My wife spends hundreds on junk food we don’t eat

DEAR DEIDRE: Every week, my wife spends over £500 on junk food that we never eat.

It sits in the fridge until it’s way past its sell-by date, and then it all ends up in the bin.

I’m 68 and she’s 73. She started panic-buying pasta and toilet rolls during the pandemic, and it feels like that obsession all over again.

But this is worse because it’s such a waste of perishable food.

She buys cartons of 24 chicken nuggets and pizzas, microwave burgers and hot-dogs, and bags of donughts and pastries. On top of that there are loaves of bread and biscuits.

There are only two of us, so there’s a limit to how much we can eat. And I don’t even like most of it.

We throw so much away it’s ridiculous. We aren’t short of money, but that’s not the point.

I’ve suggested that we give some of it to our Church, which runs a food-bank, but she won’t hear of it.

When I’ve asked her to stop buying, she says, “I have to do this.”

Yesterday, she told me she was visiting her brother, but then she stopped at the supermarket on the way home.

She asked me to help her unload the car and we must have carried in over 20 plastic bags full of perishable items.

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DEIDRE SAYS: If this behaviour has got worse since the pandemic, it suggests your wife may have developed some cognitive impairment or a mental health issue.

Ask yourself if you’ve noticed other changes in her personality.

Some medication can cause impulse buying too. Grab a quiet moment to tell her you’re worried about her and ask that you both talk to your doctor about it.

You might have to insist you join her on shopping trips to keep her spending at bay.

Read my support pack, Overcoming Obsessions, and find emotional support through Age UK (ageuk.org.uk/, tel: 0800 678 1602).