Health and Beauty for Less

Beauty Products

I was once under the belief that generic products weren't as good as brand names. I was wrong. In the days when soap was boring and bland, brands like Bath and Body Works were a refreshing break from the normal. Now, almost every brand has followed through with similar products from foaming pump soaps to body washes. The store brands follow through with the same fragrances and textures at cheaper prices. Often, the store brands skip the additives as well, making for an even better product at less of a price.

Wash Day

Forget Dreft and other expensive fragrance and dye free wash additives. Stop at your local pharmacy and look for their generic store brand laundry soap. Often the offer a 'free and clear' product for far less than brand names.

Similarly, look for store brand fabric softeners and bleaches. They all get the same job done for a far different price. Save our money for stain fighting products that might not be offered at store prices. (However, there are clever ways to use household products to fight stains.)

Aspirin is just Aspirin

If Motrin and Advil are the brand names of ibuprofen, look beside them for the store brand. Ibuprofen is ibuprofen regardless of the name on it. Similarly, Tylenol is the brand name for acetaminophen (paracetamol), and Aleve is the name of naproxen.

Vitamins are another way to save greatly in the generic department. Centrum can be upwards of $7 a bottle for 100 caplets, while the store brand multi-vitamin can be purchased for $3. Some store brands actually have more of certain supplemental elements such as calcium and iron, making them a much better deal.

One Product for All Causes

I get frustrated when my medicine cabinet begins to overflow with medicines. It's frustrating because not only is it an organizational mess, but it means I spent a lot of money for a lot of products I don't need. For instance, Mucinex is an expensive brand name medicine that controls coughs and chest congestion the same as Robitussin; there's no need to have both. However, the convenience of Mucinex's long lasting doses has a cost. I'd much rather fill my medicine cabinet with a store brand of Robitussin.

Along that line, find the one cold medicine that works best for your family and stick with it. It's not too often that I have a head cold that doesn't include a sore throat. While treating symptoms that aren't present isn't a good idea, the variety of cold medicines available is exuberant. Select a medicine for a head cold and a medicine for a chest cold, keeping acetaminophen on hand for fevers.

Be wary of products that do the same thing as products you already have, and keep the medicine cabinet stocked with a minimal amount of expensive products.