This update is at least a week late as I was simply too busy with the earlier posts.
I honestly thought that there was a good chance we could spend less than $3,000 this month. Firstly, this is a short month with only 28 days and secondly, we managed to keep to within $500 for the eating out category, which is easily 50% lower than the norm.
But some big purchases and gifts meant that wasn’t to be. However, at the very least, we still managed to keep the expenses within $3,350 and this has lowered our average expenditure this year to $4,432.
I am confident we can continue to lower the average for the next couple of months and the breakdown for February 2017 is shown below.
Eating Out: $480.40
Hawker ($173.50) – It’s pretty amazing that we spent less than $200 on hawker food this month. I hardly had Cai Peng at the nearby stall and cooked most of my lunches, steaming fish, chicken thighs or chicken breasts with lots of veggies, eggs and corn/carrots.
Fast Food ($44.50) – A meal at Burger Up with one of my student who loved it, one Mos Burger meal and two entries at Mac’s.
Restaurants ($262.40) – There was only 9 entries and the decision to cook more often and eat a healthier meal is leading to big savings on this front. The most expensive entry was when the Mrs treated her nephew and niece to a meal at Paradise Inn.
Groceries: $173.30
Supermarket ($66) – 3 trips to NTUC to grab some fruits and vegetables since most of the groceries are done at the once a week wet market trip.
Wet Market ($107.30) – Besides getting the economical chicken thighs and chicken breasts, we are also indulging ourselves in some expensive but very sweet bicolour corn. And of course, not to mention some pieces of halibut that are a good substitute for the even more expensive cod.
Beverages & Snacks: $63.50
Snacks ($63.50) – I bought a really expensive piece of black forest cake ($15 for a slice) to surprise the Mrs and we also bought some Bak Kwa after the price came down
Utilities: $191.70
Electricity, Gas & Water ($95.15) – Electricity usage was at 297kWh for this month. 21KWh of gas and 6.7 Cu M of water meant the bill added up to $95.15.
Cellphones ($96.55) – $51.55 for me and $45 for the Mrs for our mobile services. Mine comes with upsized data.
Transport: $50
1 EZ Reload transaction for the Mrs and yes, none for me. That’s how low my transport expense can be these days
Miscellaneous: $700.70
Clothes ($65) – The Mrs bought a pair of shoes and we bought some heavily discounted items at Uniqlo.
Books ($159.20) – Some ink supplies and assessment books and story books for my students.
Electronics ($189) – We bought an Kindle Paperwhite and both the Mrs and I are sharing and enjoying the device. We are definitely contemplating buying one more.
Gifts ($246.50) – A wedding lunch and two more angbaos for the newborns of my blogging buddies.
Others ($41) – Some tonics for black chicken soup and a visit to the temple.
Total: $1659.60
Overall Total: $3,344.60 (included fixed expenses of $1,685)
Thanks for your kind gesture!! I am one of the two blogger mentioned 🙂
No prob B! Hope everything is going well for you with regards to Oscar and Oliver!
Nice numbers! An interesting note that you visit the wet market. In all retrospect, wet markets can definitely be much cheaper than grocery shopping in the comforts of a supermarket and the best thing is, you get to haggle for a price discount.
However, more often than not, I feel like I get ripped off when I buy from a wet market. First, the prices are not indicated (unlike in a supermarket, prices are already indicated on a barcode or you get to scan them after selecting your grocery). As such, I tend to feel like they overcharged the items! Also, it doesn’t help that the hawkers calculate the total cost at the speed of light (which I couldn’t catch up at all) and before I realised, the cost of the items are much higher than if I buy them at a supermarket.
Of course, if there’s a familiar fish monger that you always go to it does help with discounts I guess….
Hi Kate,
Actually I believe the supermarket will almost always be cheaper than the wet market.
The reason why I prefer wet market is that I believe the produce are fresher and better. At the same time, you can buy in smaller quantities.
I do agree that it can be easy to get ripped off. The key is to always visit the same store and make sure the owner remembers you. As a balding young man in bright running attire, I make sure I get noticed among the crowd of aunties.
I have managed to get some extra limes, chilli and coriander thrown in for my past couple of visits.
Hi My 15 HWW,
I noticed that chicken sold in NTUC is cheaper than the wet market. I bought a Kampung chicken in market for $8 whereas NTUC is selling at $7.40.