For many years now, I’ve always challenged myself to see how little I can live on. After all, the less I can live on, the sooner I can retire and quit my corporate job, right?

So, let’s see if we can live in Singapore for as little as $1,000 a month. Not going to lie, it’s going to be very tight, but let’s make it work.

Note:

1. This budget is based on an able-bodied (regular medical costs, no exorbitant medical expenses), single person with no partner (no efficiencies), no kids (no childcare expenses), and financially-independent parents (no parent care expenses).

2. All currency in this post is in Singapore dollars (S$).

What a Budget of $1,000 a Month Looks Like

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of these expenses, for those interested:

And now, let’s get into each category in detail.

Rent – $500 per Month

Singapore isn’t the world’s most affordable country, and housing in Singapore can be extremely pricey. Here’s a quick look at what the rental situation is like in Singapore.

By way of a short introduction, in Singapore, there’s private housing (landed properties and private condominium apartments) and public housing. With a budget of at most $500 a month, the only option available is public housing.

If you don’t mind living extremely frugally, you could get a single bed in a shared bedroom in a public housing apartment for anywhere between $200 to $300 a month. Each bedroom is typically shared between 4 guests. In a single apartment, you could have up to 11 other roommates (assuming 3 bedrooms and 4 people in each bedroom).

A bed in a typical 4-person bedroom costing $250 per month looks something like this.

Not too bad, but privacy certainly is an issue.

If privacy is a priority, and having at least the entire bedroom to yourself is important, then renting an entire room in the shared public housing apartment can set you back anywhere between $500 to $1,000.

For $500 a month, you could get a room that looks like this (I lucked out and found a pretty decent one at $500 a month, utilities included):

Bear in mind that the locations of all these cheaper apartments are generally not great. It’ll easily take an hour or so to get from these apartments to the central business district. That’s 2 hours, both ways. Could take longer as well.

If you’re interested in checking out other properties in Singapore, you can visit PropertyGuru, one of the largest online portals for properties in Singapore.

Utilities – $55 per Month

As I was checking through the property listings for $500-per-month rooms, I discovered that the $500 per month rental usually includes utility fees. For example, both the rooms I showed above had utility fees included. 

Otherwise, utility fees were typically listed as about $50 per month, to cover internet, electricity and water usage (unfortunately, with this budget, air conditioning is out of the question). A cheap mobile plan will run you another $5 per month.

Here’s how much utilities cost in Singapore, if you want to be as budget as possible:

Internet: $45-$50 per household, as per these Singtel prices. This is usually included in the rent, so you don’t have to worry about it.

Mobile: $5 per line, for 50 minutes of calls, 25 text messages, and 2GB of data. A steal, if you ask me. This is the cheapest plan on the market so far. An alternative is pre-paid phone cards.

Electricity, water and gas: SP Power, Singapore’s utilities distributor, provided statistics stating that 5-room apartments typically pay $142 for electricity, water and gas. Per room, that’s less than $30 a month.

Other Household Expenses – $40 per Month

All the other household expenses consist of the following:

• Maintenance/Fees: $20
• Supplies: $20

Maintenance: All residents in apartments in Singapore, whether private or public, are required to pay maintenance fees for maintenance of the estate. $20 should be a fair estimate for these fees, although usually these fees are built directly into the rent.

Household supplies: For household supplies, it would be best to buy in bulk (whenever possible) and go for generic brands. When buying only the essentials, a budget of $20 a month should be able to cover everything you need.

Homemade chilli, $2.30 per serving.

For breakfast, you could have 2 eggs, which would set you back $0.36. (Each egg costs $0.18.)

For lunch, you could have a grilled chicken and cheese sandwich, which would set you back $1.68.

• Assuming 50% of the chicken is edible meat, 100 grams of chicken would cost $1.06.
• 2 slices of bread would cost $0.18. (19 slices cost $1.75)
• 2 slices of cheesewould cost $0.44. (36 slices cost $7.95)

For dinner, you could have a beef bolognese pasta, where the main ingredients would set you back $2.58.

• 100 grams of beef would cost $1.17.
• 100 grams of pasta would cost $0.70.
• 150 grams of diced tomatoes would cost $0.71.

All 3 meals cost just $4.62.

Note that the prices above were all taken from the website of NTUC FairPrice, which isn’t the cheapest supermarket around (although they happen to have one of the most user-friendly websites). If you shop at cheaper supermarkets, such as Sheng Siong, or if you don’t mind going to wet markets, you could shave at least another 10-20% off your grocery bill.

