When money is tight, the budget takes a hit.
Sometimes, necessities can feel like luxuries.
That can cause strain on many other areas of life.
Having to cut corners is never fun or easy.
But sacrifices have to be made.
And those sacrifices can lead to some relationship drama.
Case in point…
Redditor DnDGuy98 wanted to discuss their experience and get some feedback. So naturally, they came to visit the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit.
They asked:
“AITA for not accepting that name and store brands are somehow different and insisting they’re the same?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“My G[irl]F[riend] and I were grocery shopping, foods running a bit low in our apartment.”
“This has been a debate since we moved in together, usually one or the other would cave and just go with the other’s opinion.”
“But today, it kinda came to a head.”
“Basically, I was raised in a house that would often, if not nearly always, buy the generic store brand for food.”
“We never really got name-brand stuff.”
“Her family was the opposite. They pretty much never get store brand.”
“Money is a bit tight right now, so I’m trying to insist that we don’t waste money on the name on the packaging that makes no difference in quality and just get the store brand.”
“I’ve even shown her the research that shows that the store brands and name brands literally come from the same factory and the store brand just has a different name on the label.”
“I know that there’s no difference between name brand and store brand foods. My girlfriend swears that there is one and wants us to spend extra money for name brands even though money is tight.”
The OP was left to wonder,
“So, am I the a**hole?”
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed some options to the question AITA:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Many Redditors declared OP WAS the A**hole.
“YTA. I am sorry to say they are different.” ~ Due-Compote-4723
“YTA. I come from a family that bought mostly store brands, and my family now buys even more stuff store brands.”
“But for most things, no, they are not ‘exactly the same.'”
“You bring up Kraft cheese.”
“That is a huge example of not being the same.”
“Store brand at most stores doesn’t even melt, let alone taste good.”
“Buying something like a can of beans (not baked beans, those taste drastically different from brand to brand), those will be very similar from store brand to name brand.”
“Boxed Mac and cheese? Cookies? Ketchup? Cereal?”
“They’re all different.” ~ Oorwayba
“ESH. Many products are just as good in the store brand. Some are not.”
“Instead of both of you digging in your heels you should be figuring out WHICH items you and she can tell the difference on so you can get generics when it genuinely doesn’t matter, but she can have the items where the quality makes a difference.”
“For example, generic colas are usually subpar, but both Kroger and Safeway have a really good store brand ginger beer.” ~ NeeliSilverleaf
“I am not exaggerating when I say my husband eats dry Cheerios on the daily.”
“Store brand cheerios (any store, though some are better than others) do not at all compare to brand name cheerios.”
“For a long time, the poor man tolerated store brand from our regular grocery store because we bought so much of it because the kids ate it too.”
“Now that he’s the only one eating them and we’re financially fine, we only buy name-brand Cheerios.”
“Same for bread.”
“When the kids were little, and we went through a couple of loaves a week, we bought store brand.”
“Now, we buy a half loaf of decent brand-name bread weekly.”
“Butter, generic is fine.”
“Kraft dinner, we always bought brand too, off brand is nasty.”
“For almost anything canned or frozen, store brand makes zero difference.” ~ PresentCelebration99
“Came here to say this.”
“You’re both right and both wrong so ESH.”
“I used to work for a private label manufacturer of consumer products.”
“Although they are similar and in some cases better than National Brands/Branded products, they are not exactly the same.”
“I suggest you both find products you can agree to compromise on.”
“And if you’re saving money, I suggested looking at your local store weekly circular to maybe find deals on some of the branded products.”
“Good luck to you both.” ~ Skylaren
“I grew up poor, and I refuse to this day to eat malt-o-meal cereals.”
“As a kid, I found them disgusting and promised myself when I buy cereal, I will only get named brand.”
“Now when I was with my ex, he would buy it, and he and the kids would eat it, I would not.”
“I would either find a deal on named brand or not eat cereal.” ~ Finallydoneandgone
“If money is tight, you can’t keep worrying about what fits your taste exactly the way you want it to.”
“If it’s similar enough and it’s all you can afford, you’ve got to suck it up for a little while until you can afford it again.”
“NTA just for that.”
“But if money wasn’t tight, I would say N-A-H and/or E-S-H because I get simply wanting what you’re used to, especially when it comes to taste, but this is such a petty argument.”
