Top 5ive Items to Always Buy Generic

ARE YOUR WEEKLY grocery shopping and drugstore bills getting out of control? Don't fret. There are ways to trim those tabs by as much as 20% without shortening your shopping list.

The trick: switching from brand-name products to generic labels. OK, so some may not come in a pretty bottle or be as tasty as your favorite brands, but in many cases, the only thing that's not premium about generics is the price.

That's because some generic brands are made by the same manufacturers that churn out the products you know and love, says Joanna Pruess, author of "Supermarket Confidential." Take away the fancy packaging, and you've got identical breadcrumbs (4C Corp.), tinfoil (Alcoa Reynolds Wrap) and frozen vegetables (Birds Eye).

Here are five types of products that you should always purchase generic:

Choosing unmarked oranges over those with a Sunkist sticker on them isn't an apples-and-oranges conundrum, says Mary Hunt, publisher of The Cheapskate Monthly newsletter. Without the marketing sticker on, say, Chiquita bananas, the underlying produce is identical. "It's crazy to pay more," she says.

Here's how much you can save with generic produce.

Feeling under the weather? Don't dismiss your drugstore-brand pain, cold and cough medications. The Food and Drug Administration requires that any products with the same active ingredient must meet the same efficacy standards. In consumer-speak, that means your drugstore ibuprofen must be just as effective as its brand-name counterparts, which includes Advil, Motrin and Pediacare Fever, among others. And the price difference can be astronomical.

(An added savings tip: While going off-brand is a great deal for over-the-counter and prescription meds, you can get even better deals by shopping online — but it's tricky. Click here for advice on staying safe and saving money while buying medicine online.)

Here's how much you can save with generic medication.

If you're looking to trade up to healthier organic foods without inflating your monthly grocery bill, private store labels are your best bet to save, says Teri Gault, founder of the Grocery Game, a program that helps consumers match manufacturers' coupons with supermarket sales. "Certified organic is certified organic," she says. "There's no need to go for the brand name."

Making things easier, most big chains have an organic line — Meijer has Meijer Organics, for example, while Publix has GreenWise Market and Safeway has O Organics. You'll pay more than you would for conventional generics, but up to 50% less than brand-name organic products. (Click here and here for more tips on how to save on organic foods.)

Here's how much you can save by buying generic organics.

Next time you hit the drugstore to buy your favorite body lotion take a hard look at the drugstore-label version that's likely sitting right next to your brand of choice. "It's very easy for companies to back-formula out and reproduce a product," says Paula Begoun, author of "Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me." "With simple products, there's nothing very elegant about the couple-dollars-more-expensive original."

That said, be wary of the generic versions of much pricier products that use an exotic ingredient to get results — namely, anything in the anti-aging or acne-reducing categories, cautions Begoun. Chances are that inexpensive anti-aging cream doesn't have enough of the active ingredients to do much for your fine lines and wrinkles. (Wondering what else is worth splurging on? Click here for some ideas. Read our story here for other cheap deals.)

Here's how much you can save with drugstore-label generics.

Single-ingredient items, such as flour, salt, spices and sugar, are held to government regulations for production, packaging and storage. In other words, sugar is sugar, regardless of its label. Another reason to go generic: These items rarely attract in-store sales or manufacturer's coupons, adds Gault. (Click here for other ways to cut your grocery bill.)

Here's how much you can save on the staples.