When I was younger, Air Jordan’s were all the rage to be worn by the guys in school. They were the pair of shoes to have and many children hounded and begged for their parents to get a pair of Air Jordan’s for them, even though they were upwards of $100.00 and a pair of decent generic athletic shoes could have been had for $10.00 at the time. I wonder how many of us would have changed our mind about the Air Jordan’s if we were told we could either have the shoes we desired, or have a pair of generic basketball shoes and have $90.00 in cash in our pocket!

Air Jordan’s and other celebrity endorsed shoes are a great example of how we have been fooled into thinking that a specific brand should be valued more than a generic lower priced brand of pretty much the exact same product from another company. It’s amazing that we’ll be willing to pay $5.00 for a generic single color t-shirt, but as soon as the Nike logo is put on it, we’re suddenly willing to pay $15.00 for it! We’ve become extremely brand conscious, and it’s costing us a significant amount of money.

This phenomenon extends well past clothing. When we’re at the grocery store, do we buy the name brand cereal with the cartoon character on it , or do we buy the generic bag that’s a better deal? When we’re shopping for a new television, do we go with a Sony or a Panasonic, or go with an off-brand that’s a bit cheaper? These types of situations are seen in just about every division of retail America, and many of us who default to name brand items without thinking that there might be a private-labeled product that we could purchase that would serve the exact same function, yet cost us half the money.

Don’t be controlled by the items you buy and the things you purchase. Don’t think that anyone will think any less of you because you aren’t wearing clothes with the most expensive and prestigious brand on them! The brands that you purchase really don’t matter to anyone but you, and if someone makes fun of you for wearing an off-branded piece of clothing or something of the sort, chances are you don’t want them as a friend anyway! When looking at a name-brand product, there’s almost always a cheaper generic version of the same item from another company! There’s no reason to shell out extra money to subsidize a large corporation’s marketing campaign. Buy Generic.