The above shows that you can have a balanced diet on a monthly grocery budget of $150. 

To keep grocery costs as low as possible, buy more staples (like oatmeal and beans), vegetables, and eggs (a cheaper source of protein than meat).

On the other hand, junk food (like chips and sweet drinks) is to be avoided at all costs.

Dining Out – $15 per Month

In case you need the occasional treat, or are simply pressed for time, you could eat out anywhere between 1 to 4 times a month with just $15, depending on where you go for your meals.

At cheaper-end restaurants, you could get away with paying just $10 per meal. On the other hand, if you confine yourself to hawker centres, you could pay just $4 per meal.

A handy tip for dining out is knowing the best deals around. I highly recommend the online platforms Chope and Shopee, and I’ve scored numerous deals on both of them. Check out the scrumptuous dishes that I got for just $1:

Fried chicken with numerous sides, for $1.

Related Reading:
I Ate Out 176 Times in 2019 – How Much Did I Spend?

Other Living Expenses – $14 per Month

As listed above, other living expenses consist of the following:

• Personal Care: $10
• Hairdressing: $4

Personal Care: Similar to household supplies, a budget of $10 a month should be sufficient when buying only the essentials, in bulk, and only generic brands.

Hairdressing: An option here is to cut your own hair, which will cost nothing. Alternatively, you could visit cheap but good hairdressers. Personally, I pay $18 per haircut, and I visit my hairdresser only twice a year. That’s $36 a year, or just $3 a month.

Transportation – $96 per Month

Taking a cab in Singapore isn’t cheap, and can cost you anywhere between $10 to $20 for a 20-minute ride. Meanwhile, buying a car in Singapore is outrageously expensive, with the cheapest model setting you back a whopping $62,000.

As such, when working with a $1,000 a month budget, the only option you have is public transportation. Thankfully, in stark contrast to private transportation (cars and cabs), public transportation in Singapore is comfortingly cheap.

Taking a subway ride from the west-most side of Singapore to the east-most side of Singapore will cost you $2.17. North to south will cost $2.05. Chances are, you will spend less than this to get to where you need to go.

For $96 a month, you can take the following trips:

Total cost per week is therefore $24 ($4 per day x 6 days). Assuming a 4-week month, each month will result in spending of $96 ($24 per week x 4 weeks).

Insurance – $50 per Month

In the beginning of this post, we made a few assumptions:

• That you will be renting (no house, so no home insurance).
• That you have no dependents (so no need for whole life or term life insurance).

The only thing you might need is hospitalisation insurance, the cost of which will depend on your age.

Sometime in 2018, I was thinking of picking up full-coverage hospitalisation insurance, so I had a few discussions with an agent from Prudential. Below is a table containing the cost of hospitalisation insurance for foreigners, on the cheapest possible policy. (Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents enjoy slightly cheaper rates.)

At a yearly cost of $378 for someone between the ages of 21 to 30 years old, this breaks down to $31.50 a month. This increases to $573 a year for someone between the ages of 31 to 40, which breaks down to $48 a month. The premiums increase exponentially as age increases, making it incredibly difficult to adhere to the budget of just $1,000 a month.

Medical Services – $80 per Month

As listed above, medical services expenses consist of the following:

• Medication: $10
• Doctor: $10
• Dental: $10
• Others (like specialist treatment): $50

If you’re reasonably young and in the pink of health, you might not even need monthly medication, doctor consultation fees or specialist consultation fees.

However, you might still want to visit the dentist every 6-9 months for scaling and polishing, and this can cost as little as $60 per visit. Therefore, a budget of $10 a month for this category of expense is sufficient.

Alternatively, you could spend nothing at all on this entire category of medical services, including dental, like Mr Money Mustache.

What About Discretionary Expenses?

How Far Does $15 Go?

The Canopy Park in Jewel Changi Airport. Insanely beautiful, and well worth the $4.50 fee.

What Can You Enjoy for Free in Singapore?

Taking a walk through Fort Canning Park. Free.

People Who Actually Live on $1,000 a Month in Singapore

I came across the most interesting Quora thread with people who live on extremely small budgets in Singapore, but seem plenty happy anyway. For ease of reference, here are some people who live on around $1,000 a month, along with breakdowns of their budgets.

