If any of you know me, you know that I am a very frugal person. But to be fair, I kind of have to be with twins! Anytime I step outside my home you can bet I am looking up coupons for wherever it is I'm going, whether it be the grocery store or to a romantic date with my love even though he tells me not to worry about it. I just KNOW I can find us a free appetizer. With this being said, I have learned quite a bit when it comes to what to buy and what not to buy. I love generic brands, because they are just so darn cheap, but sometimes cheap isn't always the best route. Below are some items I have come to realize through (sometimes painful) experience that you just can't cheap out on, and a few that you can.

1. Toilet paper. Need I say more, seriously? Yes, I know it is incredibly tempting to buy the 1 ply ultra thin bargain brand, but for the love of everyone's bottoms please don't. You will deeply regret it.

2. Garbage bags. In the past, I have been called "noodle arms". At this point, I would beg to differ because having twins builds a lot of muscle. Still, I need a trash bag that can handle some damage, as it takes a bit of effort for me to get it outside. This is why generic trash bags will never work. They are not built to withstand my wrath.

3. Coffee. In my case, I only have experience with K-Cups, but I will share that knowledge I have gained along the way. DO NOT BUY CHEAP K-CUPS. Seriously, unless you prefer your coffee consisting of 95% water, just don't. Eww.

4. Laundry Soap. Just like coffee, if you enjoy a product meant to CLEAN YOUR SMELLY CLOTHES that is made of 95% water, then by all means cheap out, like I used to. I wasn't even going to stop either until my boyfriend had to sit me down for an intervention-like discussion about why I needed to stop being a cheap p.o.s. with everything.

4. Electronics. I made this mistake one Christmas when I was shopping for my friend and found a "super nice brand new" tablet for a really low price. Imagine someone just throwing their money at the computer screen, that was me. Okay not really, but you get the point. I was so excited for my bestie to have her own tablet, but what she got was really nothing more than a rectangular paper weight. *Sigh*

Last but not least, here are a few things you can gladly go generic on!

1. Medicine. This is pretty awesome, because like legally, name brand and generic medications have to pretty much be the same thing! Therefore, why not buy the generic when you're really just paying extra for the name otherwise?

2. Pantry Goods. This includes things such as salt, sugar, flour, and olive oil. This is pretty basic stuff as it is, so there really isn't going to be much of a difference.

3. Certain beauty products. While I understand the necessity of having good quality makeup, in my experience not everything in the beauty department has to be name brand. For example, I really haven't found a difference between name brand lotions or body wash compared to their store brand.

Stay frugal, guys and gals!