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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think that £17,000 a year on food is obscene

377 replies

ChillySundays · 02/10/2015 20:22

Watching 'Eat well for less' on i player. The family are spending £17,000 a year on food. I'd quite like to earn that. The bloke is saying about saving them £100 a week - my food bill is that a week (4 adults) never mind saving it.

What is really getting my goat is the mother laughing about how little fruit and veg the family eat. Surely most people would be embarrassed whatever the reason was.

Am I being incredibly judgey?

OP posts:
usual · 04/10/2015 22:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Annapurnacircuit · 04/10/2015 22:28

Usual I wouldn't normally but the poster in question is very prolific, high profile and everyone knows who they are so I think extenuating circumstances. Sorry it's detracting from the thread though I shouldn't have mentioned anything quite right.

CatMilkMan · 04/10/2015 22:31

Shockingly, judgemental posts are suddenly towards people that have money.
Whaaaaaaaat?

Original poster
ChillySundays · 04/10/2015 22:58

CatMilkMan In general I try to think if f people have money that is fine and good luck to spending. Maybe a wee bit jealous but if I earned £100,000 no doubt I would look at those earning £200,00 and think if only.

These people can't afford to that is why they approach the programme. Or can afford but want holidays or to move house so can't afford everything

OP posts:
Garrick · 04/10/2015 23:08

Shockingly, judgemental posts are suddenly towards people that have money. Whaaaaaaaat?

Only because nobody can report you for suspected benefit fraud Wink

HopLittleBunny · 05/10/2015 10:53

Ooh CatMilkMan I think you posted before about the merits of Natoora's perfectly ripe mangoes. I wanted to thank you for the blissful hour I then spent doing a fantasy shop on their site. So many beautiful things! I had a whole dinner party planned, to be topped off with a shows topper style cake decorated with the edible flowers. Then I remembered no bugger in my family would eat half of it and I'm currently an Aldi shopper through necessity not choice, so sadly closed the page.

But it was lovely looking through and imagining for a while. Like a grown up version of playing house Wink

Badders123 · 05/10/2015 10:55

My sister has 2 ocado deliveries per week and then goes to the co op/tesco etc for top ups too.
She could easily spend that.
I don't think I could. It's a huge amount of money for food.

BiddyPop · 05/10/2015 12:33

I had been going to say that I spend something similar, but I checked my online banking first and found (to my surprise) that it was a LOT less than this (under €8k - although there is some cash spending and DH spending to add, but not huge, I reckon maybe a final total roughly €8,5k being generous).

I try to cook from scratch when I can, and grow what I can too, eat in season, buy locally etc. But I also work FT as does DH so make use of the M&S close to work and have a stash of decent jars of sauce etc for midweek. And with a very fussy DD (who has SNs as well), we need to buy certain things at times so that she will eat sufficient. We also hate waste and try to only buy what we would actually eat (perhaps stocking up when things are on offer that we do eat but rarely buying in bulk on things we might eat).

Every once in a while I try to control the food budget better - but haven't really paid it attention over the past 18 months. So perhaps this is a good time to try and give it another go....

TalkinPeece · 05/10/2015 13:18

I love the fact that we still call her Xenia when she's not used that name for years!

WorktoLive · 05/10/2015 13:34

The thing is, I can't see how the food the people on the programme buy adds up to so much, unless they waste an awful lot, and they haven't really featured food waste except in one or two cases.

Most of their 'before' food was quite cheap and basic stuff like pizza. It's hardly fillet steak and caviar that the partipants have been eating.

Unless that's how much it costs to shop if you don't only buy brands when they're on offer, like I do? There are certain things that are almost always on offer somewhere, that I would probably never buy at full price, eg. pringles, Pizza Express branded pizzas. I stock up at the offer price and make it last or do without.

JawannaDrink · 05/10/2015 13:47

The pizza wasnt cheap and basic though, it was 4.50 each and they were having 3 or 4 of them plus premium garlic breads for one meal. So well over twenty pounds for one monday evening meal for 2 adults and 2 children.

