AIBU to think people begrudge weekly food costs but spend more freely elsewhere?

[IlovePhilMitchell]

People will spend money on subscriptions, takeaways, the cost of a weekly shop on a meal out, £10 on a candle but begrudge £80 on the week shop.

Food is one of the most important things to us as humans, it nourishes us and keeps us well. It should be a priority above most things we spend money on, not just an annoying necessity.

We have been lucky in the past with extremely cheap food costs and yes I know things have increased a lot and not in line with wages, but it’s not actually that bad if you don’t buy brands and cook.

I do appreciate a lot of people don’t have have room in their budget for any increases. I think my post is more aimed at those who whinge when they spend freely elsewhere.

I sort of agree, OP, in that I think people have got used to artificially low food prices. People used to spend 30% of their income on food- now it's a fraction of that. And you can buy a whole chicken in Asda for less than the price of a cup of coffee in Starbucks, which I find absolutely horrifying.

Where I don't agree is with the implication that people should stop whinging because they're spending money elsewhere. The problem is societal, not individual.

I totally agree.

I think it’s sad that people equate “living their best life” as paying for things - it’s a real shame we have lost the art of cheap entertainment

no one pops round for a coffee anymore to someone’s home - it’s a planned outing, we don’t gather at someone’s home and play charades or put up some shelves and we become ever more disconnected from people and so lose more than we gain

Food is a necessity but not necessarily something people enjoy spending on. Clothes are a necessity too but I resent paying more than £15 for a top or dress but happily spend £1000 plus on a laptop with a higher spec that I actually need or as a spare

I’m quite glad those days are over tbh.

It’s true I moan about the cost of a jar of coffee but will go to Costa and spend £6 on ONE drink!

I am currently in the fortunate position where I can grab a coffee or a snack without thinking about the cost, but I've been in a place before where I have been watching every penny. There is actually a lot of pleasure I get from taking advantage of what are pretty basic amenities we should all have access to, like a cafe.

It doesn't surprise me that people will budget elsewhere in order to afford "everyday" treats.

I agree, with my ‘mum’ friends when I had my eldest we took turns to host and had a lovely free time. Now with my youngest meet ups are at a coffee place no one goes to houses any more.

At one point recently, it was costing dairy farmers more to produce a pint of milk than any of the supermarkets were prepared to pay. Dairy farms sold their herds.

Many UK producers of pork have also given up. Beef cattle likewise.

And it's not as if the margins on arable are that brilliant either - they're not. Farmers near me are regularly offered decent money to sell or lease land for solar farms. Solar farms (like new housing estates warehouses and new link roads, all being built apace on productive farmland) don't produce food.

The less we produce in the UK, the worse our food security becomes, and the more vulnerable we are to issues elsewhere in the world.

A healthy agriculture sector would benefit us all.

we don’t gather at someone’s home and play charades or put up some shelves

1. Thank fuck.

2. Actually, plenty of us do.

Yup i agree with you @IlovePhilMitchell I was shocked to see just how busy Starbucks and Costa were on a random Monday mid morning the other week I had a day off- people can afford £4-5 for a coffee? Both shops were busy (retail park location). See also false nails, lashes, filler etc. Ongoing costs people seem to just accept and prioritise as essential- hot stone massages also… and then there is vaping. Better than smoking, yes… but why not just try stopping? Then the same people moan about COL…

You think people begrudge it when a stable, unavoidable cost massively inflates and keeps inflating weekly. Hell, yes they do. Inflation is closely linked to civil obedience and governments know this.

Can people really not understand that we happily spend on things that give us pleasure while not wanting to spend very much on things that don’t, esp when they are essential

I know its the attitude of many people but its exceptionally immature.
I would expect children to behave like this but develop more sense as they grow up.

A couple of years ago we made the decision to eat less meat and to only eat meat that has been produced to higher welfare standards. We hardly ever eat red meat. I buy my (organic) chicken from our local butcher and a family sized chicken costs around £20. I know we are lucky to have the money to do that. But it tastes so much better than a supermarket £7 chicken.

@LiviaDrusillaAugusta it’s not as simple as pleasure though. Food literally fuels us, we are what we eat, it impacts our health hugely and has been raised there is a detrimental impact to other people/industries when the core focus is getting something cheap.

Yes I do agree here. Great point on the Starbucks/chicken comparison.

I’ve mentally been guilty of this mindset myself, I’ve thought strawberries are expensive for a packet but spent £2.20 on a 500ml bottle of Pepsi, many times!!!

We do try and buy better meat now and less of it. We shop at Aldi/Lidl mainly, we do love and know how to cook so
i think that helps.
We have money for holidays but we live modestly in other areas, like housing, cars, celebrations are low key etc, not obsessed with brands.

Consumerism is rife and there’s a lot of cheap dopamine hits and cheap tat out there to spend money on.

Businesses come up with ideas and make things trendy and the public say ok take my money!! Easter and Christmas get more extravagant every year.

Food is valued more in other cultures where people have less. Home cooked food is still a celebration and people put a lot of effort into it.

We don’t need to be puritanical about food or pretend we should be something we are not. If someone would prefer to visit the cinema than spend out on Wednesdays dinner that’s fine and understandable.

I think this fixation with what other people eat is very 2000s and othorexia coded

Do you really think large numbers can’t afford £5 for coffee though?

I don’t know anyone who can’t afford a coffee. As you say, coffee shops are heaving. It’s not (and nor should it be) the luxury you are portraying.

I think sometimes it's just seeing the huge profits places like Tesco are making and people don't feel they have a choice but to grocery shop, you choose if you go to Starbucks (I don't) . A simple example I is that a couple of years ago a bottle of fresh orange juice NFC in Tesco was 1.10 or 2 for £2 sometimes the offer would stop for a bit, then it went up to 1.25 but same offer. It's now 2.25 for the same 1 litre of orange juice. I don't believe orange juice and its production has increased by more than 100% in two years, but Tesco are posting 3.13 billion in 2025 profits which is more than a 10% year on year increase. It seems wrong for companies to profiteer when the costs of things are increasing. They haven't given their staff a 10% payrise either.

I live in New Zealand and my children are now adults. I really don't know how young families cope. It's not just food. It's housing and we also have really high childcare costs compared to other countries.

I don’t care what people are eating. This is not about calories or healthy vs not healthy.

Completely wrong conversation for the word Orthorexia.

Tesco's profit is about 4.3% of their turnover. How much profit do you think Tesco should make?

Two years ago, its profits dropped by about 10%. Did staff get a 10% pay cut?

So what’s the problem with people not wanting to spend their money on food?

Food should cost what it actually costs to make it. Not be artificially low for the consumer whilst crippling the producers. Feel free to grow your own and see what time, effort and energy this requires. Do you think farmers should do this for free?