There aren’t many brands to which I have a strong loyalty. Sure, I love Coca-Cola over Pepsi any day of the week. Most Coke lovers will tell you that Pepsi is far too sweet and lacks that certain something that separates it from the minions of other generic colas in the world. But when it comes to buying almost anything, I’m much more about the price than about the brand. I will check out quality reviews and see if what I’m buying is garbage (i e. “You get what you pay for”). But if I can save a buck or two by buying off-brand bread, peanut butter, ice cream, milk, etc., well, you get the picture.

There are obvious areas where brands do really matter. Cars are a perfect example. You would never want to buy an off-brand car, which is one reason why you don’t really see those around. Currently, we drive Hondas, and the experience has been positive enough that we’ll probably stay with them. Cell phones are another area of brand loyalty for us. We have walked into the Samsung/Android world and likely won’t change, primarily because doing so would necessitate a major switch on a variety of items.

Ultimately, however, I’ve found that sticking to name brands on most things is simply a recipe for spending a lot more money. These days, the loyalty simply isn’t worth it.