Here’s a lightweight Friday piece on brand loyalty vs. pinching pennies. Times are tight y’all! We all have our favorite brands of food and health & beauty items. For some, our loyalty is so strong we will stick with them even when the budget gets tight. Others, not so much. Turns out, according to Forbes.com, there’s a pattern to which items we will sacrifice first.

Here’s a list of everyday items, with the percentage that the name brand has lost to the generics since the economy up and got dead in 2008 (with bonus dumb commentary!)

• Paper Towels down 1%
• Facial Tissue down 8%
• Laundry Detergent down 9%. Not in our house. Sgt. Wife insists on Tide!
• Pasta Sauce down 10%. Definitely. A couple of cans of Walmart Italian-style diced tomatoes (68 cents each!) is just as good.
• Fruit Juice down 12%
• Soup down 12%. I do think Campbell’s is better, but it’s been forever since I bought any.
• Shampoo down 12%. Can’t say. I have always been a Suave girl. Guy. Whatever.
• Toothpaste down 12%.
• Mouthwash down 14%. It’s blue alcohol. Is NameBrand-sterine that much better than Walmart-sterine?
• Over-the-counter medicine down 17%. When one is $7 and the other $4.59? Definitely!

There’s more to be had at the original article (not much, really) including the percentage of each of these segments that the generic brands have swiped from the name brands. So check it out!

How about you? Which of your fave name brands have you given up for the economic apocalypse? Did you switch, and then switch back? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page, and have a great weekend!