AITAH for introducing a cheap supermarket to my friend’s husband?

A Reddit user recounts introducing a neighbor’s husband to a more affordable supermarket after noticing his wife preferred shopping at a pricier market nearby. Despite the husband’s gratitude and shift to the cheaper option, the wife is now upset and distant, seemingly unhappy with the change. The user wonders if their good intentions unintentionally caused friction. Read the full story below for the details!

‘ AITAH for introducing a cheap supermarket to my friend’s husband?’

So I befriended a new couple that moved into my apartment building from India. The husband is an engineer like myself and the wife is a homestay taking care of their 2 children.

One of the things I noticed was that she does all her shopping at the very expensive market near where we live even though there is a cheap supermarket about 1.5km away. She scuffed at my suggestion saying that the prices here are cheap enough and insinuating that she has a lot of money even though I offered to drive her there (she doesn’t drive).

This is a common theme with her stating how wealthy her family is and that they are of high social standing in India. This has always rubbed me the wrong way among other things she has said, like the time she said we are the same skin color even though I’m pale white middle eastern and she is dark brown, not that it matters but she is obsessed with skin color claiming that in India you can tell who is of higher social standing based on skin color.

She also has remarked several times that her husband has a PhD and has asked why I don’t have one.

Fast forward to last week and I met her husband and offered to drive him to the cheap supermarket which he accepted, and he was absolutely floored how cheaper the prices were here and thanked me. The husband has now forced his wife to do all their shopping at this cheaper supermarket which is not that far but can be cumbersome with a baby carriage.

The wife now upset with me, and refuses to say more than a few words when we greet, this last Friday on my way home I saw her with a bunch of groceries under the baby carriage and she looked miserable, I really do think we should all avoid supermarkets that price gouge.. AITAH?

See what others had to share with OP:

LucyLovesApples −  Info why are getting yourself involved with her and her family when she clearly doesn’t like you? Save your time. If she wants to waste money let her.

Chesirae96 −  Unpopular opinion but ESH, obviously she’s the AH for the colorism and classism but YTA as well because how was it any of your business where she shops. She turned down your suggestion but you then insisted on going to her husband which seems sly and have now made her life more difficult because she has to walk further with 2 kids in tow. It seems spiteful.

I think she has every right to be mad at you, given that you have made her task more complicated..

this_wise_idiot −  as an indian, esh. You had no business poking your nose in their grocery bill. she doesn’t know how to drive and not everyone has the resources to learn to drive. she may be from a patriarchal family where all the child bearing falls totally on her shoulder and husband is of no help. the convenience alone might be worth the money to her. shopping without a car with two kids, i can’t imagine.

She was wrong to comment about the skin tone. she was blatantly colourist and casteist. that might fly by in a conservative Indian society but is still very wrong. Her husband is an a**hole. if he is so concerned about the bills maybe he should do the shopping himself.

maroongrad −  NTAH. And guess what? If this is Aldi, they pay and treat their employees MUCH better than the average supermarket…by a lot. It’s more ethical to shop there.

Bitch_please- −  You’re kind of an a**hole. Why are you so hell bent on forcing the cheap supermarket on the wife? She’s a stay at home Mom and the trip to the expensive supermarket is probably one of the few pleasures in her daily life and you just ruined it for her.

Maybe you enjoy the cheapshit but not everyone does. It was probably not right of you to get the husband to agree with you. The wife probably doesn’t have much of a say here when it comes to money since the husband is the bread winner. So now you forced your cheap s**t onto her.

Perhaps it wasn’t even about the price and more about the cumbersome commute to the cheaper supermarket. Is the cheaper supermarket cutting you a check for every new customer you’re bringing in? If not then maybe you should mind your own business.. So yeah you’re the a**hole

brattywitchcat −  YTA. You created unnecessary tension in her relationship after she had already turned you down. Now, in order to please her husband, she has to walk a mile in both directions with a baby so she can get groceries. They were doing just fine before you insisted on putting your nose in, not once but twice!

Since you seem to think it’s your business, why don’t you do all her grocery shopping for her? You can walk all her groceries home from the store if it’s so important to you. Idk, man. I just think it’s really weird that you’re this obsessed with where she does her grocery shopping. It doesn’t affect you beyond apparently offending your extremely delicate sensitivity regarding prices.

Everything else you mentioned seems irrelevant to the post. If you don’t like hanging out with this woman because she talks highly of her husband’s career and mentions skin tone a lot, then just quit hanging out with her. It sounds like you’re jealous of how she views her social standing, so you went out of your way to inconvenience her.

whenitrainsitpours4 −  YTA. This is a “mind your own business” situation. Now she gets to make a 2 mile walk round-trip, and the amount of money she is saving is probably negligible.

exposed_brick_ −  Why do u care where she shops?

twinpeaks2112 −  No. It’s actually pretty funny.

Thymele10 −  YTA. And everybody else here who thinks it’s good that now she has to walk so far. Did you offer to give her a ride when you saw her walking? After all, you drove the husband.

Oh and be honest You are the one who does not like her. Some of her comments have been manipulated the way you wrote them. You are the one who was bothered that she said you are both white but you have “pale skin”
She is from a different culture. Try to understand what she is saying.

She told you she did not mind the expensive super market but you just had to push it and go to the husband. Why? Have you seen the husband doing the shopping? You know that she is not driving, what did you think that would happen? Sometimes the women from India are treated poorly (as is clearly the case here) So what did you gain? You saved the husband a few bucks and you made her life miserable. Well done busybody.