I don't think mine are irrational at all but my DW certainly does. I wanted store brand parmesean cheese yesterday and she wanted big name brand for $1.15 more. So we argued in the aisle over $1.15. I said ok DW I will just throw $1.15 out of my wallet on the floor does that make sense? Well we got the store brand but she wasn't happy. I won a battle but am loosing the war for sure.
So how was the cheese? ...
Well, I of course thought it was fine. I will never argue over a buck again. Well, I bet I do. :0) ...
As
MichealB suggested earlier, choose your battles.
It really makes no difference if
you thought the store brand cheese was fine - what did your wife think? It may have been worth the price difference
to her. So doesn't her opinion count?
I'm no connoisseur, and not very knowledgeable about cheese, but I can often tell the difference among different offerings of the same cheese style (Trader Joe's has several cheddar cheeses from time to time - their aged English Cheddar is night and day from a grocery store-brand 'cheddar'). I would not be surprised at all if some people could identify a store brand Parmesan from a more upscale offering.
The question is, could she identify the difference, and have a preference? One way to check is with a 'triangle test'. Offer her 3 samples of the cheese (blind to her of course), one plate has one of the brands, and two plates have the other brand. First, can she pick out the different one (if there are visual cues, you might need to do this in a dimly lit room)? If not, game over. If she can pick out the difference, does she have a preference? Is the preference the upscale brand?
Be prepared, if she chooses the store brand, don't assume you 'won'! Instead of taking this as a learning experience, some see it as a some kind of attack. I don't get that, if I can find a cheaper sub for something I like, I'm happy. But not everyone.
These things must be done delicately (WoOz reference).
DW 'failed' in a triangle test of a box Pinot Grigio I bought, and a Savignon Blanc that she likes. She has nothing against box wines, there are some decent ones, she just thought that Pinot Grigio was too sweet, and wouldn't drink it after the first sample. But in the triangle test, she declared her SB as "way too sweet", and liked the PG. I'm still not sure how this will end - these things must be done delicately.
-ERD50