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I Tried Great Value vs Name Brand and My Wallet Thanks Me Now
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items Spending $200 a month on cleaning supplies and groceries when half the cart is just packaging with a famous logo on it? I was that person. After a messy kitchen remodel forced me to actually compare what works, I switched most of my household staples...
Sections
6
Paper Towels and Cleaning Supplies That Actually Work
Pantry Staples Where Store Brand Beats the Label
Snacks That Taste the Same for Half the Price
Bathroom and Personal Care Swaps Worth Making
Baking and Cooking Ingredients Nobody Will Notice
Drinks and Beverages Where Brand Loyalty Is Just Marketing
Paper Towels and Cleaning Supplies That Actually Work
I spilled an entire pot of chili on my counter and grabbed whatever was closest. Turns out the store brand roll soaked it up faster than the Bounty I had sitting right next to it. That was the moment I stopped being a snob about paper products.
Grab these next time you're restocking. I did a side-by-side with Bounty after a spaghetti sauce disaster and honestly couldn't tell the difference. For anyone who burns through rolls weekly with kids or pets, the savings stack up fast.
Great Value Ultra Strong Paper Towels, 2 Double Rolls
Keep a canister on every floor of your house. Before these I was buying Clorox wipes at almost double the price. Same bleach-free formula, same quick cleanup. Stock up because flu season doesn't wait for a sale.
Great Value Disinfecting Wipes, Fresh Scent, 75 Count
Switch from Dawn and see if you even notice. I ran both side by side for a month washing the same greasy pans. The only difference was about $2 still sitting in my pocket. Perfect for anyone doing dishes by hand every night.
Great Value No-Mess Squeeze Dish Soap Liquid
Toss these in your cart instead of Glad next time. I had one Glad bag split on me carrying it to the curb and swore I'd try the cheaper option. Sixty bags later, not a single tear. For the person who hauls trash out in the rain, these hold up.
Great Value Strong Flex Tall Kitchen Drawstring Trash
Use this on counters, sinks, tile, basically anything that gets grimy. I was spending $5 on Clorox Clean-Up when this does the exact same job for less. Smells clean without burning your nostrils off, which is more than I can say for some name brands.
Great Value All Purpose Cleaner with Bleach Spray, 32 fl oz
Pantry Staples Where Store Brand Beats the Label
My sister bet me I couldn't tell the difference between Great Value and Barilla pasta in a blind taste test. She was right. That one dinner changed how I shop for everything in the middle aisles.
Pair this with whatever sauce you already love and dare someone to guess it's store brand. I served it at a dinner party and nobody blinked. For anyone cooking big family meals on a budget, a dollar saved per box adds up to real money by December.
Great Value Spaghetti, 32 oz
Spread this on toast next to Jif and play the guessing game with your household. My kids picked this one as their favorite without knowing. If you go through a jar every two weeks like we do, switching saves you roughly $30 a year.
Great Value Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 oz, Smooth Spread
Toss this into soups, rice, anything that needs liquid flavor. I used to reach for Swanson every single time until I realized the ingredient lists are nearly identical. For the weeknight soup maker who doesn't want to overthink it, just grab four of ...
Great Value, Gluten-Free Chicken Broth, 32 oz Carton
Try this at your next pizza night before you spend $5 on Hidden Valley again. My husband, who is weirdly loyal to ranch brands, didn't catch the swap for three weeks. Perfect for dipping families who go through bottles like water.
Great Value Classic Ranch Dressing & Dip, 36 fl oz
Drizzle this in your tea or on biscuits and tell me it tastes different from the bear bottle. I ran out of my fancy local honey one morning and grabbed this in a pinch. Three months later I'm still using it. For anyone baking regularly, the bigger bo...
Great Value Raw Honey, 32 oz Bottle
Snacks That Taste the Same for Half the Price
I packed both store brand and name brand cheese crackers in my kid's lunchbox for a week without telling him which was which. He never once complained. That experiment saved me about $15 a month on snacks alone.
Snag a box and put them next to Cheez-Its in a bowl at your next gathering. I did this at a Super Bowl party and three people asked where I got the ‘fancy’ crackers. For parents packing school lunches daily, this swap is a no-brainer.
Great Value White Cheddar Cheese Crackers, 12.4 oz
Keep these in the pantry for after-school snacking. They taste like Chips Ahoy's slightly crunchier cousin and my kids actually prefer them. Wish I'd stopped overpaying for the blue package years ago.
Great Value Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, 19.5 oz
Bring this on road trips instead of buying overpriced gas station bags. The nut-to-raisin ratio is solid and the bag is big enough to survive a 6-hour drive with two teenagers. For hikers and road trippers, the resealable bag is a nice touch.
Customer reviews for Great Value Mountain Trail Mix, 26 oz
Throw a few pouches in your bag for when the kids melt down at Target. These are basically Welch's fruit snacks wearing a different outfit. I've been buying these since my oldest was in preschool and she's in third grade now. Still no complaints.
