To have food shop guilt

[littleblackdress04]

Our monthly food shop for a family of 4 is about £200ish a month- I cook 90% from scratch, take food into work & kids have packed lunches 3 days a week/ school dinners the rest. We rarely eat out as a family - maybe a couple of times a year,

I mostly shop in Lidl during the month but do an Asda shop once a month to get stuff I can’t get in Lidl- nice tins of mixed beans etc. I am also a vegan & can’t get soya yoghurt etc in lidl.

I went to Sainsbury’s today & bought a load of nice vegan stuff as a treat- oatly milk, nice vegan butter, some lovely veg sausages that I can’t get elsewhere but felt REALLY guilty about being there- as if I was wasting my money when I could be getting stuff at Lidl.

Does anyone else get food guilt? I feel a constant pressure to budget, cook from scratch etc but sometimes I want a treat! I am aware that I could cut my food budget even more - it just amazed me how guilty I felt for ‘splashing out’ in Sainsbury’s

Aibu- does anyone else get this? I know I am lucky that I am not on a really tight budget- I get that- but I was surprised at my reaction to spending money on food. As it goes I spent £50 in Sainsbury’s on some nice bits but it somehow feels extravagant 😬

@AmelieTaylor
Are you serious? If you are...what do you actually eat?
Example day
Breakfast: toast and own brand cereal x 8 people and baby £2.50

Lunch : Free school meals for infant school children so sandwiches , fruit and homemade flapjack x 3 Plus one baby and one exclusively breastfed baby one £2

Dinner : chickpea curry and rice x 8 people and baby £4 big tub of yogurt for desert £1.50

Snacks : breadsticks and Aldi soft cheese £1.50

Total : £11.50 from £13 a day budget leaves £1.50 towards extra milk and coffee , kids drink water and toiletries.
Nappies and wipes not included as I buy those from amazon.

I hate food waste so use my freezer well but I don’t begrudge buying nice food.

As a child it wad all own brands and whatever was chosen by the adults. It’s very joyless when you have no input and food choices are dictated I found,

Mine get to choose, I rarely buy own brands and we eat out occasionally and have the odd takeaway if friends come over. I had food issues for a good while after leaving home and don’t want mine to experience that.

£50 a week for a family of four is nothing, that’s dirt cheap.

The first thing I did when my financial situation settled after a really rough time was start to buy better quality food again. I cook some veggie meals, but where I do cook meat or fish, I like it to be decent quality. Being able to put a pack of salmon fillets in the trolley makes me smile, as does buying interesting fruit and veg, rather than just what is cheaper. I still compare prices, and try to be sensible, but I’m not going to feel guilty about spending on food we’ll all enjoy. I think you should cut yourself some slack! I also add an item or two to my trolley for the food bank most weeks, it’s nice to be able to give back.

I think you are doing really well to spend £200 a month for a family of four and I would say I spend around £240 .I do not feel guilty buying the shopping, I feel guilty putting food in the bin. I try to freeze leftovers and be inventive where possible so food wastage is limited. We are on a budget though and I buy meat every few months in bulk and freeze. I bulk buy a lot of staples like flour and rice, lentils and chickpeas.

I spent over £1,300 on food last month, between groceries and eating out. It’s higher than what I’d normally spend but it literally caused no hardship to anybody so I don’t there’s the anything to be guilty about.

I also think £200/month is a tight budget for 4 people. I would find that really really hard for me, DH (who sorts his own lunches) and DD (3) who has breakfast and lunch at nursery 5 days a week 😱

I couldn’t suggest where it comes from but I would suggest trying to be kind to yourself 💐

MyDcAreMarvel8

Sounds nutritionally a very poor diet,.

You have to eat , as do your family,so dont feel bad

Sounds nutritionally a very poor diet,.
Haha we eat very healthy food, very little meat, lots of vegetables , oily fish , seeds and nuts. No crisps, chocolate . Snacks are hummus, beetroot muffins, oatcakes etc.

Cereal is weetabix , or all bran or porridge , the toast is wholemeal bread with peanut butter or at weekends with scrambled egg and spinach instead of cereal.

Sainsburys feels beyond our means to me, it's Waitrose which makes me feel I've committed a crime.

