11 Products You Should Always Buy Generic

Advertisers spend billions of dollars each year convincing people that their brand is better than the generic variety. Studies show that their strategy is working—Americans are wasting about $44 million each year on name brand items. Even though generic items may not have well-known labels, many are just as good as their name brand counterparts. In fact, some of the generic products are actually made by the brand name companies and sold under generic labels. The generics are equally as good in many cases. Here are eleven products that you should always buy generic.

1) Water

If you don’t like the taste of the water from your faucet, you probably buy gallons of water from the store. There are many alternatives to buying gallon after gallon of water. Try buying a water pitcher with a Brita filter. Or, get a filter for your sink’s faucet. While you’ll have to pay more upfront for these items, they’ll save you a ton of money in the long run. Sometimes, though, you may need to pick up a few gallons of water to prepare for a storm or to take with you on a road trip. If you do need to get a gallon or a few bottles, always buy the generic water brand. These will usually be much cheaper, they taste the same as name brand water, and in most cases are equally as pure.