Quora User: Achelle Go
Other Details: – 

*Food includes the occasional bar/restaurant/cafe.

**Utilities includes mobile phone plans.

Conclusion – Is it Possible to Live in Singapore on $1,000 a Month?

It certainly is possible to live in Singapore on just $1,000 a month, though it does come with a few obvious sacrifices, such as:

• Living as minimally as possible, with close to no frills in the budget;
• Being willing to do things that others won’t (a good example of this is dumpster diving. Our helplful Quora user, Daniel Tay, spends $0 on food each month by dumpster diving, amongst other things.)

However, for a great many of us, a budget of $1,000 a month simply won’t be enough. As you saw above, almost the entire budget has been deployed only to essential expenses, such as:

• Rent,
• Household expenses,
• Groceries,
• Living expenses,
• Public transportation,
• Insurance, and
• Medical services.

What’s leftover after this? Not much.

Enjoying $2 beer in a fancy bar in Cambodia. Even a budget plane flight from Singapore to Cambodia would cost at least $200.

In addition to that, there won’t be enough to spend on other things that you might find necessary in life, such as:

• Healthcare: Insurance premiums increase exponentially as you age. For example, from the table provided above, once you hit 70 years of age, insurance premiums will total almost $300 per month. You’d also likely visit doctors more often, as health in old age rapidly deteriorates.
• Starting a family. If having kids is a possibility in the future, this would surely increase your expenses in all categories across the board. For example, you’d need a bigger living space to cater for a family. You’d also need to buy powdered milk or food. You can expect to shell out anywhere between $7,000 to $17,500 per year, per child, depending on the age of your child.

Homelessness.

Additionally, it is a huge blessing to be able to afford all necessities of life on just $1,000 a month, as this opens a lot of options for many people. For example, if you’re relatively young, healthy, if you’ve just quit your job to take some time off, to prepare for a career change, living on $1,000 a month as a temporary sacrifice is a good thing. You’d have a roof over your head and warm food on the table. It’s not a bad life at all.

However, if you have the option to shoot for more, then go for it. By increasing your budget by a mere $400 per month, you might see a whole world of difference.

In fact, that’s exactly what I plan to do myself. 

Is it possible to live on $1,000 a month in your country? Would you consider this a lifestyle, or more of a temporary measure? Would love to hear your thoughts!

As always, thank you for reading and supporting this blog.

I’m going to admit it right off the bat – I love eating out.

There’s something exciting about going to eateries to try out delicious new cuisines and styles of cooking. And there’s something even more thrilling about scoring awesome, eye-popping, mouth-watering food deals.

In 2019, I ate out a lot.

176 times, not to be specific or anything.

That’s like eating out every other day.

At the beginning of the year, as I always do, I set myself a budget of $50 a month to eat out. I didn’t meet this. I wasn’t even close.

As a fun little exercise, I decided to see how much I spent on eating out and how much value I got out of it.

And without further ado, here are some interesting statistics of my eating out habit in 2019.

Interesting Statistics

Expenditure and Number of Eateries, by Month

Exciting food deals that I bought back in 2019.

Price Per Meal Distribution

The average price that I paid per meal was $9.50 ($1,673 divided by 176), which doesn’t seem too exorbitant.

Here’s the price per meal distribution:

The cheapest meal I had was a $1 lobster roll + lobster bisque + cassava chips + drink meal (that I snagged on promotion), while my most expensive meal set me back $37 for a shabu shabu all-you-can-eat buffet at a pretty fancy Japanese restaurant (no promotion, just walked into a fancy restaurant after a difficult day at work).

The $37 all-you-can-eat shabu shabu buffet.

Type of Establishment Distribution

I split up all the eateries I went to into:

1. Restaurants and cafes;
2. Fast food joints; and
3. Hawker centres and food courts.

Hawker Centres

Hawker centres are open-air complexes that are common in a few Southeast Asian countries, Singapore being one of them. There are dozens of stores in a single complex, with common eating areas. Food here can cost as little as $2, and rarely costs more than $6.

Food Courts

Food courts, on the other hand, are air-conditioned complexes that have fewer stores (but also feature common eating areas). Food here is more pricey, ranging from $4 to $8.

For eating out, hawker centres, followed by food courts, are the cheapest options in Singapore.

Fast Food Joints

I put fast food joints on a more expensive tier because I find them to be slightly more pricey than food courts. Apart from value meals that cost maybe $5-$6 (my favourite value meal provider being Burger King), other meals may set you back anywhere between $8 to $10.

