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 😬

I have been skint in the past so I completely understand that some people are on a very tight budget, so every penny spent on food counts. It’s really tough.

What I don’t understand is why people who don’t need to skimp on food choose to do so. Why on earth would you want to deny yourself one of life’s great pleasures if you do have to? It’s a very British, puritanical attitude which is completely alien to French, Italian or Spanish people.

It's not shameful to spend more than a pittance on food when you can afford it. We are two adults and a one year old, we eat organic and higher welfare where possible, lots of fresh fish/seafood, game in season and I always cook from scratch, if we have a quick meal or might be a Spanish omelette and salad or something I've batch cooked from the freezer. We spend at a guess £600-£700 a month, I don't feel guilty about that we're not loaded but we can afford it and I'm sorry but chickpea curry for right for £1.50 is joyless, for that amount there can be little fresh veg etc in that dish. I like nice coffee, DH loves good cheese, we have a comfortable life and no debt aside from a manageable mortgage. MN seems intent to make you feel bad for that. Spending £50 in a shop on some nicer vegan things is not exactly something to be guilty about!!

How can you only spend £200?! I do two shops a week and each of those is about £200. I’m stunned

I spend £100 a week for me DH. You're doing really well by the sounds of it!

How can you only spend £200?! I do two shops a week and each of those is about £200. I’m stunned

Feeding whole street?

Whyhaveidonethis I don’t think it’s difficult to see what people are spending more money on. If you eat meat, fish and eggs and want to buy produce where the animals haven’t had a completely shit existence, you’re going to pay more, so that ups your bill for starters. Some people prefer to buy organic produce, some people are time poor and buy more ready made things, some people drink and prefer more expensive wine, some people prefer to have a ‘nice’ dinner at home rather than going out, some people like fancy cheese etc etc. I don’t spend anywhere near £200 a week, we spend around 100€ per week for 3 people all in, but it’s not hard for me to imagine how people spend more. If we regularly drank at home or ate steaks/seafood then you could add another 50€ per week onto that easily.

Your budget is half what we spend on three of us, although ours includes toiletries and cleaning stuff. If you can afford it, then surely it doesn't matter?

I make most of my food from scratch, try to watch my food budget,mostly shop in Aldi, but also love going to m and s and buying some nice treats for us every few weeks. I dont feel guilty .

Sainsbury’s couldn’t exist if everyone felt guilty going there. I shop there most of the time as it’s my nearest supermarket but take advantage of offers to consolidate any extra expense on other items.

I always try and budget £200 on food for 2 adults and a weaning baby, but always go over it (we're saving for a deposit). When I make a cheap meal it always ends up just being horrible, eg stuff by Jack Monroe. Been feeling a little bit guilty about overspending but actually reading all these comments has made me realise I need to get a fucking grip...I enjoy food so I'm going to stop trying to make shit out of chickpeas

I do sometimes. Especially when I spend over £100 on food, like today, which I know would be significantly cheaper. Especially as really it's just me being lazy as I only got one thing you couldn't get in Aldi.

No i buy what i want where i want within reason. I am a adult after all....

Wow I'd love to have that shopping bill, we are a family of 3 (DH eats for 2!!!) We spend £450 in a good month (inc takeaways and wine)

£200 a month would be a very very tight budget for me.

Hi. We are same sized family of meat eaters and we spend similar amount (usually) but my kids still get free lunches at school.

Last year I got a fast pass through the post from ocado will £60 off the first shop over £100 and and did i splurge ( compared to normal) just to get that £60 off. The worst thing is the pass gets us free delivery for 1yr so I keep getting tempted to buy more. I got things like nice olive oil that was on offer so I stocked up, kimchi that I love but no one else eats and is expensive so I dont buy it, organic meat that we usually cant afford, tuna canned in olive oil, miso soup and other things that I would consider luxury foods. I do feel very guilty as money is tight at the end of each month and our boys are always growing out of clothes, our kitchen is falling apart and the boiler needs replacing. However when I do a shop I do plan it well so that I can get all the offers and only do it every 2-3 months for around £60 to make the most of the free delivery while I have it.

