Well, we tried the Eight O'Clock coffee -- hope springs eternal. Sorry to say it's a classic example of "you get what you pay for."

My most consistent bargain product is store-brand butter. Giant butter is not only much cheaper than the name brands, it's better. If money were no object at all I would use Irish butter. But I think there's no advantage to the intermediate-price, name-brand butters.

Community Coffee Dark Roast--as fully flavored (actually smoother and richer) than Starbucks for about $5.50/lb

Publix Diet Root Beer

A while back Cooks Illustrated did an article on butter. If I remember correctly, they found that for most brands, the butter wrapped in foil tasted better than the ones wrapped in waxed paper irrespective of price or brand.

The gourmet imported butters were a tad richer but they felt that under most circumstances the premium price wasn't worth it.

Note also that a lot of store brands are made on the same assembly lines with the same ingredients as the national brand names, with the only difference being the label.

Here is a link that might be useful: community coffee

I regularly buy the Jiffy brand corn meal muffin mix. I use it in many recipes besides making muffins.
My granddaughters, both two years old will only eat the store brand boxed macaroni and cheese. I tried the good stuff and even home made with them and they will not eat it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Traveling and cooking with grandpa

Hello Tamara,

I'm with cloudy christine on store-brand butter; I buy only Trader Joe's now. Milk, too. And I certainly agree with chaplainkent - we much prefer Jiffy corn meal mix.

House-brand white vinegar & bleach are in this category also.

So is there a tie-in for readers here? Like discount coupons for those products that make the cut?

Leaving out the ultra premium boutique brands, which rarely go on sale, and I don't buy often anyway. The coffee that we buy wasn't even on Consumer Report's list, I get the organic house brand whole beans at Costco, less than $5 a pound.

I tend to shop for sales and price on brands I normally buy. Say the Best Foods mayo is normally $4.59 for a 30 oz jar (used to be 32 oz, remember?). Well there is no way under the sun that I will pay that price, and no way am I buying any inferior brand. I'll wait until it goes on sale as BOGO or $3.00 or $2.98 at the no-frills grocery. I buy 2 or even 3 jars and stock up the pantry, then buy again when I get down to the last jar.

So the question about which brands are cheap doesn't apply to what I buy. Same for just about everything on your list, I buy my normal brands and stock up when it's on sale, and don't buy at normal retail unless there is a dire emergency.

I'm guessing that many of the posters on this forum would say that the best and least expensive breads, pasta sauces and cookies would be homemade - not supermarket brands.

I like the Barilla brand for pasta, and now always go for the whole grain variety. It's not a big-ticket item on my grocery list. That being the case I'll spend the little bit extra to get exactly what we like.

We have a Stonewall Kitchen outlet nearby, so I stock up on our favorite mustards there where there are deep discounts for items with a crooked label, or other negligible "defects."

Ice cream is one of DH's few indulgences and he loves Ben & Jerry's. It's one sweet treat that doesn't call to me, thank goodness! DH would rather have 1/2 cup of B&J's in the evening than a bowlful of a less expensive brand.

I recognize that as empty nesters we're not going through large quantities of the items you mentioned, as large growing families might. For us, we'd rather have our favorites, and cut back on quantity, rather than compromise on quality.

I like the store brand chocolate chips over Nestles. Not only are they much cheaper, but the store brand chips contain chocolate liquor which is found in high quality chocolate. Nestles doesn't have it.

Most of my baking supplies, (butter, sugar, eggs...)I buy store brand. Flour is the exception. I buy King Arthur and pay through the nose. But it is worth it.
Jo

I actually like the Eight O'Clock coffee and remember, it was compared to Maxwell House, Folger's and Starbuck's, the ground type, not fresh beans. I detest Starbucks, I call it "Charbucks" because it tastes burned. The Eight O'Clock beans aren't as good as my locally roasted Biggby Coffee or the stuff from the Jackson Coffee Roasters, but it's way better than the other three they tested it against.