Restaurants and Cafes

And last but certainly not least, there are restaurants and cafes, guilty of very successfully making me part with most of my eating out budget. Not all restaurants are fancy and expensive though, and I’m usually quite careful not to spend too much.

Here’s the type of establishment distribution:

My Thoughts

Judging from both the (a) price per meal and (b) type of establishment distributions, I’d say that about 50% of my restaurant and cafe meals cost less than $10. That’s the power of being on top of all the best deals in town – you always know where to go for a cheap yet delicious dinner.

I’m also realising that I love restaurants (of course, cheap ones) more than I’d ever love hawker centres, despite there being a drastic difference in price.

Restaurants are quieter, and more private. This provides me with a great deal of comfort. Hawker centres, on the other hand, are noisier and much hotter. For an emotional eater like me, hawker centres aren’t where I want to be for lunch or a long day after work. A few dollars of difference can really go a long way.

Pleasant Surprises

When going to restaurants for the first time, you can never predict how the food and ambience is really like, despite reading all the reviews you can find on Google. I experienced this as well. And today, I’ll share with you the biggest surprises and disappointments of my 2019 food adventure. I’ll start off with the great experiences I had.

Having breakfast at 11 a.m. on a weekday morning. That’s one of the off-peak periods, so I scored the above meal for 50% off. Paid just $7.50 for everything.

A delicious bowl of udon. Apologies that I didn’t get a picture of the side of fried chicken. 

The best laksa around. I’ve already frequented this eatery at least 5 times.

While I enjoyed many wonderful experiences eating out for a small price in 2019, it would take me too much time to list out all of them, so I’ll just leave you with the above 3.

Big Disappointments

While I had many pleasant surprises, I also had my fair share of disappointments. Even my favourite deal-hunting apps can sometimes recommend disappointing places, but at least I know better next time. 🙂

The meal pictured above is called Kueh Pie Tee, can be found in many hawker centres around Singapore, for just $2. 

I definitely love the ambience of the restaurant, so I wouldn’t consider this place that big a disappointment. The picture doesn’t do the ambience justice.

Lessons Learnt 

Looking back, I realise that having a job I was miserable in led to a lot of excess spending. Because I hated going into work each day, my only source of excitement was in looking for daily food deals. Each time I camped in-app for a deal, a wave of dopamine would rush over me, allowing me to feel something other than misery while at work.  

Another $1 meal that I had – A delicious, healthy poke bowl.

Cooking Shakshuka at my girlfriend’s.

Is eating out in your country more expensive? What do you think of my eating out habit?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting this blog.

Previously, I wrote a post detailing my monthly income and expenses. Since I’m still living with my parents, although I give them money for rent, my expenses are still incredibly low. I then wondered about my expenses when I move out, and this piqued my interest enough to research and write this post about it.

Note: All currency stated in this post is in Singapore dollars (S$).

Living with Parents vs. Living Alone – A Complete Breakdown of Expenditure

Living with parents usually does come with financial benefits. I have to admit, I have significantly lower expenses because I’m still living in my parents’ house.

Here’s a quick snapshot of my current average monthly expenses while living with parents:

If I were living alone, my monthly expenses would probably look more like this:

This is essentially double or triple what I’m spending now, depending on my lifestyle choices.

Rent

Rent – Living with Parents: S$400
Rent – Living Alone: S$700
Mortgage – Living Alone: S$1,500

Rent – Living with Parents: S$400

I currently give my parents S$200 and my grandparents S$200 every month; I’ve logged this expense as “rent”.

It is deemed as filial for children of Asian cultures to distribute a percentage of their monthly paychecks to support their parents. It makes them happy and gives them “face”, no matter the amount. (Of course, it can’t be too nominal. S$10 just wouldn’t cut it!)

Rent – Living Alone: S$700

If I were living on my own, and if I were to go incredibly budget, I might be able to snag my own lodging for just S$400 to S$500 a month. If I were to split this with my girlfriend, we would have to pay only S$200 to S$250 a month each. Of course, this entails:

• Living in a public housing single bedroom;
• Having to share the bathroom, kitchen and living areas with at least 4 to 5 roommates; and
• Living in an obscure, inconvenient part of Singapore, far away from the city centre and workplaces.