“Also an argument that should be concluded more by the person who cooks more in the case of money not being tight, but that’s a story for a different time.” ~ rslashmypepperoni
“Good Mythical Morning has countless videos that show just how different brands can be from each other whether you’re talking brand name vs generic, generic vs generic, or even brand name vs brand name.”
“I think it’s pretty silly to make a blanket judgment either way, and I think which one is better comes down to the specific product and sometimes even just personal preference.”
“And sometimes you just have to go with what’s cheaper regardless of your preference.”
“ESH because you’re both wrong, and it seems like you’re both unwilling to compromise.” ~ arterialrainbow
“YTA. It’s true that store brands can sometimes be just as good, even better, than name brands, but they are not necessarily ‘just the same.'”
“Sometimes they are just the same, but often they will be just as different from other as two name brands.”
“It’s perfectly reasonable to prefer Ragu to Newman’s Own spaghetti sauce (or visa versa), but it’s silly to pretend that they are ‘just the same.'”
“Here is your problem.”
“You have a reasonable desire, which is ‘We should buy cheaper stuff because it’s good enough,’ but to defend your case, you are making a claim which is not true, which is that ‘They are just the same.'”
“Don’t be an a**hole and make false claims.”
“Be a good guy and talk about the real issue, which is that you’d like to try to live more frugally.” ~ SushiGuacDNA
“I will put Proper Cornflakes above any supermarket Cornflakes, for example, so yeah, some stuff you can’t tell, like Vinegar, but stuff like beans and cornflakes, you absolutely can. YTA.” ~ mrmidas2k
“Depends on the individual product, actually.”
“I’d be more concerned about the ingredient list than the brand.”
“Sometimes the name brand is better, but certainly not always.”
“For example, Costco’s Kirkland brand has some excellent products, as does Trader Joe’s with its own branded products.”
“Yes, they might come from the same manufacturing plant, but they will have different specs.”
“If money is tight, you might want to reduce the prepared foods and make more meals from scratch.”
“Not only is this generally cheaper, but it’s almost always fresher and healthier and certainly tastes better.”
“I would suggest a compromise, some of each, occasionally buying both of a particular item and doing a taste test.”
“By the way, NTA, you can work this out…” ~ minstrelgardener
“YTA, I think.”
“Store brand and name brand can vary wildly, depending on the product.”
“Heinz ketchup forever.”
“I like Aldi, but I hate their version of Triscuits.”
“Tomato products and pasta, I definitely have brand preferences.”
“Unless I’m just eating bread with butter as-is, I’ll buy store brand for cooking/baking.”
“’Basic cheese,’ like blocks that you grate to go in lasagna or tacos or stuffed shells, the store is ok at the chains by us and Aldi.”
“Store brand ‘egg beaters’ and egg whites are good, but regular eggs for poaching, frying, and boiled—worth it to go with a good brand or farmers market where possible.”
“I just think that you can’t say that store is always the same.”
“Also, it’s actually worse if you buy a store product based on a rule, and then you hate it, and it doesn’t get eaten, that’s money down the drain.” ~ lmholot1981
“YTA. I (67 M[ale]) live alone.”
“Cooking is my hobby.”
“Some store brands are fine, many are not.”
“Name brands are always consistent.”
“They come down the same assembly line; however, the quality of the input components varies.”
“The name brand gets the best. Store brand gets what is left.”
“Since you are in this argument game to make her cave in, YTA.”
“Go and get a 2nd and 3rd job.”
“Stop beating her up emotionally.”
“I’ve even shown her the research’ and stop the dismissive mansplaining.” ~ My_igloo_is_melting
“YTA …they are different, although some, not all, are just as good (chips, tomato paste).”
“However, I would add that there are some studies that note that food-insecure shoppers often purchase name brands because they cannot afford to be wrong about a product.”
“So they pay a few more of their precious pennies to avoid getting stuck with crap food they cannot afford to replace.”
“I grew up eating branded versions, and my girlfriend grew up on the basics. She cannot tell the difference but I definitely can.”
“She constantly puts me up to blind taste tests, and I always put her to shame 🤣.” ~ Flangian
Well, OP, Reddit has a lot of thoughts about your dietary choices.
People like what they like.
Maybe the two of you can sit down and see where else in the budget you can cut corners to buy the name brands.
Maybe taste-test the brand and store versions as a little game. See which ones do really taste the same and save on those. Make a date night out of it. And remember, compromise is key to any relationship.
Good luck.