind of storing it, holding onto that. And 0:01:41.480 --> 0:01:43.440 I feel like I've been doing that more and more 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:45.920 over the years. I didn't have something in our closet 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:48.320 from this past Christmas that our ten month old just 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:50.440 isn't ready to play with and might not be ready 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:53.000 to play with for another year. So you're probably wondering, 0:01:53.080 --> 0:01:55.120 when is it old enough for my son to start 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.360 playing with a little be Begun? The Red Rider be 0:01:57.400 --> 0:01:59.800 Begun not cool until at least eleven or twelve, I think. 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:02.560 But yeah, so I just what's your take. Do you 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:04.840 ever buy presence in advance. Do you ever see such 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:06.320 a good deal? But you're like, my kid is not 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:08.200 ready for that yet, but I'm gonna hang onto it 0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:09.640 for a while. And this is one of the ways 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:11.440 where you and I are so different. I feel like, 0:02:11.600 --> 0:02:13.920 like you're so good at thinking ahead like this, and 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:16.480 it's a valuable trait, you know, to to know that, Okay, 0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:18.640 one of these days we'll get around to this. But 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:20.760 I just I tend not to think that way. Mine 0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:23.160 sort of default is that I'm focusing on the risk 0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:26.200 involved with that, right, I'm thinking what if what if 0:02:26.200 --> 0:02:27.600 they don't like it, you know, like or this is 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:30.600 something that they may never get into. Uh. In this case, 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:32.440 it sounds like it was something that was maybe more 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:34.600 of a slam dunk for you, and so you thought, Okay, 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:36.560 surely this is gonna be something that's gonna work out. 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:39.239 But yeah, like where my mind goes is that, well, 0:02:39.280 --> 0:02:40.760 I don't know if this is gonna be something that 0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:45.079 they would actually want two years down the road. Yeah exactly. Yeah, 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:47.560 taste might change, something might go out of style, you know, 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:49.919 if it's something that's more timely. But I guess the 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:52.120 argument can be made that this could be something you 0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:54.359 can give to any kid, right, and so like, even 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:56.400 if your daughter doesn't like it, you could kind of 0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:58.120 put that on the shelf in the closet where maybe 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:00.240 you have some other gifts or other books that you're 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:02.200 planning to give other kids, you know, for their birthdays. 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:03.960 We kind of have a shelf like that in our 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:06.400 closet where we we find a deal on something, or 0:03:06.440 --> 0:03:08.520 we find something that we really like, we buy a 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:10.320 bunch of those and set them aside, and that's just 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:12.440 something that we give to a bunch of kids that 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:15.040 year until we run out. Yeah. I love kind of 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:17.679 the idea of planning ahead with gifts for my my 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:20.799 kids friends, in particularly when there's a sale on something 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:22.440 and I'm like, yeah, I think people are gonna love that. 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:25.520 Then I don't mind stocking me up on a couple 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:28.119 of copies of a book or a couple of board 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:30.280 games or something like that, because you know, we love 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:33.119 board games, um and and hopefully her friends do too. 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:35.600 But yeah, and it keeps you from running into Target, 0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:38.840 you know, last minute, and dropping thirty thirty five bucks 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:41.760 when you really you could have gotten a similar gift 0:03:41.800 --> 0:03:44.480 for twelve bucks on sale exactly. Yeah, that's what I'm fine. 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:46.560 I can get behind that for sure. Okay, cool. Yeah, 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:48.360 so yeah, if I see something in the future and 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:50.320 it's like heavily discounted and I think my kids are 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:52.520 gonna like it when they're like eighteen nineteen, you know, 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:54.400 I don't know. Maybe maybe twelve years down the road 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:56.480 is too far to thinkin but uh, but yeah, Happy 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:59.240 birthday to my my seven year old Salma. And um, 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:01.600 I'm gonna keep buying year presence years in advance. Probably 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:03.600 all right, man, let's go ahead and introduce our beer 0:04:03.640 --> 