Hi all,
I was watching the TLC show, Extreme Couponing and was impressed by the saving the participants got from their coupons.
Currently I have not found anyway to do that in Singapore/Malaysia market place. The coupon available here is mostly for higher price product rather than everyday stuff like toilet towel, shampoo, pasta, etc....
Can anyone share their ideas on how to save on grocery bill?
Ideas on reducing grocery bill
Buy staples in bulk. 20-50lb (9-20kg) bags of (brown) rice, 10+lb (5kg) bags of potatoes, big bag of carrots, 5-10lb (2-5kg) bags of onions and so on. Buy produce to go with it based on whatever is on sale or wherever you can get it cheap.
Also, Singapore is a very expensive place to live. Great place to have a savings account, but there's plenty of (much) cheaper places to live in SE Asia, Vietnam for example. I hear Malaysia proper sucks, but they do have some dirt cheap duty-free beach areas that are plenty livable.
Also, Singapore is a very expensive place to live. Great place to have a savings account, but there's plenty of (much) cheaper places to live in SE Asia, Vietnam for example. I hear Malaysia proper sucks, but they do have some dirt cheap duty-free beach areas that are plenty livable.
I would think the open air "farmers markets" (as we call them here in the US) would have much cheaper food than the regular grocery stores.
Also you might ask the store managers how often things go on sale.
Average here in the US is everything goes on sale about every 12 weeks so you then buy a roughly 12 week supply.
Also you might ask the store managers how often things go on sale.
Average here in the US is everything goes on sale about every 12 weeks so you then buy a roughly 12 week supply.
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directionseeker
- Posts: 47
- Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 6:07 am
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In Singapore, the essential grocery and food seldom go on sales, they are pretty stable in price.
Also I have not found out anything about grocery coupon in Singapore. Buy in bulk is not helpful to reduce the price here in Singapore.
Another trick provided by my friend is buy the grocery from Malaysia and bring them here. But Singapore government has aware of this trend and started limit numbers of grocery we can bring in to the country.
My options will be either Singapore/Malaysia since my parent won't be able to accept anywhere else beside this two place, so I will have to make ERE works in either country.
Also I have not found out anything about grocery coupon in Singapore. Buy in bulk is not helpful to reduce the price here in Singapore.
Another trick provided by my friend is buy the grocery from Malaysia and bring them here. But Singapore government has aware of this trend and started limit numbers of grocery we can bring in to the country.
My options will be either Singapore/Malaysia since my parent won't be able to accept anywhere else beside this two place, so I will have to make ERE works in either country.
Hi directionseeker,
In the Netherlands we also don't have these coupons. I think there are other ways, too:
1. Change your menu. Generally, meat is expensive. (Is it in your country, too?). Eat less meat. Replace some with other, cheaper food that also contains proteins. But also look up food recommendations, maybe you can do with less without needing to replace with other proteins because your remaining diet contains enough, anyway.
2. Switch to cheaper options. In the Netherlands, steak is expensive, while chicken is cheap. Buy less steak and more chicken. Be careful that you do not compromise your health! In the NL, hamburgers are also cheap, but it is unhealthy to eat them often due to fat content. Looking for the cheaper options works for lots of products, not only meat. Buy the cheaper versions of everything, taking care you get some minimum quality & careful w your health.
3. Especially for fruits and vegetables: buy with the season. Not too sure about seasons in Singapore, but in the NL farmers generally harvest products at the same time, meaning prices are low then and become higher afterward.
4. Compare shops. Compare prices between shops and maybe visit two shops for your weekly shopping to get the best prices.
5. Eat the food that you buy. Don't buy too much, don't let the food become rotten or spoiled.
In the Netherlands we also don't have these coupons. I think there are other ways, too:
1. Change your menu. Generally, meat is expensive. (Is it in your country, too?). Eat less meat. Replace some with other, cheaper food that also contains proteins. But also look up food recommendations, maybe you can do with less without needing to replace with other proteins because your remaining diet contains enough, anyway.
