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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be annoyed with DHs obsession with branded food

85 replies

Fibilou · 25/05/2010 19:59

This month we have gone down to SMP from my normal wage, leaving us around £900 worse off. Therefore we have to seriously economise, the first casualty being the food budget.
DH refuses to buy own brand baked beans, cornflakes, tomato ketchup. We have spent about £5 more than necessary because of his blind obsession that "they taste different". Now, the only thing out of the above that I eat is the ketchup and I could not tell the difference between Tesco and Heinz, despite having worked in a fine wine merchant and therefore having a pretty good palate.

AIBU to expect that, when I have tried to keep the entire housekeeping shop this month under £100 (I am making my own cleaning products with lemon and vinegar etc, that is how much I am trying to economise) that DH could give up his infuriating obsession with brands and learn to love own-label ?

And furthermore,AIBU to buy a packet of tesco cornflakes and swap the inside into a Kellogs box then say "you've been eating the Tescos and you didn't notice" next month ? He didn't notice when I substituted Tesco salad cream for Heinz and we now buy own brand so I am wearing him down slowly.

£5 could feed us for 2 days on our current budget.

OP posts:
southeastastra · 25/05/2010 22:47

lol watwasthatagain, have to go on a joint holiday with you

thisisyesterday · 25/05/2010 22:49

he won't allow you to do the shopping by yourelf?

the man has seroius issues

elliephant · 25/05/2010 22:51

Lidl cornflakes taste excellent. Think you could get away with them in a kellogs box.

elliephant · 25/05/2010 22:54

Sorry missed your post about always shopping in tandem. Why not just give him a list and the cash ( and the baby as well, might as well let him have the full supermarket experience) and let him do the shopping alone. He'll have to make compromises somewhere in the trolley if he doesn't have enough at the checkout.

thisisyesterday · 25/05/2010 22:54

is he controlling in other ways too? or is it just this?
i coildn't live with someone who wouldn't even allow me to do the bloody food shopping myself.

does he really think this is ok? or normal?

Tortington · 25/05/2010 22:57

cheap cornflakes are shit.

cheap beans taste different to heinz - it just so happens i like cheap beans - but they do taste different.

same with ketchup - it tastes different - but i dont mind.

cheap cornflakes are proper shit tho

toddlerama · 25/05/2010 22:58

I am genuinely concerned that my DH might have a second family with Fibilou....

toccatanfudge · 25/05/2010 22:58

oh god I don't envy you there at all. I had the same issue with my ex.........it wasn't just one less mouth to feed that slashed my shopping bills when we split - it was not having to buy branded stuff ALL The time.

toccatanfudge · 25/05/2010 23:00

god yes I've just read further than the OP about not letting you go on your own

custard - cornflakes are shit regardless of price or brand

RedOnHerHead · 25/05/2010 23:01

I don't think beans taste different! There is a slight difference in the really cheap ones though, they are all juice and no bean! But own brand and heinz taste the same! The only thing i can really say tastes different to the real thing is Baileys and cheaper brands - THEN I'm afraid I can tell the difference - but Unfortunately, Baileys is a luxury only afforded at Xmas here. I will make do with cheap baileys if the budget allows.

I would continue substituting cheaper alternatives for the brands until he no longer notices -- keep the empty boxes for a bit just to prove that he's been eating them!

venusonarockbun · 25/05/2010 23:02

Any cheap beans are now nicer than the 'leading brand' which are now very very watery and tasteless.

Glycine · 25/05/2010 23:02

How about you buy "branded" and "own label" stuff and do a blind taste test.
I think things like weetabix, beans and ketchup are definitely nicer branded but some things you can get away with like "water", rich tea biscuits. Umm can only really think of those two. I'm afraid I too like branded stuff.
But if you are budgeting then everyone should do their bit.

Kewcumber · 25/05/2010 23:05

aldi tpmato sauce tastes better than heinz

CaptainNancy · 25/05/2010 23:07

I'm sorry, but I agree with him- the few things that really do taste different between brands are cornflakes, ketchup and baked beans!
That said- you cut according to your cloth- he needs to cut something else out if he wants to be able to afford those things.
I sympathise- my DH is a huge snacker- cornflakes too for him, or granola with natural yoghurt slathered over- possibly easier to do with basics as the taste differential is less- who can tell the difference between a litre of basic yoghurt for 80p vs a litre of org yoghurt at 1.89?
Supermarket own granola is about 1.80 for a kg bag.
Instant noodles can be pretty cheap too (23p a packet or so)

You can also eke out ketchup by adding vinegar to the bottle...