S$900 can get a 150-square-foot place, whereas S$1,400 can get a 350-square-foot place.

Mortgage – Living Alone: S$1,500

Another option that we have been considering is buying our own apartment. Since my girlfriend comes with her mom and her sister in tow (she takes really good care of her family), the smallest apartment we can purchase would therefore be a 3-bedroom one.

The area that we are looking at (which is again, in a location far away from the city centre) would run us anywhere between S$1 million to S$1.2 million for a 3-bedroom apartment. After a downpayment of 25%, we’re looking at an outstanding mortgage of about S$750K at an interest rate of 1.8% over 25 years.

This means a monthly repayment of approximately S$3,100 per couple, or S$1,550 per person.

There are a few great things about purchasing our own house.

• For example, in 25 years, when the mortgage is fully paid off, we would no longer have many accommodation costs (although there’s still things like property tax and maintenance fees). Without the mortgage, we could live a wonderful, simple life for very little.

• In addition, if we buy a house in Singapore, we will be able to access part of our retirement accounts to pay for the house. This frees up a lot of cash flow for us.

Utilities

Utilities – Living with Parents: S$35
Utilities – Living Alone: S$150 – S$200

Utilities – Living with Parents: S$35

Right now I pay for only my phone bill, which costs me S$35 per month. However, I’m currently stuck in a 2-year contract. There’s currently another cell service provider offering a no-contract S$5 per month plan, which sounds like the dream. I’m planning on switching over once my existing contract ends.

Utilities – Living on my Own: S$150 – S$200

The monthly breakdown of this is as follows:

• Mobile: S$35 (if I’m unable to snag the S$5 per month deal)
• Internet: S$25 – S$30
• Water, Electricity, Gas: $71
• Others: $20 – S$60

For my mobile phone bill, I’m assuming that I would not be able to snag better deals along the way, and would have to remain at my S$35 per month plan. For my internet bill, I’m assuming prices of anywhere between S$50 to S$60 per household, based on these Singtel prices, which would then be split equally between my girlfriend and I.

As for the water, electricity and gas bills, I expect our bill to come up to S$142 per month, which would also be split equally. This is an estimate based on the Singapore Power statistics, where a 5-room flat would incur S$142 of such utility bills. Although if I were in a bind, I could pay as little as S$25 per month for these water, electricity and gas bills.

I added an additional S$20 to S$60 to budget for miscellaneous items, like waste disposal and conservancy charges. Conservancy charges will depend on whether I’m renting or buying a house.

Necessities

Necessities – Living with Parents: S$50

Necessities – Living Alone: S$50 (No Change)

The 5 different supplements that I take.

Food

Food – Living with Parents: S$100 – S$150
Food – Living Alone: S$200 – S$250

Food – Living with Parents: S$100 – S$150

Groceries

At the moment, I don’t spend a lot on groceries as I sometimes have home-cooked meals with my parents; all these meals are paid for by my parents. In addition, if there are leftovers that nobody else wants, I bring these for lunch at work the next day.

My grocery spending is usually only about $50 a month, because:

• I typically do grocery runs with my brother at least once a week for supper. I spend about $2 to $5 for each supper meal.
• My girlfriend and I have been trying to get into the habit of batch cooking. Each serving usually comes up to no more than $2 to $3.

2 meals at a restaurant, each for only $6. Meal-hacked.

Cooking a simple Shakshuka at my girlfriend’s.

Transport

Transport – Living with Parents: S$60 – S$90
Transport – Living Alone: S$80 – S$100

Transport – Living with Parents: S$60 – S$90

One thing I love about Singapore is the insanely cheap public transportation network. For example, I spend only $2.04 a day getting to work and going back home. That’s only $1.02 each way. (Amazing, right?) That’s why I take only public transportation. No Ubers or cabs for me.

I make a conscious effort to walk to as many places as possible, because I love walking. This keeps my transport costs as low as possible.

I’m that person who would walk anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour to save that $1 transportation cost.

On a good month with lots of walking, I could spend as little as $60 on transport. On a not-so-good month with lots of rain and hence little walking, I could spend as much as $90 on transport.

Transport – Living Alone: S$80 – S$100

My transport costs will definitely increase when I move out, simply because I’m going to be staying much further away from my workplace. This increases my per trip costs by about 25% to 50%. But I still plan on continuing my walking habit whenever I can help it.

