Grocery Bills

[Kubes.SG]

GK, thanks for reminding me.   Our maid is as paranoid as Mrs Kubes.  If any food that originates from China slips by Mrs Kubes and makes it home, our maid shows it to her then throws it in the rubbish bin.

And she doesn't get beaten up for it.

[food scares]

If any food that originates from China slips by Mrs Kubes and makes it home, our maid shows it to her then throws it in the rubbish bin.

yeah, tell me about it, I try not to buy much food from China these days.  I do eat at hawkers though sometimes and I know they might have stuff from there, but I don't buy it for home use.  If the choice is between a tin of something from China and $2 more for the same product from Waitrose or somewhere then I'll pay the extra.  That milk scandal was just too much.

[bargain hunter]

There is fine dining, and there is fine dining.

Pure waste spending, in some cases.

Just be savvy when shopping.

The funny part of all this is that some of the best ingredients you can get here come from some of the least expensive sources - wet markets. Chicken, pork, lamb and seafood here can be fantastic, and at prices well below what you'd pay in the US (can't speak for any other areas). You do have to do a bit of exploring and networking to tap into the good sources (and I'm far from the master here - I'm learning every weekend), but they're out there. Beef tends to be expensive, but even then you can find some very decent "regular" quality beef at some wet market stalls at prices far below what Jason's and the expat butchers rip you off for. And if you want the ultimate, the selection of Wagyu beef here is pretty astounding (as are the prices, of course).

You have summed up with your comments what I was actually tryng to say.

Some people like to live well, some like to live like paupers. Somne people east ast restuarants and others in hawker centers, telling themselves it is "yummy" and passing it off as a cultural experience.

All I am saying is ... be savvy.
Expensive unnecessary wastage does NOT always necessarily mean gourmet creme de la creme. Be it food, be it clothing.

A lot of it is marketing hype and glitz packaging to cater to egos - the poshier ambience of a store with nice slate floors and piped in music, as opposed to a colourful noise of a dirty wet market.

A BMW repair that costs $2500 in the dealership which pampers you a zen lounge with latte, bagels, TV and magazines ..... or any industrial park Ah Beng mechanic who can rectify the same problem for $500. Same deal, your choice.

All it means is major rip off sometimes.
Look beyond packaging to the core substance.
Your coffers will be more filled too, for the wisdom.

[condiem]

Thanks for all your feedback, wow Singapore is expensive, I am trying to pursuade my husband but after reading all your responses think its going to be a 'no' :-( We have done the sums and won't be left with much he maybe taking home $9k a month with rent, school fees we will be skinto!

One day we will come to Singapore.  You guys all seem very well off you must have good jobs.  Lucky you :-)

[At Long Last]

Thanks for all your feedback, wow Singapore is expensive, I am trying to pursuade my husband but after reading all your responses think its going to be a 'no' :-( We have done the sums and won't be left with much he maybe taking home $9k a month with rent, school fees we will be skinto!

One day we will come to Singapore.  You guys all seem very well off you must have good jobs.  Lucky you :-)

Excellent decision!  This place is all about money and it will be pretty miserable if you don't have enough ...  $9k is nowhwere near enough if you are not local.   I hope you get a better offer in the future!

[jalanperak]

$500 a week at least...no use scumming it with pesticide ridden green veg from malaysia and meat that has been slaughtered god knows where and when. Someone suggested a "fabulous" meat guy at a wet market once so I went along out of curiosity- foulblood soaked chopping board, no shirt, sweaty and handles the meat with bare hands...hmmm no thanks. There is NO way I penny count it on our food bills here or anywhere else in the world.  

You might want to take a journey up the supply chain sometime. Pretty packaging doesn't necessarily mean safety or quality.

[AAnon]

We spend around $800 to $1K a week on food too. This includes 6 to 8 six packs of beer and about $300 to $400 at the butcher. We have three full meals a day: breakfasts for all, lunch after school for the kids and a full-on dinner for us all every evening. We adults also have a light lunch every day, unless we are out for business lunches. We entertain at least once a week so chuck another $300 to $400 on top for that each time.

Haven't included wine, which we buy by the case from a separate source and spend about $1500 to $2k a month on, depending on if we need to stock up on champers, it can be more. Also does not include hard liquor, etc. We buy those from duty free, which would include bottles of gin, vodka, Scotch, brandy, liqueurs. depending on what we need to stock up on or if we are going through a particular cocktail "phase".

If you are drinking that amount you have a serious alcohol problem - get help quick

[SAE]

We spend around $800 to $1K a week on food too. This includes 6 to 8 six packs of beer and about $300 to $400 at the butcher. We have three full meals a day: breakfasts for all, lunch after school for the kids and a full-on dinner for us all every evening. We adults also have a light lunch every day, unless we are out for business lunches. We entertain at least once a week so chuck another $300 to $400 on top for that each time.