Some times I think life is too short and I wok hard so should have an occasional treat, other times I feel terrible.

A previous poster mentioned the plant food in marks and Spencer's is nice and has reminded me about Quran. I've read it is fine and it isn't. Any actual science opinion from anyone as I feel we need to cut down on meat. We mostly eat chicken, pork and beef rarely, lamb occasionally but even so.

Obviously I mean Quorn.

I think your budget is fine. There is just me and hubby and we spend between 150 and 200 a week on food but this includes all toiletries and washing stuff. We eat pretty healthy but when I see these people on programmes where they have cut their food bill to 30 quid a week what the hell are they even eating.

You are doing really well feeding a family of 4 for £200 a month.. yes you deserve a treat every now and then.

@expatinspain I buy lots of free range and organic stuff, I don't see your point? You do realise that the average person takes home £585 after tax a week? People spending £200 a week on food must mean they are spending over a third of that on food. That is crazy. You can eat healthy and good quality food for much less than that. Given that housing normally costs approx 30% of someone's salary, that leaves around a third to pay for everything else. No way is it normal to spend as much on food a month as you do a mortgage or rent. Not in the circles I mix in anyway.

whyhaveIdonethis My point was that it's easy to see how people could spend £200 per week. Just a few bottles of decent wine, a few quality cuts of meat and some fancy nibbles can set you back £50 and the rest!! I wouldn't imagine the average family eats like that on a regular basis, but it would be easy to do if you could afford it. I imagine people who aren't very good at/are too lazy/too time poor to cook spend more than people who cook from scratch.

You have frugal guilt but don't let it bother you too much.

My budget is tight as batman's pants and I'm the only adult so everything is on me.

I get food quilt, in fact I get anything for myself guilt. I feel I should always get stuff for everyone but myself. Even a single bar of choc after a shit day I feel bad for having and I don't even do that much.

I know it's because we have such a tight budget and I want to given the kids more but they would rather less stuff and more time at home with me which is why we have a tight budget. They are super happy with it, get treats, do a few clubs. But i guess it's that classic mum feeling of never being able to do enough (i have huge expectations of myself)

I’m surprised by the number of people who think Aldi food is cheap and foreign. Aldi source almost all their fresh produce locally, and it’s generally excellent and really tasty. Tomatoes are amazing, salad is good. Vegetables come from the same farms as supply Waitrose. There’s a really interesting article about Aldi, their lines are limited but generally excellent. It’s just really snobbish to assume cheap means crap. We always shop there now because it would be daft to spend double for the same produce. And to assume spending only £50 a week means you’re not eating well is also silly - amazing what meals you can cook with ginger, garlic, soy, chillis etc. Shopping at Waitrose because it’s ‘good food ‘ only possibly holds true if you’re buying processed food, we we don’t, because it’s not good for you.

I’m amazed that anyone with a family of 4 could spend as little as £200 a month on food shopping. I think food shopping is by far the most expensive household bill. We are a family of 4 plus 3 cats and I spend between £130 to £150 per week in either Sainsbury’s or Tesco. I don’t know why people go on about Sainsbury’s being so expensive when I have shopped around and to be honest, they all come in about the same unless you buy cheap nasty stuff. At least the quality at Sainsbury’s and Tesco is quite good. They do sell cheaper foods if you buy their basics range. I do my big shop once a week at either Sainsbury’s or Tesco and find them both the same price-wise, and I might nip to Lidl for a few extra top up bits in the week but I find the fruit and veg in Aldi and Lidl don’t last and aren’t great.

Veg and fruit from Aldi never lasts as long as other. It may come from the same farm, but from my experience of the produce, it must be lower grade.

I used to shop in Aldi and still pop in for some bits sometimes, but considering majority of my diet is fresh veg and fruit, I do main shop elsewhere.

I've never in my life been in Waitrose