Medical

Medical – Living with Parents: S$50 – S$100

Medical – Living Alone: S$50 – S$100 (No Change)

I have a chronic eye problem, which, at its most aggressive, would see me getting allergic conjunctivitis every month. I’ve since gotten it under control, with a great deal of tender loving care, cleaning and eye drops. However, all of this costs money, to the tune of $50 to $100 a month, depending on how much eye drops and medication I use.

This does not include the cost of medical appointments whenever my eye problem acts up. A single eye specialist appointment could set me back anywhere between $300 to $500. Thankfully, I haven’t had a problem with my eyes for a few years now, so I limit my specialist appointments to once a year, which are covered by my medical benefits at work.

Travel

Travel – Living with Parents: S$0
Travel – Living Alone: S$50 – S$200

Travel – Living with Parents: S$0

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that I have not been travelling on my own for a while. Years ago, I visited Hong Kong with my girlfriend; my parents found out and, to cut a long story short, have forbidden me from ever travelling on my own again.

The benefit of travelling with family is that most of my travel expenses are taken care of. When overseas, I usually spend only on food, entertainment or necessities.

Drinking S$2 beer in a fancy bar in Cambodia.

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous – Living with Parents: S$30 – S$50
Miscellaneous – Living on my Own: S$50 – S$100

Miscellaneous – Living with Parents: S$30 – S$50

A bunch of other things, such as gifts, entertainment and unexpected expenses, fall into this category. My month-to-month spend varies depending on birthdays, social events and other unforeseen expenses.

Miscellaneous – Living on my Own: S$50 – S$100

There would undoubtedly be more costs in the future. For example, once I quit my job and am no longer covered by insurance, I’d have to purchase my own hospitalisation insurance, which could run up to S$50 per month.

However, I don’t know what the future holds, so I’m just leaving this category open.

Living with Parents vs. Living Alone – Conclusion

Financial Benefits of Living with Parents

It’s not difficult to tell that living with parents certainly has its financial merits. My expenses are definitely a lot lower mainly because I don’t have to fork out exorbitant sums of living expenses, especially in the areas of rent, utilities, food and travel.

For these 4 categories alone, cost savings add up to a whopping $565 a month. And these cost savings could be significantly higher, had I not taken the lowest estimate of expenses.

The average person spends more than I do, and I wouldn’t be surprised if cost savings could come up to at least S$1,000 per month, should they choose to stay with parents.

Other Benefits of Living with Parents

On top of financial benefits, there are also numerous other reasons why living with parents can be a blessing.

For one, there would be plenty of time spent with parents, grandparents, siblings and other relatives. As parents and grandparents age every day, this time together is precious. We often have far less time with parents and grandparents once we move out, as work and other family commitments take over.

Other benefits also include having regular social interaction, and time efficiencies when it comes to chores.

Recommendation – To Live with Parents or to Live Alone?

Although I often come across articles that disapprove of adult children living with their parents, the Asian in me has always wondered why this is the case. Maybe it’s different in Asia, where parents actually want their children to stay with them.

In fact, in my not-quite-big social circle, only 1 of my friends has moved out to her own place, and this is because she got married and bought a house. The rest of my social circle? Still staying home with their parents. Even those who are 30 and older. And it’s not seen as a strange thing here, in Singapore.

Personally, if my parents didn’t monitor my every movement in and out of the house like a hawk while driving me crazy, I’m not ashamed to say that I would want to live with them until sometime in the future when I choose to start my own family, if they would have me. It’s not just because the financial benefits are great, but also because time with family is precious.

Just something to think about – I truly believe that unless your parents are overbearing, living with parents can be an immensely precious time, and it’s nothing to be ashamed about, no matter your age.

What do you think about living with parents? How different is this situation in the West, compared to in Asian countries?

Yup. I once made 10 cents an hour at a full-time corporate job. If you’re interested in the details of this story, you can click on this link right here.

In this post, I’m going to be discussing how I managed to save money while making only $0.10 an hour.

Now, I didn’t save a great deal of money. But what I did manage to do was to stay afloat (even saving a little), despite the poverty-level income I was receiving from my day job.

It’s just a gentle reminder that no matter the circumstance we are in, when there’s a will, there’s a way.

Let’s dig in.

The Equation for Huge Savings

To save money, there’s always a simple equation to follow. Viola!

This simple equation has two variables you can control. You can increase your income, and decrease your spending. That guarantees you huge savings.

So, that’s exactly what I did.

