Real-life MMD: Should I secretly switch my husband's Shreddies to save cash?

DWatts

scotsbob wrote: »

Seems very strange to deliberately give your loved one something he said he doesn't like.
Also seems strange to deliberately deceive a loved one.

No wonder the divorce rate is so high.

Yes, I hear the number one cause of divorces is arguments over breakfast cereal, it can really tear a couple apart.

Tiger123

Well done and definitely don't tell him. I thought there was nothing to match Heinz Salad Cream until I tried Sainsburys own brand.

kryssykk

Oh now this is a hard one. Honesty is the best policy but there are degree's of it.I have been there done that worn the bad moods afterwards!! However in the hope that he doesn't or didn't notice, sit him down tell him the truth and, then explain that firstly he didn't know he was eating the alternative so it must have been OK on the taste buds and then point out to him that it is helping the finances to build for that holiday/new car etc that he has set his heart on.:j
I to have been using Aldi to save money now that we are retired, and I have to say that Aldi's "Wheat Bisks are better than the originals (Wheatabix) and far superior to Morrisons own brand. My husband prefers Kelloggs Cornflakes to any others but we only buy them when they are on special offer because they are far to expensive otherwise.
If you try this good luck to you but, whatever you do, DONT get caught out in a lie. It's our 49th anniversary tomorrow so I do know what the consequences can be!!!:( I'm no angel and I have learned that sometimes needs must.

Wizzbang

I think all this business about lying is a bit over the top- it's only food! Would you accuse a parent who hides vegetables in her family's food, by pureeing or grating it in so it isn't noticed a liar? Because I'm sure that they all said they don't like them, but sometimes 'mother knows best' (non PC I know!) If you are in- charge of the household then I think you have a responsibility to make sure that your family eat well, for a good price. I really don't think that disguising Shreddies is any different to hiding vegetables in a meal, or any other food trickery that us ladies/mothers/ parents know. It's for his and your family's good, as others have pointed out- so you can then afford a nice holiday or something. Just as you hide veggies for the good of your family's health, regardless of their preference!

clarryd

Well well another wife conning her husband.

I am exactly the same, my husband only likes Nescafe original coffee or so he thinks, it's really Aldi coffee, he doesn't see's the jar because it is always in the recycle bin by the time he get's in from work so he is nun the wiser.

Happy Days saves about £3.00 every week, he takes a flask to work everyday so goes through a jar very quickly.

Shhh I wont tell if you don't.

Herbalus

clarryd wrote: »

Well well another wife conning her husband.

I am exactly the same, my husband only likes Nescafe original coffee or so he thinks, it's really Aldi coffee, he doesn't see's the jar because it is always in the recycle bin by the time he get's in from work so he is nun the wiser.

Happy Days saves about £3.00 every week, he takes a flask to work everyday so goes through a jar very quickly.

Shhh I wont tell if you don't.

I'm surprised you get away with this - the difference in coffee taste can be huge. For example, Sainsburys Gold for me is far superior to Tesco and Asda, Nescafe and even Douwe Egberts, though it doesn't come close to Carte Noire. I guess that's a personal preference though.

Also, how on earth do you consume enough coffee to save £3 per week?? That seems an incredible amount - there are two in our house, regular coffee drinkers throughout the day, and we spend less than £1 per week on coffee. How you could possibly spend £4 on Nescafe and use it within a week is beyond me.

Talent

You are completely wrong to do this, if he finds out he will never forget. You are just going to make him look a fool. Shreddies this time, what's next hey.... the duffer will never find out, will he?

andy073

I use cheap Tesco shampoo. It costs less than 50p for a whole litre. My wife refuses to use it, because her hair is "special" apparently, and my shampoo makes it look less lovely. So she likes to buy expensive shampoo that costs LOTS more.
Several years ago I started pouring my shampoo into her bottle. The Tesco bottle is clear but the expensive bottle is opaque. For the first month or so, her shampoo was probably 50/50, but for the last few years it has been 100% Tesco.
Sometimes, when we go away for a few days, she agrees to use my shampoo, in the interests of reducing luggage etc. And when she uses it she generally shouts something out of the shower about how cheap it is, and how she can't wait to get home and use her own. How I laugh!
Whenever I raise the shampoo issue these days, she points out that her shampoo is actually better value because it lasts longer. In fact she can't remember when she last bought any!
It makes me chuckle almost every day.

lutzi1

Seriously...

It sounds like your household -ie both of you - need to cut back on the non-essentials (like plenty of others).

Your husband is happy. You are happy. And you are helping keep the food bills down on a regular basis, which right now is what you BOTH need.

Don't you dare tell him. It will only lead to strife where now there is harmony. :A

Be practical.

(And as someone whose late FIL used to be Director of Finance at Aldi, (years ago) they are using the same factories in so many cases anyway. They know their costings better than the producers themselves, and they all get a good deal. HTH. )

ollybass

ruthb2008 wrote: »

I can completely relate to this MMD. My partner is a brad snob, and insists he can tell the difference between branded and non-branded items!

Not so long ago, I started filling up his empty original source shower gel bottles with Tesco's own mint shower gel, and he didn't seem to notice! So I popped a bag of own brand coco pops into the branded box, and again, he didn't notice. Finally, I started buying the majority of our food shop from Lidl (He hates Lidl so much he refuses to carry the bags into the house incase ayone sees him!) I took with me my own tescos carriers, came home with all he Lidl food in tescos carriers and he din't even notice that the items themselves didn't say Tesco anywhere on the packet! Great stuff! I was saving a fortune and he was happy as larry!

But then I made the terrible mistake of telling him he had been using own brands all along! He insisted that he knew there was something different about his shower gel and thought they had changed the ingredients. He said he much preferred the original source. He argued that the food had been of a much less quality recently and he couldn't understand why, but it all made sense would I revealed I'd been shoping at Lidl. We must start shopping at tesco agan straight away! The only positive was that he decided he liked the own brand coco pops better than the branded ones, so we still get those now.

I seriously wish I had never said anything. We were saving about £30 a week on groceries, and I dont believe for a second that he could actually tell the difference!

If I were you I would carry on, it's only one item, and it proves the point that brand snobbery is completely unjustified in most cases!!

Try working the opposite on him ....... Buy the dearer brand gel and craftily pour it into a cheaper bottle. Then see if he forms an opinion on it.