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 do see what you’re saying.

My sister will moan that her food shop cost £100 a week which she apparently can’t afford but then will think nothing of getting a £30 takeaway.

Buy I also see the other POV.
I do moan about the cost of food shopping because I used to be able to afford my food shop plus money for luxuries such as a cinema trip or subscription service.

Now that the food shop price has increased, I can now longer afford luxuries and so I work FT to have it all go on household bills and food shopping and have nothing left to enjoy.

The alternative to your (class stereotype loaded)

“Shopping hauls, sugary crappy chain coffee, fast food etc all aren’t great for you and just give temporary highs followed by lows.”

Is Theatre, concerts, exhibitions. Travel, attraction entry, cinema, sports- all considerably more expensive than coffee (my choice is non Sugary and artisan but still)

Why can’t I get a temporary high from theatre? It makes me happy.

It’s almost like the working classes are sick of paying to just exist while watching the rich get richer and avoid taxes.

*We all found joy back in the 70s/80s when we didn’t have much of this
People spent money on joyful non essentials in the 70s & 80s. They did it in the 20s and during the war!!!

I do think people see regular food as something that ought to be like provided free by your parents forever. It’s not something you should actually have to work for. There definitely is that mentality.

And how have you come to this conclusion.

As long as I keep reading about the tons of food that are wasted every week, I do wonder who on earth is wasting it all. But then I remember the MN posts about e.g. ‘A packet of bacon has been open for 2 days - is it still safe to eat?’ And too many others similar from evidently clueless people who are probably chucking all sorts of perfectly good food ‘in case’.

I'm more puzzled why people choose such expensive rubbish over decent food

A parent raising a child is building their future health. Don't they care?

I'm a single mum, work full time, yet I cook from scratch. It's not difficult, doesn't take long, yet people buy ready meals, processed beige junk and terrible takeaways.

It isn't down to price. Healthy food is not expensive. Last night we had chicken baked with garlic, jacket potatoes, leeks and peas. £1.27 for the chicken, 5p garlic, 30p potatoes, 70p leek and 10p for frozen peas. So about £1.20 per serving.

10 mins total prep time, and 40 mins in the oven.

You can't buy a frozen pizza or even chips from a butty shop for that.

Reading this and many other threads on Mum’s net probably much like the OP who started the thread on that basis

£1.27 for the chicken did you kill it yourself?
I pay £4.50 for two small breasts from Asda.
Admittedly, it was free range whatever that means probably fuck it all but made me feel slightly better about it
I literally dreaded to think what makes you’re eating if it’s £2.50 a packet

I have never had the money to fall for that tbh. I’ve been a low earner working with children in some capacity all my life.

My middle aged dopamine hits are nature, gardening , walking/hiking exercise, spending time with friends and family, music, concerts, travel. It’s all about experiences for me. However most of that still comes with a cost that if i’m spending more on the living part i can’t access as much.

Food is only a small part of raising a child. It isn’t as important as your post suggests in terms of life impact.

besides, plenty of wholesome every day foods are cheap and commonly eaten in British households- peas, carrots, apples, milk, breads, pastas yogurts etc

it’s almost like you want to pretend people who complain about food prices feed their children nuggets 3 times a day 365 days a year 🤔

I think people are very aware of increases in food prices because most of us shop weekly for food. If you made a budget two years ago, the figure you allowed for your food shop would be far too low now, whereas some costs (mortgage for instance) might still be the same. Also, the other things you mention people spending on are often agreed to be treats not necessities, so we begrudge not having the choice on how much to spend.

I bought a pack of Tesco chicken breasts last night and they were £7.60. Not free range of organic, proper minimum standard battery chicken.

thats 30 minutes work in a min wage job

And when you’re doing all that and still struggle to make ends meet, it’s a pretty hard existence.

People have always sought entertainment - we’d have no Arts if that wasn’t the case. Enjoying cinema, theatre, music has always been soul enhancing for parts of the population. Yes you can do some of that cheaply or for free, but it’s ok to be fed up that the regular cinema trip is now a considered expense. It’s also ok to complain that the food bill doubling means you can’t do things you love to do, and to economise where you can to afford it.

I feel as though expectations of what meals should contain are different now too.

When I was growing up in the 70s, meals were less interesting and we used to eat the same few meals on repeat. Stews and meat plus two veg were standard dinners. Easy to cook for busy mums.

Today, people expect more interest and variety - chicken fajitas, stir fries, curries, pizza. Not necessarily a bad thing but more costly.

Agree.

We can notice that food prices are going up meaning less money to do things we enjoy even if we can afford the essentials.

Home cooking to a budget, gardening on a budget( even balcony pots ), free books from the library, good quality home coffee, walking, running, listening to music….

I do all of this except for my peaceful coffee at Starbucks once/twice a week. I spend more time at my local library than I do anywhere else.

Still going to be annoyed at rising food costs when I buy 95% same things weekly and the costs are rising.

I wouldn’t extrapolate what you read here to the wider population! Plenty on here don’t open their front doors 😆

There was someone on our local Spotted page showing their weekly shop at Tesco, bemoaning the £110.00 cost. I rolled my eyes at the chopped/pre- prepared pineapple, expensive branded yoghurts, branded cereal, tons of Cadburys choc and the expensive chicken breasts. I could have saved her £40.00 on that shop with some common sense purchases without the need to go without.

@Meadowfinch

£1.27 for the chicken

How many did this feed & where did you buy it?

A packet of 4 fresh chicken legs costs £2.25.They come from the same chickens as your chicken breasts. Where else do you think they go? 😁 I prefer them to breast, they have a lot more flavour.

People will complain when essentials increase in price, leaving them with less disposable income. That is reasonable. It doesn't matter if they have subscriptions or takeaways, having one or two non essentials a month doesn't make them extravagant. Having a coffee is a simple treat not a moral failing.
And actually, going to a cafe WAS a normal activity in the 80s. Perms and sunbed sessions were also quite normal, movies were rented from the video shop, takeaways of fish and chips were a weekly thing for lots of people, the queues would be down the street on a Friday. People also went to the cinema and the pub a lot more than they do now. All this was in the fairly poor area where I grew up. "No-one spent anything on themselves in the 80s" is nonsense. Things were just an awful lot cheaper.

It’s weird how there has been this shift about what food people are buying & how much others spend on non essentials.

I guess some feel the need to always judge something.

In reality just because you buy a weekly coffee or fish & chips, it doesn’t mean your dc are living off turkey twizzlers & branded cereal & you don’t economise in other areas.

People begrudge the labour and chores of cooking.

Buying other shit gives you a retail high.

And actually, going to a cafe WAS a normal activity in the 80s. Perms and sunbed sessions were also quite normal, movies were rented from the video shop, takeaways of fish and chips were a weekly thing for lots of people, the queues would be down the street on a Friday. People also went to the cinema and the pub a lot more than they do now. All this was in the fairly poor area where I grew up. "No-one spent anything on themselves in the 80s" is nonsense. Things were just an awful lot cheaper.

It’s utter tosh that people didn’t spend money on the likes of the above decades again. Do people think leisure activities & restaurants only came to the UK recently?!