0:04:06.640 for this episode. Uh, this episode, we're drinking a Spotted 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.160 Cow and that's by a New Glaris brewing company. They're 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:11.800 out of Wisconsin. The Big Things. To our buddy James 0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:14.400 for donating these to the show. I'm looking forward to 0:04:14.680 --> 0:04:16.640 enjoying this one with you, man and sharing our thoughts 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:18.720 at the end of the episode. Yeah, James had some 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:22.000 friends going up to Wisconsin and he requested New Glaris 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:23.800 and then he shared someone in Love with us. New 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:25.719 Glaris makes great beers. Man, looking forward to having this 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:27.680 one with you, my friend. But let's get onto the 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:30.680 subject in hand. We're talking about name brands and generics. 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:33.400 How do you choose between them and Matt, Private labels 0:04:33.480 --> 0:04:37.599 or generics are roughly sixteen percent of overall sales. In 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:39.880 particular for talking about the grocery store, and we're gonna 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:41.520 talk about grocery store, but we're also going to talk 0:04:41.560 --> 0:04:44.560 about other decisions to write. Name brands are still more 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:47.840 popular with people, but still that sixteen percent number, it's 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:50.400 still a big shift from from years ago when store 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:53.640 brands were even less popular, right, But but private label 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:56.080 goods they're cheaper and often just as good as their 0:04:56.160 --> 0:04:57.960 name brand counterparts. That's one of the things that we 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:00.479 definitely want to hammer home in this episode is that, 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:04.839 especially today, Uh, store brand goods are not massively inferior. 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:06.839 I think it's more of a psychological hurdle that we 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.320 have to overcome. And some store brands have even developed 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:11.839 like a cult following, and many people view them as 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:14.880 superior to the name brands that cost more. Matt. Of course, 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:18.840 you know, I like Costco and of course, and some 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:21.240 of their Kirkland signature products actually really hit the mark 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:23.520 on this. Uh, there's certain things that the Costco sells 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:27.360 under their store label that are actually much better tasting 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:31.240 or much better quality. Oftentimes than the name brand counterparts 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:33.120 that they sell right next to it. And it turns 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:35.640 out too that in it taste tests from Consumer Reports, 0:05:35.640 --> 0:05:38.880 they did a study store brands taste just as good 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:40.719 as their name brand counterparts. So it's nice to have 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:43.520 that kind of factual information backing us up to that 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:46.320 Consumer Reports has provided. Yeah, the knots to mention the 0:05:46.360 --> 0:05:48.839 boost that generic brands have also gotten, man, just from 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:51.400 there being less supply, you know, like when it comes 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:53.320 to toilet paper, folks were just wanting to get some 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:54.919 toilet paper in their house so that they didn't have 0:05:54.960 --> 0:05:58.119 to use paper towels, right, nobody wanted to use papor towels. 0:05:58.120 --> 0:05:59.559 That it didn't matter if you've got the name brand 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:02.400 or just any toilet paper in your bathroom. That's a 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:04.080 good point. Yeah, some of us have been forced to 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:06.960 try the store brands, even maybe when we never did before, 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:08.880 because that's all that's left on the shelf for certain 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:11.240 items right now. Yeah. Absolutely, um, And you know, so 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:14.000 you mentioned that test that Consumer Reports brand. It also 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:17.880 showed that your average savings from buying generic brands at 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:21.840 the grocery store is over snagging the name brand equivalent. 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:25.080 And since groceries are such a large part of most 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:27.560 of our budgets every single month, Like that's a big deal. 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:29.560 But again, you know, it's not just groceries that we're 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:31.760 talking about here. We'll certainly talk about the perks of 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:34.160 buying generic or store brands in the grocery store, but 0:06:34.240 --> 0:06:36.880 also talk about, you know, how you can think about 0:06:36.960 --> 0:06:39.880 name brands verse store brand alternatives in your everyday shopping, 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:42.120 you know, like like for clothes or for medicine as well. 