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You fool, you idiot!

227 replies

coulditbeme2323 · 07/05/2026 09:24

There were a couple of threads on MN yesterday about what posters spend their money on. One was about a slice of cheesecake in London and the other the cost of a toastie in a Garden Centre.

Neither items were cheap, but I thought there was a lot of rude comments such as "only idiots pay that" or "you fool."

Now MN is for debate and there is nothing wrong with disagreeing, but is name calling really fair just because people choose to spend their money on different things.

OP posts:
BunnyLake · 07/05/2026 10:19

Dollymylove · 07/05/2026 10:11

Some folk must have more money than sense, as my late DM used to say, frequently

If you have money you might as well spend it and keep the economy rolling. Not helping anyone having it under your mattress gathering dust.

Branster · 07/05/2026 10:18

Upstartled · 07/05/2026 09:44

Those threads are ten a penny and I love them. Did anyone say they should forgo their cheesecake and give the money to charity? 🤞🏼

😂 always with the charity.
‘Q: I returned an order to Next. They refunded me twice. I contacted it them several times and they told me in writing I can keep the duplicate refund. Should I keep the money?
A: It would be stealing. You must donate it to a charity.’
Why the obsession with charities?

SaffronsMadAboutMe · 07/05/2026 10:18

coulditbeme2323 · 07/05/2026 10:16

I stood my ground.

Ok, just wondered why you've started a TAAT then.

Either way, people shouldn't be sneering at others for buying expensive food, and nor should they be sneering at others for taking sandwiches and a flask.

You do come across as though you're sneering at the latter.

BleedinglyObvious · 07/05/2026 10:18

Everything has gone up | Mumsnet
If I was meeting friends or relatives I'd pay.
If I was nipping to a garden centre to browse or buy plants, I'd probably take a bottle of water and something to eat with me or would have eaten before I went.

Absolutely delicious cheesecake with good company in a location you're unlikely to go again? Yes, why not if you can afford it.

As for name calling, there's a mix of people on here and not all of them are polite or rational human beings.

SethBrogan · 07/05/2026 10:17

Melarus · 07/05/2026 10:12

I always did this when DCs were younger, and OMG my shoulders used to ache from the heavy backpack

Exactly. What a lot of women in particular do not appreciate is the value of their time and energy. “Just” make sandwiches, “just” take a picnic, “just” queue for ticket cancellations on the day etc etc. I would find that such a grim existence. I’m not a serf.

BauhausOfEliott · 07/05/2026 10:17

Yes, some people are incredibly weird about what other people choose to do with their money. It's like they're incapable of comprehending that just because (eg) £15 for a toastie or whatever it was isn't worth it to them, that doesn't mean there aren't people for whom it IS worth it.

In general, the complete lack of ability to understand that different people a) like different things and b) have different incomes is a sign that someone is a complete tit and about one-tenth as clever as they think they are.

It's not just on Mumsnet though. A total stranger berated me on a train once for having an expensive fountain pen and a former colleague seemed to genuinely outraged that I chose the buy the most expensive model of Kindle available at the time. It's such an odd attitude.

coulditbeme2323 · 07/05/2026 10:16

SaffronsMadAboutMe · 07/05/2026 10:15

Did you not take this up with the posters at the time?

I stood my ground.

OP posts:
GreyCarpet · 07/05/2026 10:16

SethBrogan · 07/05/2026 10:14

It’s only a moral issue because they can’t afford it. It’s so transparent. I wouldn’t spend that money on a beef wellington but I wouldn’t name call and badger those that do.

Exactly.

I wouldn't spend £195 on a beef wellington either but I've got enough imagination and intelligence to understand why some people would.

PluckedFromThinAir · 07/05/2026 10:16

Melarus · 07/05/2026 10:12

I always did this when DCs were younger, and OMG my shoulders used to ache from the heavy backpack

Luckily I still have a shopping trolly pram

But yeah that’s the downside

BunnyLake · 07/05/2026 10:16

Pinemartin4 · 07/05/2026 09:39

I luv them when they get the sandwiches out on the plane,washed down with the free water (which they must give you) from the airport departure lounge... priceless

Why would that even be on your radar? Do you mean you watch passengers take out sandwiches they brought with them from home? That’s a strange hobby, but if it gets you through the flight then observe and chuckle away I suppose.

SaffronsMadAboutMe · 07/05/2026 10:15

coulditbeme2323 · 07/05/2026 10:09

Cheesecake yes, toastie no.

Did you not take this up with the posters at the time?

