Tuesday's Topic: The Grocery Bill Diet - Brand Loyalty (Or Not)

I'm introducing a new feature called Tuesday's Topic, where I will talk about how to coupon and stockpile efficiently and effectively.

Today's Tuesday Topic is on  The Grocery Diet: Brand Loyalty.

I have several brands that I love and am quite loyal too, all for different reasons and some for obvious reasons.

I Love brands such as Tide, Downey, Cascade, and Hellmann's, to name a few. I have always been loyal in my buying power with these brand names. Mostly because I believe they work the best, compared to their competitors (or taste the best when it comes to food).

However, I slowly learned that when I was trying to build my stockpile and lower my grocery bill, I took in some wisdom from other pro-couponers, that it's not always good to be brand loyal. I think it's especially not necessary or good to be brand loyal when you are first starting out in your couponing adventure.

I say this because when you continue to stay loyal to certain brands you are going to find that you are having difficulty building a stockpile and keeping your costs down. I like to think of this as a "Grocery Bill Diet". Just like in a regular diet we have to give up some of the stuff we really enjoy, mostly because its not good for your body, and you are trying to purge the excess weight. With the Grocery Bill Diet, we, in essence are trying to do the same.

We need to purge the excess money drainers from our grocery bills. We need to cut back on things that aren't good for the overall bill, in order to slim the bill down to where we want it for our monthly budget.

I am not saying you have to NEVER buy your Tide again. What I am simply saying is that you may need to venture out and buy washing detergent brands that do a really good job, but with sales and coupons cost a fraction of the price you might have to pay for a bottle of Tide.

Don't get discouraged! Because there is light at the end of the tunnel, I promise. 


So, here is the good news. Once you have stockpiled and have skimmed your monthly bill down to where you want it for your household budget, you can once again begin 'splurging' on those Brand Loyalty items that you LOVE and believe work or taste the best.

For the first 9 months of couponing and stockpiling, I mostly bought ALL laundry detergent, because I found it to work really well and I was able to get a whole bunch of it for only $.99 a bottle a lot of the times. Do I love it like I love my Tide, not really. But it's not a far second, either. I know it does well getting my clothes clean. Now that our budget is down to around $300 month - I have started to add Tide back on to my list for stockpiling. I don't suspect I will ever find a bottle of Tide for around $.99 a bottle (though I am sure miracles still do happen). I do know that if I can find a 100oz bottle of tide priced around $6.99 a bottle (which is normally closer to $15) - I will purchase a few bottles at that price. Though it's not $.99 a bottle, I know have room in my budget to add this in on occasions and can stock up when I find it priced around $6.99 or less for a 100oz bottle.

This goes for all the more expensive brand items out there. I do believe that certain brands work better than others. And that quality is greatly important. But with any diet you have to give up some things (or strictly moderate them) in order to purge. It's not always what we want in life, but if your ultimate goal is to get your grocery budget down, then you may need to make some sacrifices, at least for awhile.

What are your favorites brands, what ones are you completely loyal to? Are there competitor brands that might make a good substitution for awhile, that you and your family can live with?