2. Switch to cheaper options. In the Netherlands, steak is expensive, while chicken is cheap. Buy less steak and more chicken. Be careful that you do not compromise your health! In the NL, hamburgers are also cheap, but it is unhealthy to eat them often due to fat content. Looking for the cheaper options works for lots of products, not only meat. Buy the cheaper versions of everything, taking care you get some minimum quality & careful w your health.
3. Especially for fruits and vegetables: buy with the season. Not too sure about seasons in Singapore, but in the NL farmers generally harvest products at the same time, meaning prices are low then and become higher afterward.
4. Compare shops. Compare prices between shops and maybe visit two shops for your weekly shopping to get the best prices.
5. Eat the food that you buy. Don't buy too much, don't let the food become rotten or spoiled.
1. If you have a freezer, use it to avoid wasting food. For instance, if you buy a big bag of carrots but can't eat them all, you can peel, dice, and freeze them in plastic bags for later use. Many foods can be frozen, including vegetables, fruits, milk, bread, etc.
2. If you have the time, avoid buying foods that you can make yourself. For instance, a 32-ounce (1 liter) box of vegetable or chicken broth costs $1.99 to $3.69 U.S. here. This is an unnecessary cost because it's nearly free to make your own stock by boiling leftover bones, vegetables odds and ends, etc. for 3-4 hours.
3. Eat how the Chinese eat (and I don't mean Westernized Chinese cuisine). Traditional dishes like jook/congee, soups, noodles, dumplings, tofu, etc. are delicious, filling, and inexpensive.
4. Shop where the poor people shop (if there are any poor people in Singapore).
5. Don't be picky - get used to eating simply and consuming whatever is around.
Now if only I could follow my own advice...
2. If you have the time, avoid buying foods that you can make yourself. For instance, a 32-ounce (1 liter) box of vegetable or chicken broth costs $1.99 to $3.69 U.S. here. This is an unnecessary cost because it's nearly free to make your own stock by boiling leftover bones, vegetables odds and ends, etc. for 3-4 hours.
3. Eat how the Chinese eat (and I don't mean Westernized Chinese cuisine). Traditional dishes like jook/congee, soups, noodles, dumplings, tofu, etc. are delicious, filling, and inexpensive.
4. Shop where the poor people shop (if there are any poor people in Singapore).
5. Don't be picky - get used to eating simply and consuming whatever is around.
Now if only I could follow my own advice...
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directionseeker
- Posts: 47
- Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 6:07 am
- Contact:
Hi DutchGirl,
Thanks for all the suggestion.
1. Change your menu: This is precisely what I am doing right now, I am switching to be a vegetarian and learning to cut down on my meat consumption now and I do see my food cost dropping. It is a wonder that the food that do good to you actually cost less.
2. I am scouting around grocery store here in Singapore for the past few days to research what are in store. I am trying to get cheapest option I can get here without compromise my quality of food, but advice 1 has helped out a lot here.
One funny thing here is the hamburger here cost a lot and I guess the fat content from that burger won't much different from Netherland burger.
3. All the food in Singapore are imported, there is a slight difference in price since it has to follow the season in the producing country.
4. There is not much competition here among grocery store, hence the price is almost the same among the stores. But there is still difference in price depends on the product we are talking about.
5. I am pretty good at this, I don't buy a lot of food.
Thanks for all the suggestion.
1. Change your menu: This is precisely what I am doing right now, I am switching to be a vegetarian and learning to cut down on my meat consumption now and I do see my food cost dropping. It is a wonder that the food that do good to you actually cost less.
2. I am scouting around grocery store here in Singapore for the past few days to research what are in store. I am trying to get cheapest option I can get here without compromise my quality of food, but advice 1 has helped out a lot here.
One funny thing here is the hamburger here cost a lot and I guess the fat content from that burger won't much different from Netherland burger.
3. All the food in Singapore are imported, there is a slight difference in price since it has to follow the season in the producing country.