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:44.320 You know, should you get that North Face rain jacket 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:46.440 or maybe an off brain equivalent? You know, is it 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:48.480 worth it to take a risk on some basic MASc 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:50.839 era or maybe you should just stick without higher end 0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:52.760 stuff that you normally get. Sounds like a dilemma you 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:55.720 faced before all the time, and so by the end 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:58.039 of this episode, hopefully our listeners will be able to 0:06:58.200 --> 0:07:01.520 easily answer these questions themselves based on some of the 0:07:01.560 --> 0:07:03.320 things that we're gonna talk about. Yeah, Matt, And of 0:07:03.320 --> 0:07:06.400 course we just already mentioned the obvious that it's more 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:09.720 affordable to buy store brand items, right, But it's also 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:12.400 important to note that most store brand products have the 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:15.920 exact same ingredients that are made incredibly similarly to their 0:07:16.000 --> 0:07:18.880 name brand counterparts. There are lists on the internet Matt, 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:21.920 that you can easily hunt down on Google of items 0:07:21.960 --> 0:07:24.960 that are actually not even just equivalently made or similarly made, 0:07:25.080 --> 0:07:28.800 but that are the exact same item as the store brand. 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:33.000 So like, for example, Kirkland Signature again Costco, their batteries 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:35.640 are apparently from everything you can find on the internet, 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:38.440 the exact same as Durstall batteries. There's no difference except 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:40.680 for the exterior rapper on them, and a lot of 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:43.240 people don't know that that. Sometimes name brand manufacturers are 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:46.920 actually making the store brand items themselves, so oftentimes there 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:49.160 just isn't really much of a difference in quality. But 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:51.160 but even still, it can be easy for us to 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:54.000 spend too much money on name brands in the grocery store. 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:55.760 And and I think part of that, right is, is 0:07:56.080 --> 0:07:59.120 due to in store displays kind of drawing our eyes, 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:02.119 drawing our attention, and it makes it easier to grab 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:05.200 something that costs more and looks familiar because we've seen 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:07.600 it on TV. Also, Matt, I actually dug up some 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:10.880 fascinating supermarket stats that provided some helpful information kind of 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:12.680 on this, and and they show that we tend to 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:16.080 spend forty of our money on whatever the store manager 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:18.680 is promoting on the aisles and caps. That means we're 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:21.680 susceptible to buying the most expensive products just because of 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:23.679 where they're placed. And some of the name brands actually 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:25.840 have paid lots of money to grocery stores throughout the 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:27.720 years to be placed at high level, to be placed 0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:30.320 at the best spot for consumers to reach their goods, 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:32.000 Like we don't even like to bend down to go 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:34.040 to the lowest shelf and the grocery store to look 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:37.800 for you know, cheaper items or store brand equivalents. Joel. 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:41.360 That actually reminds me of so Uh in King of Kong, 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:43.560 you know that documentary. We've talked about this before. My 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:46.120 favorite ones Billy Mitchell, the you know, like the bad guy. 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:48.560 He has hot sauce and I remember there's this one 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:50.240 scene when he's in the store and they're you know, 0:08:50.360 --> 0:08:52.640 filming him and he's talking about I guess this hot sauce. 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:55.160 Were talking about video games, and he's like I remember 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:57.360 him like pushing back the other hot sauces and pulling 0:08:57.360 --> 0:08:59.600 his forward so they like take up more shelf space. 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:03.240 It's such a dirt bag. But yeah, you're in a 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:05.600 much greater advantage if everyone could see your stuff, and 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:07.960 it makes a huge deal. That shell space makes all 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:10.160 the difference. And you're talking about the studies. They also 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.080 showed that the average visit to the grocery store that 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:16.079 it lasts about thirteen minutes, and of that thirteen minutes, 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:19.280 we dedicate at most of our time in the store 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:22.120 to actually selecting things to buy. Uh, and the rest 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:24.199 of the time turns into just this quote unquote in 0:09:24.240 --> 0:09:27.720 effective wandering, you know. And so from the marketer standpoint, 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:30.400 this is valuable time that they have to position their 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:32.920 products in front of our eyes, you know, hoping that 0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:35.040 they end up in our carts. Uh, And we're gonna 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:37.840 end up spending more money on these name brand products. 