Wife overspending on grocery shopping

J

jackswift

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My wife goes into 3-4 shops a day, €20 here and €40 there it all adds up, it's simple out as she uses a credit card every time. I have pulled her up on it countless times and have even shown her how to do shopping once a week with a fraction of what she normally spends yet after a few weeks she'll slip back into her usual routine. At one stage last year she managed to spend €800 in one week alone and had nothing to show for it, food presses and freezer always empty. When I showed her how to do shopping once a week using vouchers €120/week is what the grocery bill was and enough food to last a week.

It has ended up in numerous fights and arguments as I suggested she use cash and only go into shops when necessary. I've even done the shopping myself as she refused to do it because she couldn't do it her way but I'm too busy most of the time. Any solutions?
 
General advice on how to limit your grocery spend...
* Online grocery shop with Tesco \ Supervalu \ local place
* Go with cash only and calculator...
 
What do most couples fight about? Here are the 5 most common issues:
  • Free Time
  • Money
  • Housework
  • Physical Intimacy
  • Extended Family
 
Perhaps it's not going on groceries...?

I'm with mf1 here.

Not sure what owning land has to do with it.
 
Definitely online shopping. Let's you use a standard grocery list or "favourites" that you have previously bought. Much easier to find current deals worth having, and avoid the gimmicks to do with the way shelves are arranged. Plus it's quicker, more environmentally friendly, and you can keep a list of the specific items bought every week, for later review. I could list you every single item in my shopping basket and the price paid for it for the last three years.

THAT SAID ... it's easy to be critical of someone else doing the shopping with "your" money. Maybe you haven't spent enough time getting to grips with the price of things. Don't point to one shopping list and say "there! I spent €80 where you spent €200". There is an ebb and flow to grocery shopping where certain items have to be restocked periodically. I find quite a lot of variation from one week to another that is nothing to do with being flaithiúlach.
 
jackswift said:
I've even done the shopping myself
Click to expand...

It's a busy world, but it's an hour plus a bit to get the grocery shopping done or you can do it online & get it delivered, all the better. There shouldn't be arguments over grocery shopping - unless ye are fighting to not do it :)
 
Thirsty said:
Not sure what owning land has to do with it.
Click to expand...
Divorce and owning land does not go well together!

I think she may be bored at home and is using the shop as a way to get out of the house/pass a couple of hours. Thats my theory that I've established over the years from observations of the ladies in my life!
Could be a lot cheaper over the long run to encourage a hobby/gym membership etc
 
As I say, I don't believe it's about groceries.

As for the 'land' question...nothing "goes well" with divorce.
 
€800 for one weeks shop even over the Christmas period is excessive, you don't say how many mouths you are feeding.

It occurs that this is not all being spent on shopping, I hope she is not hiding personal spend in the weekly shop spend because you have the household budget on a tight leash, now that would be controlling.

I don't look at the weekly shopping but it is not excessive, rarely over €200 but I do know a guy who stopped his wife shopping as she was not dong it properly and being wasteful, he has been doing it himself since Shame on him.

Relationships are two way streets and this may be a symptom of something deeper.
 
It's mostly groceries and the odd coffee, as I see it on the bank statements. I wonder is it alright to look at the bank statements seeing that I've been condemned here already.
 
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