4. There is not much competition here among grocery store, hence the price is almost the same among the stores. But there is still difference in price depends on the product we are talking about.
5. I am pretty good at this, I don't buy a lot of food.
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directionseeker
- Posts: 47
- Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 6:07 am
- Contact:
Hi IIrona,
1. Sadly, I don't have a freezer.
2. I am still learning how to cook a proper meal for myself. My only success story here limits to instant noodle and pasta.
3. This come easy to me as I am a Chinese. ^^
4. I am still searching for that place in Singapore. It turns out people around either too rich to know that place or too shy to tell me they know that place.
5. This would have to built on the choice available are healthy choice. I am not picky on stuff/food but I won't want to compromise on health.
1. Sadly, I don't have a freezer.
2. I am still learning how to cook a proper meal for myself. My only success story here limits to instant noodle and pasta.
3. This come easy to me as I am a Chinese. ^^
4. I am still searching for that place in Singapore. It turns out people around either too rich to know that place or too shy to tell me they know that place.
5. This would have to built on the choice available are healthy choice. I am not picky on stuff/food but I won't want to compromise on health.
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spearson1937
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2012 4:33 pm
- Contact:
I am also very much impressed by the couponing abilities too! One way to save on grocery bill is to grow you own vegetable garden. If you don't have enough space to start a vegetable garden, you can plan your whole week's meals and use almost similar ingredients because you can save when you buy in bulk.
(1) At first I tried switching to a cheaper supermarket but now I shop at three different supermarkets (two are actually at the same plaza so its easy and the third is a bit away from those two) and I go to one right after the other and find that I can keep informed about what is cheapest where this way. One of the supermarkets I go to is overall cheaper but not everything is cheapest so the only way to get the lowest price on everything is to go to all three. Also store brands are often cheapest so by going to several supermarkets you have a wider choice of store brands. Shopping does take a little longer this way.
(2) I also find that at the cheapest supermarket some of the food tends to be rotten so for those items that seem to consistently be rotten there I buy at one of the more expensive supermarkets so that I don't wind up throwing away food.
(3) Also the time of year makes a difference. Try to get things in season so there is a minimum chance of it being rotten and it will also be cheaper that way.
(4) Figure out what you are spending the most on since a savings on that will have a larger overall impact than savings on an item that represents a smaller proportion of your food buying. Suppose you spend 30% of your food money on Salmon and find Salmon for 25% less. Then you have saved .25 x .30 = 7.5% of your food bill. On the other hand if you had spent the same effort to find a 25% savings on something that only represents 10% of your food bill then your overall savings would have been only .25 x .10 = 2.5% .
(5) Food prices can fluctuate so try to find alternatives for those items so that you can just not buy them until the price comes down.
(6) Be careful about getting sucked into special promotions that wind up getting you to spend more.
(7) Don't buy prepared food.
(8) Cut out unhealthy foods.
(9) Drink more water.
(2) I also find that at the cheapest supermarket some of the food tends to be rotten so for those items that seem to consistently be rotten there I buy at one of the more expensive supermarkets so that I don't wind up throwing away food.
(3) Also the time of year makes a difference. Try to get things in season so there is a minimum chance of it being rotten and it will also be cheaper that way.
(4) Figure out what you are spending the most on since a savings on that will have a larger overall impact than savings on an item that represents a smaller proportion of your food buying. Suppose you spend 30% of your food money on Salmon and find Salmon for 25% less. Then you have saved .25 x .30 = 7.5% of your food bill. On the other hand if you had spent the same effort to find a 25% savings on something that only represents 10% of your food bill then your overall savings would have been only .25 x .10 = 2.5% .
(5) Food prices can fluctuate so try to find alternatives for those items so that you can just not buy them until the price comes down.
(6) Be careful about getting sucked into special promotions that wind up getting you to spend more.
(7) Don't buy prepared food.
(8) Cut out unhealthy foods.
(9) Drink more water.