0:09:37.880 --> 0:09:39.720 And this can suck when we're not even aware that 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:42.199 we're even doing that. Yeah, I think the worst possible 0:09:42.200 --> 0:09:44.000 way to go in the grocery stores to go in Hungary, 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:46.280 and then the second worst way to go into a 0:09:46.320 --> 0:09:49.560 grocery stores to go in board. Yeah, you're you're looking 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:51.480 for stuff to buy. In both ways, you're susceptible to 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:52.880 buying a much of stuff that you don't need. But 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:55.320 in particular, we're more susceptible to buying the name brand 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:57.840 items that are specifically shoved in front of our faces. 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:00.960 But so much of the time when you brand name items, 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:03.760 you're paying for clever branding and advertisements. We all know that, 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:06.719 but still sometimes we get hooked. That's not always the case. 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:09.839 Of course, some name brand items make more sense for us, 0:10:09.880 --> 0:10:12.440 and they're worth the additional money. Right For example, maybe 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:14.480 some name brand running shoes. You might not want the 0:10:14.760 --> 0:10:18.120 ten dollar shoes the bargain baseman price. Yeah, I will 0:10:18.160 --> 0:10:21.199 not wear ten dollar bargain basement tennis shoes to to 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:24.400 go run. Yeah, I don't gonna do. I wouldn't do 0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:26.760 it either if I like to run wreck my knees. 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:28.960 But of course there are a lot of times where 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:30.640 it does make sense and you want to save more 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:32.959 money by going with store brands and generics, and it's 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:34.720 gonna be a big help to your budget. And later 0:10:34.760 --> 0:10:36.160 on the show, we're gonna talk about kind of some 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:38.839 principles for how you make the choice, But before we 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:41.080 get to that, we're going to talk about specific items 0:10:41.080 --> 0:10:43.040 that we think it makes the most sense to buy 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:46.040 generic or store brand equivalent, and we'll get to some 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:58.040 of those right after the break. All right, Joe, we 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:00.559 are back from the break, and let's go ahead and 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:02.880 talk about some of the best items that we think 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:05.520 folks should be buying generic. And I say we think 0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:07.800 because I'm pretty much any one of these categories. I 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:10.240 feel that someone who's listening could say, no, you guys 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:12.880 are being way too cheap. That's not something you should 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:15.240 go generic on. And so I guess I want to 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:17.600 preface with that because it all comes down to the 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:20.000 things that we value. Obviously, there's certain things that you 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:22.480 and I would like to spend good money on. We 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:25.880 spend good money on quality local craft beer, not just local, 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:28.040 but just nice craft beer from all across the country, 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:30.480 all across the world. And that's not something that a 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:32.160 lot of people would do. And so there are certain 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:34.600 categories where you're gonna want to spend more money on 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:36.480 than we are. So that being said, let's go ahead 0:11:36.480 --> 0:11:38.400 and name a few, you know, categories, a few things 0:11:38.400 --> 0:11:40.440 where you know, we feel that you should almost never 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:43.360 be buying the name brand version. All right, let's talk 0:11:43.400 --> 0:11:45.959 about beer real quick for a second. Matt. While we're 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:49.080 talking about alcohol, dive into it. That is something that 0:11:49.120 --> 0:11:50.760 I think a lot of people would be happy to 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:53.839 buy generic of to buy just kind of store brand 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:56.640 Aldi beer, Costco beer or whatever it is. Trader Joe's 0:11:56.720 --> 0:11:59.120 has their own beers that they sell. Well, some of 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:01.920 Trader Joe's beers are actually good. Uh, they're okay. Yeah, 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:04.000 there's there's a couple that are made by specific brews, 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:05.960 but you gotta kind of dive deep for those. Yeah, 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:08.319 And I generally speaking, you're talking about just like the 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:10.679 light loggers sitting