Could he economise in other areas? eg make fewer car journeys, cut out alcohol, etc... I know that in our house the food budget would be last to be cut

cory · 25/05/2010 23:08

Cereal is really expensive though: surely if you are trying to economise, your first move should be to ration the cereal and restrict it to one bowl each at breakfast? We used to ration it until very recently, and my parents never had cereals at all (apart from the occasional bowl of porridge, made with water) precisely for reasons of economy. Toast much cheaper.

Tortington · 25/05/2010 23:10

instant noodles 9p at tesco last week. without the sachet full of shit flavourings - its a reet cheap meal is that - add some peas and other veg and your away.

cheap cornflakes are proper shit - maybe some other ceral? i like tesco fruit and fibre. i like own brand rice pops. but cornflakes has to be kellogs.

toccatanfudge · 25/05/2010 23:15

god he's a bi of an arse isn't it (sorry just read some of your old threads about him)........does he still get stroppy if you tell him to do something? And did he ever get up 20 minutes early to go and drop that cake off when you were pg?

Original poster
Fibilou · 25/05/2010 23:21

He's perfectly alright ! He just has a bit of an issue around food shopping - because he knows I won't buy branded rubbish, crisps, biscuits etc. He knows that if he comes with me he has 10 times more chance of getting a box of Magnums in the trolley than if I was on my own. he has a very laissez-faire attitude to money of "oh well". For some reason he thinks food shopping is really exciting and doesn't want to miss the treat . I used to like food shopping when I didn't have to worry about how much I was spending. Now I hate it because I spend ages trying to keep costs down, DH blows it all out of the water by shoving in bottles of cream soda, boxes of Magnums and packets of pringles. And does the "roll eyes and shrug shoulders" when I say "we can't afford it"; he just says "I'll do more overtime" - at the moment I would rather he was at home helping me with the baby than going out earning money to pay for more food we don't need (we could both do with losing quite a bit of weight). Sorry, got a bit off tangent there.

For the converse reason there is NO WAY ON THIS EARTH that I would let him do the food shopping because he would come back having spent double what I planned and not having bought the stuff on the list that he thought was unnecessary or didn't think he might fancy eating.

OP posts:
Original poster
Fibilou · 25/05/2010 23:25

Yes he did !! Lol !

He's OK really, I guess we all sound off on here about the bad things and never about the good. He is great in many ways, I just tend to come on here for a good old rant when he is p*ssing me off. We are both very stubborn which leads to the majority of rows

OP posts:
toccatanfudge · 25/05/2010 23:28

oh good glad he went. Hope you don't think I sound like a mad stalker type.......I often tend to have a look back at previous posts from OP's when it relates to an arsey DH/DP

cazinski · 26/05/2010 09:38

FGS, he sounds about three years old.

Maybe they do taste a bit different, but they're not going to poison him. Or maybe you'd rather they did OP???

Tidey · 26/05/2010 09:41

Anything where you can replace the contents of the packet, like cereals, do it. I bet he won't notice. I agree with him re the ketchup but that's about the only thing I don't buy a cheaper version of.

ShinyAndNew · 26/05/2010 09:44

Sorry, but they do taste different. The ketchup is fine though, ketchup is ketchup.

Cornflakes definitely taste different. My mum tried that swapping the box thing on me when I was growing and I could tell.

Things you need branded on imo are:

Cereals - bar porridge. Porridge is just oats, it all tastes the same.
Bread
Crisps
Pop
Cheese - must be good quality or its rubbery and disgusting.
Tesco value beans are disgusting. Tesco healthy living beans are also revolting. The normal Tesco ones in the blue tin are nice.

I buy Co-op Granola cereal and that is lovely. It's £1.25 per refill bag.

Oblomov · 26/05/2010 09:49

I agree with OP's dh. I think labelled are by far the best,. How can you compete with Heinz tomato ketchup.
Besides it is a false economy. you are being penny wise , pound stupid. It costs a bit more to buy Heinz, but becasue the quality is so good, you can get away with using less.
So it IS economical.
My friend buys her chicken from the butcher. bigger fatter breast, less wtaer. she says she uses less chicken in dishes. thus it is economical.
Are you all obsessed with price, over quality ?

BUT, I do appreciate the loss in income due to SMP. But i do not think thta THIS is the way to economise.
So OP, YABU.

FelicityMintcake · 26/05/2010 09:56

Yanbu. I think mostly they taste pretty similar personally, but that's not the point here is it? If you need to spend less it's probably a case of learning to like the cheaper versions or live without.

I can't see the point of playing games swapping packets. He's not a kid he's an adult. Can't he just adjust?