April is another frugal month as we went under $3,300 for the month! If we include March’s expenses, it’s actually two consecutive months of low expenses. Way to go!
If we cut down a little more on restaurants, maybe, just maybe, we could even go below $3,000. Besides being a record, that would be making a statement too. But highly unlikely next month as the Mrs is quite adamant on having a feast for my belated birthday celebration. Moreover, there’s upcoming baby showers and wedding lunches/dinners. We are actually looking forward to these special events of our close friends!
Afterall, life’s really not just about reducing expenses!
May’s Challenge: No soft drinks
Yeah, it’s the same challenge as the previous month. I didn’t manage to achieve it but this challenge isn’t as difficult as I thought. The cravings isn’t really there and if I hadn’t gone to KFC twice with colleagues, I probably would have nailed it last month. So one more month of abstaining from “the-very-unhealthy” soft drinks.
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Eating Out: $827.65
Hawker ($303.90) – Had some meals with friends and families at some food courts and hawker centres and this category is slightly higher than usual
Fast Food ($56.20) – Actually only 3 meals for me here and I also drank 2 cups of Mountain Dew at KFC because upgrading it to lemon tea costs 1 buck more! Most of the expenditure was incurred when I dabao-ed for my siblings.
Restaurants ($467.55) – It’s birthday month and since I had a 20% rebate at Sushi Tei, there were quite a few meals spent there. The wagyu beef was really good! Some birthday treats too otherwise this category would have easily shot past $500. We also had dinner at this vegetarian restaurant and vegetarian food is really expensive.
Groceries: $77.00
Supermarket ($77.00) – Bought 2 pints of my favourite Andersen’s chocolate chip ice cream along with some premium Aladdin cones to go with it. And of course, the usual vegetables, meat and fruit since Mrs 15HWW is cooking a little more often.
Beverages & Snacks: $26.60
Beverages ($17.90) – 4 cups of KOI green tea. An average of one per week shared among us. Oh oh.
Snacks ($8.70) – Some burgers, chicken pies and buns for my breakfast in school whenever my apple wasn’t enough to satisfy my hunger
Utilities: $151.99
Electricity, Gas & Water ($73.96) – We only used 184kWh of electricity, 14kWh of gas and 5.3 Cu M of water during this month. It’s a little bit more than the previous month and with global warming not showing any respite, we are expecting bills closer to $100 in the next two months.
Cellphones ($78.03) – $28.03 for the Mrs’ plan and $32 for mine. Moreover, we spent $18 to get a new Samsung S5 for my mother-in-law as her phone unfortunate spoilt. With S6 launching during the past month, there were clearing the S5 stocks and we got ourselves a good deal.
Transport: $161.50
2 EZ Reload transaction for me, one for her and a cab trip that costs $11.50.
Miscellaneous: $161.10
Others ($161.10) – A haircut for me, bought a mahjong table (that’s why I am busier these days ;-)) and the Mrs changed a new pair of specs (like again). We also spent $20 bucks for 2 to see tulips and the Cloud Forest @Gardens By The Bay. It’s really a world-class tourist attraction.
Total: $1,405.84
Overall Total: $3,290.84 (included fixed expenses of $1,885)
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And yes, I do know that I have a backlog of articles (eg. Update on OCBC 360 and 2014 annual performance) and I am making a commitment to post more often in May and of course, June. Do stay tuned.
I wish I had your discipline for not spending so much money and for keeping expenses so low! SGD 1,406 for a family of two is very reasonable, especially in Singapore with all of its consumerism and plentiful ways to spend lots and lots of money.
Seems if you continue on this path you will be able to escape 40+ hour work weeks sooner rather than later, congrats! 🙂
Hi singvestor,
Thanks for your kind comments. I still think there’s still plenty of fat to cut in both the budget and my tummy. =p
All the best in your journey too. You have a good portfolio allocation there on your blog!
Mom-in-law phone – consider XiaoMi?
Cheap but very good.
Especially if mom-in-law not tech-savvy and can only use very basic functions.
Hi ABC, my mum has a taste for expensive phone although she only uses it for basic phone functions, camera and sudoku. Oh well..
Congrats Mr 15HWW on a good expenditure control. A mahjong table is a good investment if you become an expert in the game. I’m trying not to account for that income for now. 😉
Hi Mickey J,
The way you say it, I would never want to be on the same mahjong table as you. I am still a noob in that game in term of learning the nuances to know which card to throw at the right time to increase my probability of winning and minimising odds of “fang pao”. LOL
Hi, how did you manage to get a S5 at $18?
Hi Ian,
I re-contracted and upgraded my sis’ mobile plan. It made sense to upgrade as the handset would cost almost $400 cheaper whereas the increase in the cost of the monthly plan was just $15/month. It was simple math.