on the shelf. But even sometimes they 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:12.840 try to make like a porter or something like a 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:15.880 decent style of beer that I enjoy, and I just 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:18.480 find that they're never as good as the beer that 0:12:18.559 --> 0:12:21.720 I typically get from better known breweries and local brewers 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:24.200 that make just really really good stuff. So that's something 0:12:24.280 --> 0:12:26.520 I'm not willing to compromise on. But I think some 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:29.480 people would be happy and and are typically happy with 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.719 the generic beer equivalence. But what about spirits, Matt, I 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:34.760 think that's actually, at least in my mind, maybe someone 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:37.600 who's not a connoisseur that I'm more than willing to 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:40.839 go generic on a whiskey or a vodka or something 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:43.320 like that. It kind of depends on on which spirit 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:45.520 you're talking about, because when it comes to like scotch, 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:47.160 like there's a type of Scotch that I like to drink, 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:49.560 but pretty much everything else that I'm willing to cut 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:51.840 some corners on for sure. Yeah. Well again Costco for 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:54.200 the win here, man, They've got some Kirkland signature like 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:59.040 vodka and uh and tequila products that I've actually enjoyed 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:01.440 throughout the years, but those just starting things I drink 0:13:01.520 --> 0:13:03.439 very frequently, so I'm probably not the best person to 0:13:03.520 --> 0:13:05.520 judge on that. Yeah, but I've read stories and like 0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:09.240 heard podcasts actually on how like the high end like 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:12.959 top shelf vodka, it's not any better than the cheap stuff, 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:16.200 you know, when you're going for something tasting like nothing. Uh, well, 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:18.760 like it's all the same and you're talking about a 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:22.000 discount typically Yeah, he's from the high end stuff. Yeah. Well, 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:23.920 while we're on the topic of alcohol, we may as 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:29.319 well talk about drugs as well. Yeah, yeah, name brand 0:13:29.480 --> 0:13:32.560 over the counter drugs and medicine. Man, they make no 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:34.679 sense to me, you know, like when the active ingredient 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:37.839 is exactly the same as the store brand, I think 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:39.800 we should all be reaching for the generic. I think 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:41.439 One of the ways that name brands kind of get 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:44.840 you when it comes to purchasing their medicines over the 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:47.120 generic the store brand is because a lot of times 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:49.320 I think when you're sick, you don't really care about 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:52.439 like saving fifty cents. You're you're just thinking, oh, like 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:54.280 no matter what, I want to be better, you know, 0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:56.000 like I want the best thing that money can buy. 0:13:56.160 --> 0:13:57.920 But like you're not really taking the time to realize 0:13:57.920 --> 0:13:59.599 that like this is really the same stuff. Yeah, that 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:01.680 your money is not actually going further and making a 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:05.199 difference in how quickly you're going to recover. Those medicines 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:07.440 that you're buying have the same active ingredient there, they're 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:09.200 almost same. They might have, like at least for kids, 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:12.240 like a slightly different flavor or a different packaging. Yeah, yeah, 0:14:12.240 --> 0:14:15.440 you're paying for nicer, shinier packaging. Yeah, pretty much a 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:18.000 better designed label for sure, But that's a you know, 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:21.240 it's also better to get generic prescription drugs too, if 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:23.000 you know they will work for you as well, Like 0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:25.240 these will save you a ton of money, So make 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:26.520 sure to check in with your doctor, you know, when 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:29.160 they're prescribing something, ask if there is a generic equivalent 0:14:29.240 --> 0:14:31.080 or even once you get to the pharmacy, check with 0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:34.200 the pharmacist and see if there is an equivalence that 0:14:34.240 --> 0:14:36.440 could potentially save you a ton of money. Yeah. Sometimes 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:38.720 I've showed up the pharmacy and I've gotten the quote 0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:40.920 on how much it's gonna cost, and my first question 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:44.040 is is there a generic equivalent? Because the sticker shot 0:14:44.040 --> 0:14:46.880 can be so great, and typically there is. Um If 0:14:46.880 --> 0:14:50.480 there's not, obviously there are other workarounds, but I agree 0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:53.560 