Monday Money-Saver: Shop Smart

I'll give you a two-fer today since I skipped last week. Both of these tips involve your trips to the grocery store or even a superstore like Target or Wal-Mart.
Tip #1: Shop with a list.

Take a few minutes and make a list of the things you need before you head to the store. This will not only get you in and out of the store faster, but it will also focus your shopping. Unfocused shopping can lead to impulse buying. So make a list and stick to it.
Tip #2: What's in a name?
TV commercials may try to convince us that one brand is better than another. The question is: how important is it to you that it's better? For some items it matters significantly, and this will vary from person to person. maybe you only like one brand of catsup or you use a lot of paper towels and require the most absorbent brand. Fine. Buy that brand. However, when it comes to items that are less important, go ahead and get the generic, or store brand, or even just whatever happens to be on sale at the moment.
Brand loyalty is for times when you have more money than you can spend. I'm guessing that's not right now for most of you. It certainly isn't for me. With few exceptions, these brands aren't dropping their prices out of loyalty to you, so what exactly do you owe to them?