Haven't included wine, which we buy by the case from a separate source and spend about $1500 to $2k a month on, depending on if we need to stock up on champers, it can be more. Also does not include hard liquor, etc. We buy those from duty free, which would include bottles of gin, vodka, Scotch, brandy, liqueurs. depending on what we need to stock up on or if we are going through a particular cocktail "phase".

And I thought I drank a lot - WOW PP   , how much do you drink a night? 

[know what you mean]

Thanks for all your feedback, wow Singapore is expensive, I am trying to pursuade my husband but after reading all your responses think its going to be a 'no' :-( We have done the sums and won't be left with much he maybe taking home $9k a month with rent, school fees we will be skinto!

You're probably doing the right thing.  We've been here a while and finding it harder and harder to cope these days (everything has increased in price apart from our wages!).  We might end up back in the UK for this reason 

It can be a good place to live for a few years, but not so much fun if you're constantly counting the cents.

[condiem]

Thanks guys.  A shame but being broke is no fun.  I want to enjoy singapore.  Thanks for your feedback x

[John Ramb8]

One day we will come to Singapore.  You guys all seem very well off you must have good jobs.  Lucky you :-)

Hey Comdiem, that offer is just not enough, almost derisory actually. You come to SG to use your niche skills, work insanely hard, get well paid for it, and then get out. Strange I thought companies used consultants to carefully calculate and pitch a level of pay to people going abroad that is equitable.

Firstly, you are going to be paying at least 3-5k a month for housing (unless you want to live in the local HDB blocks). Then certainly 2k putting food on the table. I was paid more than that 15 years ago, and even then had to live a relatively modest expat lifestyle. I still don't flash it around or spend big money or show off [no car, dressing in Old Navy and M&S hehehe], but you will be left with nothing... that is not why you uproot your whole family, careers, and life for...

[Too much]

Of course it is per week.   It is very easy to get to that level in a regular grocery shop.  Mrs Kubes likes to go to Cold Storage and Great World.  We are incredibly lucky that our maid loves to cook and is absolutely fantastic at it.  She started in a SG with a local SG Chinese family, then worked for Kiwi and AU families before she came to us.  So she can cook just about anything, and brilliantly.

Life is too short to penny-pinch.  If you enjoy top quality meat, fish, chicken, cheese, juices, pate, fresh fruit, vegetables, and dairy products then unfortunately.you have to pay for it because it all flown in.

Sorry, we tried the local Marigold products, the meiji sweetened milk, the plastic cheese, etc.  Life is too short to eat that crap.

To Perweek - so you think I would want to buy into the The Sail - ha ha ha?  Comparing the qualify of The Sail to a good quality Condo in another city, is like comparing Marigold Orange Juice Drink (a cordial) to 100% pure orange juice from AU or US.

I understand what you say and totally agree.

We are from one of the former Russian Republic country. At the time as we came here I was shopping the way as I used to: fresh good quality bread, fresh milk products, ham, organic vegetables, fresh juices, quality fresh meat ... Our bills for family of 4 where about 700 S$ per week. I felt ashamed because this is what many families in my country spend in 2 months. So we have decided to adjust. Now we buy mostly toasted bread, UHT milk, yogurts with 1 month expiry date, non organic veggies, juices from concentrate and frozen meat, frankfurters ... Occasionally we shop for what we really like. Now our grocery bills are about 400 S$ per week.
Yes, I know life is short, but somehow morally I cant accept this prices. We will stay here for a while and come back to our lovely fresh food.

Good thing is that our property market is not open for foreigners !

[Sing Expensive]

We've been here for almost 9 years and finding Singapore getting more and more expensive! We don't get an 'expat package' but still earning quite decent amount (about S$40k-ish/mo) before tax. Still finding this place ridiculously expensive and we don't even buy branded stuff nor drive a flashy car! We don't feel we get to save enough these days. Certainly not enough to buy a decent home in a good area here, not one of those shoeboxes condo units sprouting everywhere recently.

We're now thinking that we might leave as we're getting fed up with the prices here.

[Per week???]

I do not have a teenager in the house, nor do I have to feed a maid. However we are a family of four I  think $33K pa (650 per week) is a huge amount to spend on groceries - esp when it doesn't include alcohol!! We would spend half that per week. However we would spend  another $500+ dinning out and alcohol....swings and roundabouts

[Per week???]

To Us Too

I know I live in a different world - however I can not relate to spending $86Kpa +/- on food and beverages in the home!!  How much do you spend on dinning out?