Can you eat healthy on a budget? That’s a real question now, because inflation and supply chain problems are making shopping more expensive. The good news is that nutritious and delicious food does not have to break the bank. If you spend wisely, reduce waste and know how to shop in the right places in Singapore, you will be amazed how cheap it can be for your family to eat well.
Start with the basics. If you shop at supermarkets, look at the supermarket’s own home brand foods. They’re often packed in the same facilities as branded goods, but they’re cheaper. And are you eating meat or seafood almost every day? Try eating more vegetable protein like tofu, nuts, beans, and peas. For example lentils, finely chopped mushrooms, shredded water chestnuts and grated carrots can bulk out minced meat dishes and make a great filling for dumplings.
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Adding more chunky vegetables to a curry can make the meat and gravy go further. Canned or dried peas, lentils and beans are a cheap and nutritious base for a meal. Buying less meat is good for your budget – and it also helps your family’s health because you are all eating ess saturated fat. Which is great… but now let’s look at some other surprisng ways to save money on food shopping;
Supermarket chain FairPrice has a members-only mega retail store where you can buy items in bulk at discounts of up to 20 per cent. It costs $30 to join Warehouse Club, but the two-storey store at the FairPrice Hub in Joo Koon, stocks more than 4,000 products, including groceries, fresh and frozen food, electronics, household goods, health and beauty products.
Where: 1 Joo Koon Circle, #03-00 FairPrice Hub
If you’re a new homeowner, you can get discounts on all kitchen equipment from fridges to rice cookers and more, and make it so much easier to cook healthy at home. The trick is to join Gain City’s Group Buy Programme for all new BTO, resale or private residence dwellers. Once you join, you’ll be invited to participate in the next available group buy event, which usually happens every month.
Where: Gain City Megastore has branches in Sungei Kadut, Ang Mo Kio, Marina Square, and Tampines 1.
And before you buy your appliances, check the NEA’s Climate-Friendly Household Package. Households living in 1- to 3-room HDB flats get $150 worth of vouchers you can use on any energy-efficient refrigerator, $50 vouchers you can spend on water-efficient shower fittings and $25 in vouchers you can use to buy energy-efficient LED lights.
You don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to get wet market bargains – at these locations, you can go after work, or even shop online;
Toa Payoh’s vegetable wholesale night market starts at about 11 pm and runs until daybreak. It’s popular with wet market stall owners and hawkers but most of the stall owners will also sell small amounts of vegetables to home cooks.
Where: Pei Chun Public School, after the junction of Lorong 7 Toa Payoh
Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre houses around 1,400 stalls, shops, offices, and cold rooms. It’s open 24 hours, with the busiest time between midnight and 6 am. You can find all kinds of vegetables, pulses and food ingredients here, and prices are 20 to 60 per cent cheaper than wet markets or supermarkets.
Where: 1 Wholesale Centre. It is located off West Coast Highway, opposite Haw Par Villa.
Fassler Gourmet is a wholesaler of frozen seafood to restaurants. But they also sell to home shoppers – and you can order online. Find all kinds of frozen and prepared seafood at prices below supermarket prices.
Where: Fassler Gourmet, 46 Woodlands Terrace, Tel: 6257-5257
SgWetmarket is the online arm of long-time wet market supplier Chan Ah Beng. The company sources fresh vegetables from Australia, China, Malaysia and Indonesia and also works with local growers and markets. They’re especially strong in vegetables and dry goods.
Online retailers often offer discount codes, but it can be hard to keep track of them. If you search online for “retailer name + promo code,” you will get hundreds of results.
The better path is to check websites such as iPrice.sg, Cuponation or SGDTips. These sites work with thousands of retailers and brands including Lazada and Shoppee, as well as user submissions, to aggregate sales and codes. For example, besides promo codes, iPrice.sg also allows you to browse for products and compare prices from different online stores. Clicking on the option leads you directly to the online store. iPrice has over 1,000 merchants onboard, with more than 500 million products and 3,000 ready-to-use coupons and promo codes.
You can also get coupons and deals pushed to your smartphone if you join a group like SGCodes Telegram Channel or GoodLobang. These Telegram groups send you push notifications from Telegram with dozens of useful promo codes across different categories and providers, such as food delivery and ride-hailing apps.
SGCodes also has a Facebook Page and Instagram profile with the same promotions and coupons. So you can follow them there, if you prefer those platforms.
If you shop online and can’t find a discount code for a brand you like, you can be sneaky and fill your virtual shopping cart and, at checkout, “abandon” it. But bookmark the cart’s URL because you may need it later.
Quite often, the company will “follow” you across the Internet with ads giving you a discount on what you put in your cart. It’s called a retargeting ad, and it is used all the time in e-commerce. Once you have the code, simply click on the saved URL and apply it. With some stores, you may also get an email urging you to complete the transaction with a discount code as an incentive.
If you are a fan of a specific retailer, restaurant or brand, sign up for its loyalty programme, follow it on social media or download its app to get updated promo and discount codes. Remember to save any email codes you receive, even if you don’t plan a purchase at the time of receipt – some codes are valid for months.
While joining loyalty programs can reap rewards, you are also likely to be bombarded with emails every day. To keep your inbox clear, create an account such as mynamecoupons@gmail.com or similar.
Do you often throw out overripe bananas or mouldy fruit? If your bananas are going brown, slice and freeze them, to use in smoothies or baking. They’ll last fora month in the freezer. Or cook overripe fruit in a small amount of water, then add a squeeze of citrus juice like lime or orange juice to stop the fruit from going brown. This no-added-sugar fruit jam is perfect for adding to oats porridge or used to top waffles, pancakes or puddings. It will last 10 days n the fridge or can be frozen and used within three months.
At UglyFood.com.sg You can also shop online for fruit, vegetables dry goods and bundle deals. The fruit and vegetables may be oddly shaped – but they are perfectly healthy. The bundle deals are often cheaper than in the supermarket – for example, you pay $20 for two serves of eight different fruits – and they’re delivered to your door.
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Bauer Syndication/ Are media. Additional reporting by Tara Barker.
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