Before I became a frugal shopper, I didn’t even consider buying store brands. I stuck with the name brands - the ones I recognized and had always used. However, little by little I ventured into trying store brands and to my surprise I found that many were of the same quality as the more expensive brand names! Many times the store brands are packaged by the same processing plants where the name brands are produced but store brands are sold at a lesser cost because fancy packaging is not used. I found the best way to approach store brands is to try them little by little. Some products you will be very happy with and others you won’t like as much. Here are some store brands that work in our family:

1. Contact solution. We used to pay top dollar for the brand name contact solution. We’ve since switched to Target’s brand and are very happy with the product.

2. Hand lotion. We have several allergies in the family so we need to buy the hypoallergenic types of lotions. We’ve found that Target’s brand of hypoallergenic lotion works for us - and at a substantial discount too!

3. Pain relievers. Either Target or Walmart store brands of pain relievers work just as well as the name brands.

4. Oatmeal. I’ve found that store brand oatmeal tastes exactly the same as brand name and works just as well when baking oatmeal cookies!

5. Liquid hand soap. The large refills of the store brand soaps are a big money saver and work just as well as the name brand bottles.

6. Dental Floss. Target’s store brand of dental floss is comparable in quality to the higher priced name brands.

7. Saltine Crackers. We much prefer our store’s brand of crackers to the name brands.

It’s that time of year again here in Florida where talk is turning to hurricane season. We’ve learned from past experience how important it is to be prepared in case a hurricane does come our way, and it’s much easier (and cheaper) to buy supplies now rather than when an actual hurricane is looming off the coast and the warnings have been issued. Here is our hurricane preparedness plan that we use from year to year:

1. Adequate supply of drinking water. With all the rain we get during a hurricane, it’s hard to imagine that one would actually need to buy water. However, in the past we have had “boil water” alerts following a hurricane (which can be hard to do if you don’t have any power to turn your stove on). We plan to have enough drinking water to last for 7 days. We store these bottles of water in an area in our garage that we’ve designated just for this purpose. When a hurricane warning is issued, bottled water is very difficult to find on grocery store shelves.

2. Built a stockpile of shelf stable food. I’ve been working on this already, mainly from the big discount sales going on at my local grocery stores. Our goal is to have enough non-perishable food to last 7 days. This is all stacked orderly on shelving in our laundry room. When hurricane season ends, we’ll eat from this stockpile anything that has an expiration date before next year’s hurricane season begins.

3. Stocked up on supplies such as flashlights and batteries. We have flashlights and a portable radio from prior years. We’ve been stocking up on the batteries for a while now so I won’t need to get any more this year. This also includes having a fully stocked first aid kit. In past years we have noticed that when a hurricane is approaching you can usually find a flashlight at the store, but not the C or D batteries they require.

4. Home repair items including duct tape, masking tape, and tarps. We have these from last year. Honestly, when a storm comes near you can’t find a tarp in a home improvement store for miles and miles.

5. Stash of emergency cash. It’s important to keep cash on hand as many times when electricity goes down, there is not a way to withdraw funds from the banks or ATMs.

6. Financial records are secured. Since our financial records are all in order, we will simply take the file containing all our important papers with us (including our Quicken backup disk) if we have to evacuate our home (or go into the closet, if need be).

With Memorial Day rapidly approaching, I am making my plans now for how we will celebrate the holiday. We’ll be having a backyard cookout and will drive to our city’s downtown area for a wonderful Memorial Day parade. I found that planning early helps me to save money and enjoy the day! Since most Memorial Day celebrations including cooking out on the grill, I’m planning ahead now for our party celebrations:

1. Studied the grocery sale ads and made my menu. I’ve browsed my local grocery store sale ads to find the best deals. Based on taking advantage of the “Buy One Get One Free” sales shows that we’ll be grilling hot dogs, baby back ribs, and hamburgers on the grill. Side dishes will include chips that are also on sale and a potato salad I’ll make from scratch, a tossed salad, and a fresh fruit and veggie tray. Dessert will be homemade cupcakes with a patriotic theme! My shopping list is already made and ready to take with me when I make my grocery store run on Sunday morning.

2. Purchased party decorations. I made a visit to the dollar store to purchase the party supplies including paper plates, tablecloth, napkins, and red/white/blue table decorations. I will also decorate with small flags and a few other patriotic themed accessories.

3. Planned food preparation times. On Sunday evening I will prepare the foods I need to bake or get ready ahead of time including the potato salad, tossed salad, fruit and veggie tray, and the cupcakes. These items will be prepared while I am cooking the Sunday dinner - lots of multi-tasking involved here but well worth the effort when I can enjoy Memorial Day without the stress of food preparation!

By doing all this in advance I’ll be able to watch the Memorial Day parade without stressing about the food. When we get back home after the parade all we’ll need to do is light the grill and start cooking! The key to a stress-free celebration is planning in advance - It’s a great way to save money too!