I nearly always buy store brand butter because I mostly use it in baking where I can't really tell a flavor difference. I always use Pioneer Sugar because it's a Michigan based company and it's way cheaper than the cane sugar we get here. I know some people swear there's a difference in beet sugar and cane sugar, but I can't tell.

I buy store brand frozen vegetables nearly always and can't tell the difference between them and the big companies. I prefer fresh, of course, but can't always get them.

Bleach, cider vinegar, aluminum foil and ziplock bags are all items where I buy the store brand. Saltine crackers are store brand too and Ashley likes Little Debbie snacks as well as Hostess, but I'm more likely to bake something than to buy either. Oh, and I LIKE Jiffy Corn Muffins, another Michigan company, LOL.

I don't mind Diet Rite cola but it's not much cheaper than Diet Coke any more.

Annie

I'm loyal to very few Brands.
Miracle Whip
Best Foods (yeah, they each have their place at my house)
Aquafresh sensitive toothpaste
Lifetime soy cheese
Kettle Baked chips (rare)

That's about it. Everything else is based on price and availability.

Almost everything is homemade (pasta sauces, casseroles, home canned fruits and veggies, etc.)
We rarely eat prepared foods other than condiments, chips (not many), and cereal (DH, not me).

Deanna

I love the Eight O'clock coffee! We have been drinking it for at least 15 years and only buy the Colombian bean. I grind it right before brewing.

There's not much I'm particular to but find most homemade items are always better and cheaper that store bought.
Cookies, breads, dips, hummus, granola, muffins, waffles, and
sauces are easy and cheap to make at home.

Diet Faygo tonic water. I prefer aspartame to the saccharin in Canada Dry and Schweppes.

I'd like to know what you consider cheap for a package (almost said pound) of coffee. I saw the article in CR about the 8'Oclock coffee and I bought a package at our local Kroger that was $5.79 with a dollar off. I don't consider that cheap by everyday standards. Maybe I'm not living in the real world and it's not as expenxive as
Gevalia for sure, but cheap? Not to me.

You know, it's funny, I just re-read Tamara's list, and let's see:

Pasta-I make my own
Pasta sauce-I make my own
Ice cream-I make my own
Bread-I always bake my own
Jam-I can my own
Mustard-I've made my own a couple of times, but I like Honeycup when I buy some
Cookies-Yup, you guessed it. I make my own.

I guess I'm not much help to Tamara this time, LOL.

Annie

I'm glad I'm not the only one who had the "I make my own, it's cheaper that way" thought when reading the list. If I buy any of those things, it's because I want a change of pace and am willing to pay for the convenience...

Bri

My parents drank eight o'clock coffee while I was growing up, and hub and I still grind 8 o'clock beans twice a day! And I'm 61! Can't beat it. Over the years we've experimented with a lot of expensive brands, always return to 8 O'Clock.

Also, Jiffy corn bread and Jiffy biscuit mix.
Walgreens chocolate ice cream is my favorite.

I also use a lot of Aldi brands; I find many things (jams, milk, bagged salads) to be just fine.

Why are we doing this? Frankly, I haven't bought any groceries lately that fall into the "cheap" category. I have purchased some that fall into the "not so good" category. Want to hear about them?

Apparently 'cheap' has different meanings in different parts of the country. Here, Community coffee is pretty much the same price as Folgers or Maxwell House. But we use it because we like it, the dark roast especially. Nor have I ever considered 'Jiffy' brand mixes to be 'cheap'. But then, like some of the others, I don't use mixes.
Rusty

Somehow, I don't think that the OP knew us very well when she posted the message. It really doesn't apply to us very much, does it?

"...hub and I still grind 8 o'clock beans twice a day..."

Let me guess. At 8:00 am and then again at 8:00 pm?

I've been using that brand recently. I grind the whole bag at the store. I buy French roast and make it kind of strong. It tastes good to me, but I don't claim to be a coffee connoisseur.

