Are brands cheaper with coupons than buying generic brands?

People often believe that generic brands of food products will always be cheaper than their name brand counterparts.  If you are coupon savvy, you will quickly learn that brands can be cheaper – if the coupon is right.  But those coupons aren’t always right, and it will still cost you extra money.

When you are purchasing a staple for your family, such as ketchup or cereal, first check the price of the brand name version and calculate what the total price you will pay for it.  Now price that discounted price against the generic version and see which is cheaper.  Never assume the coupon version is cheaper unless you know it makes the product free or nearly free (which is possible, especially with sale prices and coupon doubling).

Love a certain brand?  Seek out the coupons – you can even purchase extras on eBay or get additional ones in a coupon swap or by buying additional newspapers – and then wait until that brand is on sale, so you can get it as cheap as possible, and then stock up

Because of these price differences you should always still check the brand name with coupon price versus the regular price of the generic version of the same product.  You might be surprised.