# Cost of food?



## Bsingapore

Hi Guys,

Just wondering if you could give me a rough figure on how much people spend on groceries in SIngapore. I am a single girl. I don't drink or smoke, and will not be eating out. I would try and do my own cooking as much as possible. 

Can anyone give me a basic figure a month how much food/groceries cost?

Bernadette


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## BBCWatcher

What sort of things do you like to eat? In particular, do you readily adapt to local, affordable ingredients?

If you're adaptable, food can be rather inexpensive in Singapore. If you aren't, the cost of food can be almost unbounded.


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## Bsingapore

I think I am a mixture of both to be honest. By local ingredients, I love curries etc and trying new food. I would like to cook myself to be honest rather than rely on hawker centres all the time.


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## beppi

In Singapore, cooking (especially for just a single person) costs more than eating out at hawker centres - and you also have to do the cleaning.
When I was staying alone, I thus only cooked when I had guests (and then only dishes that you can't easily get in restaurants).
I think S$20/day is sufficient for food, if you are frugal. If you need special ethnic food (especially European foodstuff is expensive!) or frequent restaurants, you will need more.


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## BBCWatcher

beppi said:


> In Singapore, cooking (especially for just a single person) costs more than eating out at hawker centres....


That's at least a bit overgeneralized. It depends on what you eat.

I think what you're trying to say is that when people cook and eat at home they tend to have different food than what's available at the hawker centres. The hawker centres focus on high volume local foods, like chicken rice and noodle dishes. If you're cooking hamburgers at home, they'll probably be more expensive than a plate of noodles (or at least could be). But if you're making substantially the same noodles at home, you can actually do it for a bit less money.

Yes, I know what you mean, but there's probably a better way to say it. Fundamentally diet shifts with locale (for most people), and that includes between home and hawker centres. But if you minimize the shift, then the costs are realigned.


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## beppi

No, even cooking the same hawker dish at home costs more than the portion at a hawker centre, in my experience. This must have something to do with the economies of scale that a hawker enjoys (e.g. by buying a ton of noodles from the wholesale market rather than my tiny packet from NTUC) and his extremely low running costs and profit margin.
If you don't believe me, go and try to buy all ingredients for a single plate of fried noodles at S$3!


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## JhonnyLever

I have always found cost of eating out in Singapore to be cheap. Groceries are slightly more expensive compared to the US. 

Food cost food is very cheap


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## EdisonFoo

it really depends on what's your daily diet? It's still rather affordable. Example, if you were to make a decent Amercian style breakfast...the cost is probably $5 or less. You can get some really good deals from the supermarkets as they usually have items on promotion..


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## victoria autumns

Food here manageable lah! But pay a bit more for healthier food


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## bufffffy

i live alone and cooks occasionally on weekends and my weekly food allowance is around $100. i don't really worry about how much is the food i'm ordering as the food here is reasonably cheap. The $100 also includes grocery food (yoghurt drinks, fruits, my breakfast). but when i eat out alone restaurants, i spend almost $50 for my meal.


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## sometimesiam25

Most people in your position would eat at hawker centres for a few dollars a meal. However, you have to have a pretty tough stomach to eat that stuff every day. The ingredients are not always the best and the oil is usually the cheap nasty stuff. Food at the grocery store can be expensive, but if you buy from a wet market you can save a fortune. For example, watermelon at a supermarket costs $8 vs $2 at a local owned fruit stall.


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## dheepgeorge

Restaurants are usually expensive. You can find some great food in neighbourhood food courts at a cheaper price. Even the locals eat at food courts. Lunch or dinner will cost you around $4-$7 but the real steal is breakfast. Some of Singapore's most popular breakfasts like kaya toast with tea/coffee go at as low as $2. You may budget between $300- $800 depending on your lifestyle.


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## mayrolllate

I think you'll save a ton of money, but the answer depends on where you shop for groceries and what food you want:
Most expensive: Jason's, Cold Storage
Pricey: Fair Price Finest
Affordable: Fair Price
There are others, but those are popular chains. I eat at home and save a lot of money, but that's because I avoid the expensive items at the grocery store. You will also be trading off quality for price for the most part, but not always.
So, I think you can spend <$30/day for all your food if all you eat is groceries. That assumes you don't jump for expensive items at all, less than that and I'll ask you to send me a copy of your grocery list


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