Controlling a reluctant old-styler

lady_fuschia

My OH (who's all for the theory of MSE Old-Style, if he falls down on the practice sometimes!) very kindly offered to pick up the food shopping today to give me time to get on with some other stuff I need to do (this is my 10 minute break!). I wrote him a list based on my meal plan and instructed him only to buy own-brand stuff. Problem is, I just know he's going to come back with a load of extras we don't need like cakes, or three different types of marmalade, because they were "on offer", or loads of 2 for 1 offers on things that we can't fit in the freezer. I know he means well, and mostly he gets these things because he thinks I'll be pleased, and its great that he offers to do the shopping, but it always seems to cost twice as much as when I do it- but I want to know if anyone else has trouble getting other family/ household members to stick to OS? Are there any tricks that will help?

And what do I do with all this marmalade?!!

Thanks

culpepper

Mine has come with me a few times and if he picks something not on the list I say ,I hope you brought your money because I've only brought enough to pay for MY shopping.
Could you perhap give him cash to cover the list and nothing else?

SusanCarter

Do you ever do the shopping together? I found when we went together it took ages as I ended up discussing virtually every purchase with him but if I went by myself I ended up too tired to carry all the stuff in from the car (we do a big shop every five weeks). The solution we came up with was for me to split the shopping list in half according to the location of the products in the shop. Presumably all the stuff I'd said when we went round together had gone in as he got almost exactly what I would have got and in some cases was even more moneysaving! Three years ago when we first knew each other, he would have gone for the smallest packets and only compared the actual price of things rather than the price per unit so this is quite a big change. It wasn't intentional but I think my constant talk of getting the best value eventually paid off.

rchddap1

Have no problem with the OH. We have always done the shopping together so as our habits have changed so have we both. These days we both take a good luck at products on offer, and own brand prices before we pick anything up. We both help make the shopping list out. So if needs must I'd have no problem sending him off on his own.

Now the problem comes when we take his teenage daughters along. The amount of times we've ended up with cupboards stuffed full of food for only 1 week....that we haven't eaten.

lady_fuschia

I agree, shopping together takes ages, but if I do it alone I can't carry everything (we don't have a car so its even harder!).

elona

Mine always buys toilet rolls and bags of peanuts - otherwise he is not too bad.

lady_fuschia

Toilet rolls? Is that bad?

moggins

Get a wally trolley and leave the man at home

starlite_2

Hee this makes me laugh..

I used to be good..but these days it's my o.h (who has no concept of O.S and doesn't come on mse) who does 'good shopping' ..
he'll go around the butchers, market etc and get everything as cheaply as possible..just buy the basics for the week, and maybe one treat like a big bag of nuts..

trhese days , with a small baby and another on the way, and no social life, I see a trip to sainsburys as an 'outing' and often go just to get milk and end up buying loads of crap we don't need..
slap on wrists for me..

snoozer

This is striking a chod with me.

I'm sitting here worrying because my DH has gone out grocery shopping (I've been told to rest by the doctor) and he's been gone about 4 hours now. I know he will come back with all sorts of things that we don'e need and will have spent far more than i usually do.

elona

Lady fuschia

It is bad buying toilet rolls when you have about a hundred rolls already and are running out of places to store them!