OP your diet sounds great - just shows what you can get for your money with a home cooked veggie diet. No need to feel at all guilty about a one off treats spend.

In answer to your question, yes I do get food guilt sometimes. We are me, DH who works shifts, DS 18 and occasionally his GF. We spend around £120 per week plus normally we eat out or have takeaway one day. My food guilt is around the amount of ready meals and pre-packed stuff I buy. DH and DS have large appetites and are meat eaters which I'm not. We eat at different times during the week and I never know in advance whether DS will be eating at home, eating out or whether I have to feed his GF too so it's just so much easier to get ready made and/or frozen stuff.

My guilt is about both the extra expense, and the packaging. One thing I have pulled back on is the lunches and making home made sandwiches again (even if they do prefer shop bought!)

@speakout don't be silly, @MyDcAreMarvel is feeding her family a perfectly nutritious diet.

I remember 4 years ago I was on the "No Spend 2016" thread as money was tight. We meal planned, I cooked from scratch & I "went shopping in my wardrobe" so didn't buy any new clothes. I used up all my gifted toiletries rather than spending on the ones I prefer. BUT one day I spent £7.99 on a cheese in Waitrose .

I could have written this post myself bar the fact there’s only two adults and a 4 yr old on my household

I think the "guilt" just came because you spent what is your full weekly budget on something extra. Simple as that.

I would feel guilt if I spent 100 on extras.
Then I would go and enjoy them. Fuck the guilt (as long as it's not like making others starve or kids nkt having shoes obvs)

We had £300 set aside for 2 adults, a toddler (who eats 3 meals at nursery 4 days a week) and 2 dogs. We spend over that pretty much every month, so yes, £200 seems very tight for a family of 4 to me!

Enjoy your nice vegan stuff! Sainsbury's are one of the best for it

The only thing I've never felt guilty about was spending money on food. I wouldn't worry about it if you can afford it and it's not often. Just depends on family finances.

OP you are clearly managing very well. You certainly spend far less than me and what you are eating sounds healthy enough.
We all need the occasional treat, dont feel guilty! I sometimes go and spurge in Waitrose just for the "love" they shower on you. Free magazines, free coffee, great special offers, no rushing at the checkouts. No scrabbling around for a pound to borrow a trolley. Bliss.

We all like a bargain but some some things I don't feel guilty about buying are good tomatoes, eggs and carrots. Cheap stuff is tasteless.
A long time of shopping frugally might have made you feel this way op. You deserve a treat

I don’t usually feel guilty about buying food unless it’s a lot of unhealthy snacky stuff that isn’t necessary. But obviously that’s fine in moderation. My priority when it comes to spending is good food, hobbies and holidays as those are the important things for me and my family as far as I’m concerned. Not really bothered about expensive cars and clothes

Don't feel guilty.
Do you have an aldi near you? They have really nice soya yogurts and a small selection of nice food, vegan pizza, pastys, sausage rolls, and bits much cheaper than most places

I used to get this all the time when I worked in a supermarket. If I hadn’t seen a customer for a little while I’d ask (friendly-like) if they’d been on holiday, or away? And got really cross when they would say ‘oh...we’ve been to Lidl or Aldi, weonly shop here for stuff we can’t get there’. I used to work in Morrison, so not a premium s/market! But Morrison (or Tesco, or Sainsbury) can’t survive on what the ‘cheaper’ (foreign-owned) shops can’t supply. That is why they are cheaper (part of the reason, anyway) in that they don’t do a full range and limited choice....not that there’s anything wrong in limited choice, but that’s a whole new rant.

Honestly we we all need some treats.
My good bill is to high. £300 3 vegans, 1 meat eater and then 2 SDS at weekends one veggie 1 meat eater.
50% of our meals are freezer convenience foods

Seems very cheap to me your general food budget! Why can't you have treats? You are allowed

Jesus, I'm shocked at how much people seem to spend on their weekly food shop. I have 2 adults and 2 greedy boys and I spend less than £200 a month. I shop in Aldi mostly and then top up in Coop for bread and milk. We eat healthy stuff and I don't buy loads of crap that I then throw out. I make a lot of stews and shepherd's pie, lasagna etc.. We also eat a lot of salad and jacket potatoes with nice toppings or omelette. WTH are people spending all this money on, more to the point, how can anyone afford £200 a week on food?!