Great Value Fruit Smiles Snacks, Tangy Flavor, 22 Count
Grab a bag for movie night and skip the $6 Kettle Brand tax. The crunch is just as aggressive and the salt level hits right. For the person who eats chips straight from the bag at 10pm, no judgment, these deliver.
Great Value Kettle Cooked Original Potato Chips, 8 oz
Bathroom and Personal Care Swaps Worth Making
I ran out of my usual body wash mid-shower one morning and used my partner's store brand bottle out of desperation. My skin felt exactly the same. That was the shower that changed my shopping habits.
Use this for a week before you buy another bottle of Dove. My dry winter skin couldn't tell the difference and my bank account certainly could. For anyone whose legs look ashy by noon, this keeps things smooth until bedtime.
(6 pack) Equate Beauty Total Moisturizing Body Wash
Dump a cup of this in a hot bath after a long day on your feet. I was buying Dr Teal's for years before realizing the lavender scent and the soak feel identical. For retail workers, nurses, anyone standing all day, this is your Friday night treat for...
Equate Epsom Salt Soothing Lavender 7 lb ...
Keep a pack in the bathroom and stop pretending the expensive ones are any different. Switched from Cottonelle six months ago and haven't thought about it since. For anyone with a sensitive stomach situation, these get the job done quietly and cheapl...
Great Value Fresh Scent Flushable Wipes
Swap these in for your toner application and see if your skin cares about the brand name. Spoiler: it won't. I use these every night with micellar water and they don't fall apart or leave lint behind. Way cheaper than the ones in the beauty aisle.
Equate Beauty Cotton Rounds, 100 Count HSA/FSA Eligible
Put this next to your kitchen sink and stop refilling from a $4 Softsoap bottle. Lathers fine, rinses clean, doesn't leave your hands smelling like a hospital. For households that wash hands roughly 47 times a day, the price difference matters.
Great Value Antibacterial Hand Soap Ultra Dish Liquid
Baking and Cooking Ingredients Nobody Will Notice
My neighbor asked for my banana bread recipe and specifically wanted to know what brand of vanilla I used. It was the $2 store brand bottle. She couldn't believe it. Neither could I, honestly.
Bake your next batch of cookies with this and skip the $9 McCormick bottle. I've made birthday cakes, banana bread, and French toast with it and not a single person has tasted a difference. For weekend bakers on a budget, this is the easiest swap you...
Great Value Pure Vanilla Extract, 2 fl oz
Use this for everything from pancakes to pizza dough. I switched from Gold Medal two years ago during a flour shortage and never went back. The texture, the rise, all the same. For anyone who bakes more than twice a month, the savings are real.
Great Value All-Purpose Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour
Throw this in your cart and stop paying the Land O'Lakes premium. I did a blind toast test with my very opinionated mother-in-law and she picked this one. For holiday bakers going through multiple pounds in December, start buying these now.
Great Value Sweet Cream Salted Butter, 16 oz
Keep this sealed tight and it works exactly like Domino's version in every cookie recipe I've tried. The bag is bigger and cheaper, which matters when you're baking for school fundraisers. Wish someone told me about this swap before I spent years ove...
Great Value Light Brown Sugar, 32 oz, Gluten-Free, Kosher
Toss these into your next batch of chocolate chip cookies and watch them disappear just as fast. I melted them for dipping strawberries at Valentine's Day and they set up perfectly. For the person who stress-bakes at midnight, cheaper chips mean guil...
Great Value Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips, 12 oz Bag
Drinks and Beverages Where Brand Loyalty Is Just Marketing
I poured store brand coffee into my coworker's Folgers mug as a joke. She drank the whole thing and said it was a ‘good Folgers day.’ I waited two weeks to tell her. She still buys the store brand now.
Brew a pot tomorrow morning and see if your taste buds actually care about the red Folgers canister. Mine didn't. I drink two cups every single day and the switch saves me about $40 a year. For the daily coffee-at-home crowd, this is free money.
Great Value Ground Coffee, Classic Roast Medium, 25.9 oz
Toss a packet in your water bottle at work instead of buying Crystal Light. The flavor is bright and not too sweet, which is hard to find in a powder mix. For anyone trying to drink more water but hating plain water, this makes it painless.
Great Value Pink Lemonade Drink Mix, 0.53 oz, 6 Count
Pour this for the kids and watch them not notice it's not Mott's. The jug is huge, lasts about a week in our fridge, and costs significantly less. For families going through juice like it's disappearing, the big bottle format saves trips and cash.
Great Value 100% Apple Juice, 96 fl oz
Keep a case in the garage for soccer games, road trips, or just because your tap water tastes weird. These bottles are the same purified water you'd get from Dasani without the markup. For anyone hosting a party this summer, buy two cases and call it...
Great Value Purified Drinking Water 16.9 Fl Oz 40 Count
Warm up a mug on a cold morning and tell me you miss Swiss Miss. My daughter has a hot cocoa ritual every winter night and she approved this switch without hesitation. For families burning through cocoa packets from November to March, grab this befor...
Great Value Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix