Thursday, 26th April 2007 (by J.D.)
This article is about
Spare Change
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Flexo lists the things he’s willing to buy generic. I’ll buy many things generic, especially if they’re not “favorites”. For favorites, I want the highest quality possible.
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I just got a call from a merchant yesterday to verify that I was trying to sign up with them. I wasn’t. Somebody’s using my info fraudulently. Checking my credit history is one of my tasks for the next week.
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WRT generics, I work as a plant automation specialist for food and pharmaceutical plants. Basically meaning I help make the machinery that makes your cereal, puts it in a bag and puts it in a box, or makes your bread, slices it and bags it, etc. I can say thanks to what I we refer to as “concentrated manufacturing” many generics are not just identical to your favorite consumer goods they are actually manufactured in the same plant, on the same machinery, by the same people, often times only the packaging is changed. Whether it’s cereal, toothpaste, or drugs you’re very likely to never know the difference.
Here’s another good article about what you should buy as brand names and what is OK to buy as generics:
http://www.askmen.com/money/investing_150/166_investing.html
Someone is applying to merchants with your name and you are putting off checking on your credit until next week?
Uhhh… JD? Is that you in there?
Don’t get me wrong, Kevin: I’m concerned! I’m leaving shortly for a long weekend, though, and don’t have time to check right now. I understand that it’s a high priority. You’d better believe it I’ll get right on this the first part of next week. (And if I find the time, I’ll actually do it today.)
Also, I should point out that I only have one confirmed problem. An on-line advertising affiliate program called to ask if I had applied to them. I had not. The guy I talked to, who was very helpful, said that they get this sort of thing sometimes: people apply for affiliate programs using names harvested from public WHOIS databases, and then once they’re accepted, they change the “mail to” address. I don’t get why anybody would want to do this, but there you go.
So, this is enough to worry me and make me want to check my credit report, but not enough to make me stop everything right now and look it over. (Whereas receiving a bill for something I never purchased would send me into a panic.)
Does that make sense?
Flexo lists the things he’s willing to buy generic.
I prefer to think of this the opposite way; I consider what I am willing to buy name brand. (Very few things, it turns out.) It’s a subtle difference, but one which leads to spending less.
I mostly try to buy name brands on sale. For some things, particularly those that should have a decent usuable life, I try to buy quality products that last- for the best price I can find.