IceBeing · 05/10/2015 14:01

We have enough money not to care what the food bill is - (I'm not paid that well but we don't have a mortgage or rent) but I get the stress/guilt thing over 'spending too much' on shopping.

When I read these threads I feel so shit that we spend about 100 quid a week on just 2 adults, one child.

Things we over spend on are definitely of the preprepared veg genre...and I know I am time patience poor when it comes to cooking but I still feel crap about it.

The other thing that drives me up the wall is getting the money off coupons on brand match..I always lose the fuckers and then feel pants at the waste....

BUT I have the cash and I would NEVER have the time to shop around so I haven't actually lost anything by not cashing them in...so now if I lose one or can't be arsed to find it before going out I try not to worry so much.

PeasinPod1 · 05/10/2015 15:04

I saw this last week and was intrigued but also fuming. To all those who haven't watched this and comment "if they can afford it...fine" well they can't as do afford this ridiculous shop each week, they sacrifice family holidays, their kids had never been abroad and were about 10 and 13 years old. To spend this much on excessive and rubbish food a week, depriving their kids of memorable holidays abroad they could've had plenty off by making savings- was beyond stupid and selfish.

Grazia1984 · 05/10/2015 15:23

I certainly agree that no one should spend money they don't have although what families choose to prioritise and what not is always very interesting as we all differ.

(I've never voluntarily name changed. I think the last change came about because of the hacking.)

Libitina · 05/10/2015 17:28

Does it really matter what other people spend? I hate all the frugal on-upmanship on here. As long as children aren't going hungry it's no one elses business.

Weathergames · 05/10/2015 17:31

Love the recipes on the website Grin

Notoedike · 05/10/2015 17:33

Does it really matter what other people spend? I hate all the frugal on-upmanship on here. As long as children aren't going hungry it's no one elses business.

ScOffasDyke · 05/10/2015 17:45

they sacrifice family holidays, their kids had never been abroad and were about 10 and 13

I didn't go abroad until I was 20, it hasn't done me any harm. I had "memorable holidays" in Norfolk and even in Wales!

eedon · 05/10/2015 19:35

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

ilovesooty · 05/10/2015 19:39

Why don't you do it? Aren't there enough trolls on here without encouraging people to troll elsewhere?

Londonista123 · 05/10/2015 19:52

I don't think it's on to try and out a MNetter who has namechanged.

I think I actually recognise Grazia from an entirely different discussion website, where she / someone with a very similar writing style working as a self-employed lawyer who likes to suntan topless in her garden, posts under a different name. Her writing style is truly distinctive.

shebird · 05/10/2015 20:05

I haven't read the whole post so apologies if this has been mentioned. Why don't they ever suggest online shopping to these over spenders? At least they can stick to a list, check what's needed and keep track of how much they are spending.

I am also sceptical about what is in a £300 a week shopping trolley. Is this food only or does it include household stuff, toiletries and alcohol? I wish they would publish the actual contents.

onecurrantbun1 · 05/10/2015 20:43

As I said before shebird I'm fairly sure it must go on the RRP of stuff. When they compare the prices at the end - I've never paid (for example) 80p for a tin of Heinz beans, I buy the four pack when it's on offer for

FarFromAnyRoad · 05/10/2015 20:46

Ilovesooty - I think I love you! It so needs pointing out! The irony -

eedon Mon 05-Oct-15 19:35:40

They are looking for people for the Xmas show

Anybody here want to troll them and pretend to be stupid and beat the 17k a year? www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/takepart/eat_well_for_less_christmas

Well yes - because trolling fora with inane, mind numbingly boring shite is just the best wheeze ever isn't it? Hmm

CatMilkMan · 06/10/2015 00:37

So I made a fish chowder (I used a slow cooker) and then I cooked lobsters in the cooker and then I took the lobster apart, I deconstructed it and took the flesh out of the lobster and the stomach and the intestine.
So I placed the shell in the bowl and then I placed an egg yolk in the middle.
I basted the egg yolk with garlic butter, and then finished the dish with fish stock and fish stock.