UniquePinkSwan · 07/05/2026 10:15

I spend £80 a month on bottled water. I genuinely do not care what people think about that. Not everyone is struggling

shuddacuddadidnt · 07/05/2026 10:15

Some of the best times I've enjoyed were with an elderly friend. If the sun was shining I would call her and say, let's go to X. Her response was always I'll bring the flasks and the blanket. She'd then have a flask of hot water, tea bags and coffee. I would go to Sainsbury and pick up sandwich making bits etc for the picnic after we'd traipsed all over a NT property.

She's gone now and I still miss those times together. Didn't cost a lot and neither of us was short of a bob or two.

SethBrogan · 07/05/2026 10:14

GreyCarpet · 07/05/2026 10:12

People are ridiculous.

Some people consider it to be amoral when others spend money on something other than the absolute basic necessities.

The £195 M&S beef wellington thread at Christmas was entertaining. Some people 'couldn't believe' that anyone at all would be able to afford it and/or were outraged that people would be so indulgent during a 'CoL crisis'.

So many people considered it to be a moral issue.

It’s only a moral issue because they can’t afford it. It’s so transparent. I wouldn’t spend that money on a beef wellington but I wouldn’t name call and badger those that do.

Retro12 · 07/05/2026 10:14

coulditbeme2323 · 07/05/2026 09:33

I love the flask and sandwiches brigade!

I read that one 🙄

coulditbeme2323 · 07/05/2026 10:13

GreyCarpet · 07/05/2026 10:12

People are ridiculous.

Some people consider it to be amoral when others spend money on something other than the absolute basic necessities.

The £195 M&S beef wellington thread at Christmas was entertaining. Some people 'couldn't believe' that anyone at all would be able to afford it and/or were outraged that people would be so indulgent during a 'CoL crisis'.

So many people considered it to be a moral issue.

Indeed - not everybody is struggling!

OP posts:
Thechaseison71 · 07/05/2026 10:13

Pinemartin4 · 07/05/2026 09:39

I luv them when they get the sandwiches out on the plane,washed down with the free water (which they must give you) from the airport departure lounge... priceless

What is actually wrong with that though?

GreyCarpet · 07/05/2026 10:12

People are ridiculous.

Some people consider it to be amoral when others spend money on something other than the absolute basic necessities.

The £195 M&S beef wellington thread at Christmas was entertaining. Some people 'couldn't believe' that anyone at all would be able to afford it and/or were outraged that people would be so indulgent during a 'CoL crisis'.

So many people considered it to be a moral issue.

Melarus · 07/05/2026 10:12

PluckedFromThinAir · 07/05/2026 10:08

I bring a picnics and loads of snacks to theme parks/zoos etc as it’s preferable to long queues with whiny, hungry children. Always get ice creams though.

I always did this when DCs were younger, and OMG my shoulders used to ache from the heavy backpack

SethBrogan · 07/05/2026 10:12

DontShoutInMyEarholeTracey · 07/05/2026 10:08

Some people really do struggle financially. Nothing wrong with taking a flask and some sandwiches if that saves them sone money.

But they don’t have to call other people names for choosing not to do that. So many people seem to want everyone else to be mired in their misery.

coulditbeme2323 · 07/05/2026 10:12

ImFinePMSL · 07/05/2026 10:11

I spent nearly £50 on sushi the other week. As a treat.

I love being a fucking fool.

Good for you!

OP posts:
coulditbeme2323 · 07/05/2026 10:11

Dollymylove · 07/05/2026 10:11

Some folk must have more money than sense, as my late DM used to say, frequently

Why?

OP posts:
ImFinePMSL · 07/05/2026 10:11

I spent nearly £50 on sushi the other week. As a treat.

I love being a fucking fool.

Dollymylove · 07/05/2026 10:11

Some folk must have more money than sense, as my late DM used to say, frequently

latetothefisting · 07/05/2026 10:11

coulditbeme2323 · 07/05/2026 09:33

I love the flask and sandwiches brigade!

To be fair it was probably the combination of the OPs title and first post being about everything being too expensive and then casually chucking in the expensive cheesecake and "I just tap, tap, tap" a few posts later. If she had mentioned it on a thread about "the best food you've ever eaten" she might not have got so many rude comments.

Probably would still have got some though, but the juxtaposition probably ibfluenced the reactions. If you're struggling to buy asda basic range to feed your family, click on a thread about the COL expecting to be able to sympathise with someone in the same boat, then they moan about choosing to spend the amount you spend on two or three days worth of full meals, on one dessert, it could get people irate!

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