for a lot of prescription drugs there are generic equivalents 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:56.200 that are just as good and that cost a fraction 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:59.160 of the amount that you would otherwise pay. All right, 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:02.280 let's talk about baby formula. That's one of those things 0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:05.280 that is a big money saver that you're feeling right 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:07.640 now by buying generic instead of bout the name brand. Right, 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:11.120 we're definitely spending a large portion of our monthly allotted 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:14.400 budget towards grocery just on baby formula because that stuff 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:17.560 is expensive. Yeah, for sure, we're not doing formula right now, 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:19.440 but I know that the last time we had to, 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:21.480 we were able to get it from Costco, and I 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:25.040 can see the equivalent name brand product sitting right next 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:27.400 to it in the same size, packaging, same serving size 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:30.120 and everything, and it's twice as much money and you're 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:33.240 getting gears from all the similar story really where it's 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:35.080 a whole lot less than the name brand, and really 0:15:35.120 --> 0:15:37.000 it's not all that different of a of a product. 0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:39.520 The same ingredients are involved. Yeah, the biggest thing when 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:42.520 it comes to formula specifically is to look at you know, 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:44.920 what they compare it to, because you know, like all 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:47.240 different instance, they've got three or four or five different 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:49.520 kinds of formula and on each one of them they 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:53.160 say compared to a different name brand, similar pro formula 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:54.840 or whatever. I don't don't even know what it says, 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:57.160 but uh, that lets you know that you know if 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:00.360 your baby does like a specific brand because of formulas 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:02.840 are different between some of the different makers. Right, we're 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:05.360 not saying that they're all the same. But when you're 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:07.320 able to get apples to apples, you know you've got 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:09.240 that name brand Apple and you're comparing it to the 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:12.560 generic Apple. The formulas are almost identical. And so if 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:15.120 that's something you're considering, you're considering switching to the generic. 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:17.680 Look specifically for that name brand kind of written on 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:19.440 there that you're supposed to compare it to that'll get 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:21.400 you far. Yeah, and babies typically once they've kind of 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:23.720 gotten started on a specific kind of formula, they don't 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:25.920 like to switch. They don't take to it super easily. 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:28.760 So yeah, finding the most direct comparison that you can 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:30.920 it makes it more likely that they're actually going to 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:32.560 make the switch. Well yea, yeah, we're not saying to 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:34.200 go super cheap and just to switch your baby to 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:37.080 the cheapest, most easily accessible stuff because you know, yeah, 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:39.920 it's really important to keep the baby happy exactly, making 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:41.960 some of that sanity, especially if it means they're going 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:44.240 to sleep through the night or not. Yeah, all right, 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:45.840 so WHI we're talking about babies were place, Let's talk 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:49.360 about diapers, Matt. Have you found any difference in name 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:52.680 brand diapers versus store brand diapers or even just kind 0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:54.680 of more generic brands that aren't the ones that you 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:56.360 see on TV? Ye. I mean this is an area 0:16:56.400 --> 0:16:57.840 that where I can say that the store brand was, 0:16:58.080 --> 0:17:01.160 in our opinion, was stinking better than the a couple 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:03.800 of the different name brands that we were trying out. 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:05.160 You know, a lot of times when you have a baby, 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:07.840 people will give you a lot of different random stuff, 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:11.639 including diapers, and so I remember specifically having some of 0:17:11.640 --> 0:17:14.600 the fancy diapers, you know, like Pampers or whatever the 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:16.959 other brands are. I specifically remember how you know they 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:19.760 would leak, especially overnight, and so like you get up 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:21.440