I keep a jar of store brand (Shaw's) powdered creamer on hand for the times I run out of milk, which happens a lot. Surprisingly, the stuff actually tastes pretty good.

Jim

DH likes Starbucks. What can I say? It's okay. I like 8 o'clock almost as well, but I'm a cream and sugar kinda girl. He wants black.

Store brand butter. I don't spend the extra $$ for any mid-range brands. I can get 4 pounds at Sam's Club for about $7.

Store brand milk. Never pay more than $2.50/gal. This week it's 2 gallons for $4. Can you freeze milk? LOL We go through a lot of it.

Ice cream is store brand. Last week they had it for $1 for a "1/2 gallon." (Actually 1.75 quarts, but I digress...) I stocked up.

I buy the packages of roll sausage--usually for about $2 each--Bob Evans or Eckrich. A couple of weeks ago they were clearing them out and I got Eckrich for about $1.50. I bought 8.

Maybe it's me, but there's nothing better than knowing that I have a well-stocked freezer and pantry...even though I know that our grocery is only 4 blocks away....LOL

Eight O'clock 100 Columbian whole bean here. Get it at WalMart for 9.94 a 2lb 4oz bag. Grocery store price is 12.99
They had a promotion a few months back and I have a lot of coupons. Not sure if their website still has the coupons now, but they have a reward program.
When they had the promotion Giant had buy one get one free and they couldn't keep the shelves stocked.
I don't care for Star Bucks, cause I don't care for french roast coffee.
I'll buy store brand, dairy products, ziploc baggies, foil, plastic wrap, bleach Jiffy mix I will doctor up.
I won't sway from:
Miracle Whip
Hellmans Mayo

This is probably really bad, but off the top of my head, I couldn't tell you the price I pay for things if my life depended on it!! I do shop by price, however. I stopped buying Tropicana orange juice and started buying the store brand (Demoulis/Market Basket) simply because the Tropicana just got ridiculous - something like $5-$7 for a gallon where the store brand is around $3-$4. If there is a store brand available that's cheaper, I'll buy it. Some times it works out, but sometimes the taste isn't the same. So next time I go back to the brand name for that item.

I've found ice cream to have gotten expensive in my area. And I'm not liking this trend of packages getting smaller!! You can't get a "gallon" of ice cream a lot of the time. You get 13 oz. now! I've noticed a lot of things have less ounces than before, but the price still seems to be the same!!

I gave up on them for a long time, but I'm back to clipping coupons and I've even started going on-line looking for them. I'm spending waaay too much money on groceries lately and I have to do what I can to save! I really don't like how you have to buy 3 or 4 of something to use the coupon tho. I wish they'd just make the coupon cheaper and let you buy one. Sometimes, especially if there's a sale anyway, it does work out well buying multiples, but sometimes I simply can't use 4 of something before it's going to go bad.

Lisa

Every Wednesday I go on line and check the sales at our local grocery stores (Publix, Kroger, Food Lion). Easy way to comparison shop prices. Always on the lookout for '2 for 1' bargains that we like, then stock up when there are good deals. Have some favorite store brands. I make everything from scratch with exception of a few condiments which are the basis of good flavor. This is the only way to save grocery dollars and...cooking is fun!

The stores here have 8 O'clock coffee BYGO every couple months and then it's about 2.50 or less for a bag. I always stock up.

Tamara,
I grew up on the west coast where Shasta was abundant, with many flavors. Loved the stuff. It was always cheaper than the major brands. Here, there are only a few stores that carry it and only a few flavors. I don't drink soda much any more, but I do go for the Shasta when I get a craving.

I have a friend who wants to know what is meant by BYGO. ;)

Jim

Jim-- I think you mean BOGO. Translation? BUY ONE GET ONE (free).
HTH (hope this helps!)
E

TYVM

And my friend Lou thanks you too. ;)

Hehehehe.

Jim

Obviously I needed the translation too!

No problem!