Let’s talk about my income first.

Boosting My Income

I wasn’t earning just 10 cents an hour. Outside of my corporate job, I was constantly looking for ways to earn more money.

I got paid a measly $20 a month from my corporate job. That’s less than $1 for every day of the month. How is it possible for someone to pay their rent, put food on the table, and pay for the commute to the office every day, on a pay check of less than $1 a day? Heck, that $20 a month couldn’t even cover the cost of my commute!

So, I didn’t have much of a choice. I kept my eyes peeled for any money-making loopholes. I took whatever opportunities came my way, which I could squeeze within the limited time I had outside of my corporate job.

I tutored students at least 3 to 4 times a week, and brought in $20-$25 an hour.

I bought and sold concert tickets, cards and other collectibles online. I usually made anywhere between $10 to $30 per item. My single greatest haul made me $250 in a matter of days.

I did online surveys that brought in a couple of dollars per survey. I even personally attended marketing pitches (disguised as surveys) held by insurance companies, making me $10 an hour.

I auctioned off the clutter that was lying around in my room at home, and made anywhere between $10 to $50 for each item that I sold.

Here’s what my average monthly income looked like.

During my good months, I was able to make a little more than $1,500. During my dry spells, I made only a little more than $1,000. But since I kept my monthly expenses to less than $1,000 a month, I stayed afloat.

My side hustles were just side hustles. They weren’t businesses that were sustainable over long periods of time. They were just quick, easy ways to make a little bit of money. I never made a great deal of money from any of them, but the most important thing is that I didn’t starve to death.

Now, let’s talk about my expenses.

Brutally Slashing My Expenses

I always kept my expenses low. Even on my good months. That’s because I never knew how much money I would make the following month. Maybe the stuff I had lying around at home wouldn’t sell. Or maybe there weren’t any good deals online that I could flip for profit. Everything was always uncertain, and I was more than a little paranoid.

So, good month or bad, my expenses were always, always, low. I survived on less than $1,000 a month.

How does one spend less than $1,000 a month? What about rent? Food? Transport? Entertainment? Other bills?

In times like this, you spend only on whatever is absolutely essential. That’s rent, food, transport, phone bills, for example. And nope, a penthouse suite and a $300 Michelin-starred meal aren’t necessities.

I stopped dining in restaurants. I stopped taking Uber or cabs. I stopped going for concerts. I stopped hitting the pubs and going drinking. I stopped shopping. I cancelled my gym membership.

I stopped doing a lot of things, but I understood the sacrifice I had to make. At the same time, I learnt a lot as well. I knew all the best bargains, and relished the thrill of getting one. I walked home instead of transferring between buses just to save a few cents, but that’s exercise, right? I sourced for free entertainment. A walk in the park. Chilling by the beach.

Who knew free entertainment could be as awesome as a $200 night at a club?

While everyone else around me thought I would die from a lack of fun and from slashing my budget to a minimum, I held my ground and came out even stronger.

Right now, even though I’m earning more money, I still keep my expenses around $1,000 a month.

Guess what? Reducing your expenses isn’t as difficult as everyone thinks it is. You just have to give yourself time to get used to it. And you also have to be grateful for the things you have, not the things that you don’t.

And That’s How I Saved Money When Making Only $0.10 an Hour.

As you can probably tell, I didn’t save a great deal of money. A couple hundred dollars this month. Next month, half a grand.

Yeah, it’s not much compared to what I’m saving now.

But I made the most of what I had, in the circumstances that I was in. And I’m proud of that.

You’re not happy with your crappy income? Go out there and find money-making opportunities. You don’t have to do something huge like start a business or patent a drug that cures cancer. You just need to find quick, straight-forward means of earning yourself a little bit of cash. It could be as simple as tutoring, flipping goods for profit or doing surveys online.

You’re not satisfied with your savings even though your income is decent? Slash your expenses. Brutally. Find ways to downsize. Do you really need a 3-bedroom apartment? Do you really need that luxury car? Or that new suit every month? Or that new iPhone? Let me answer that for you – You don’t need all that stuff. And after you get the hang of living on a tight budget, you’d probably realise that you’re happier than ever.

Increase your income. Cut your expenses.

Poof. Huge savings.

Love,
Liz

The Long-Awaited Corporate Job Paycheck.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

I stare at my clock, watching the seconds tick by. I feel the impatience building up within me. “Will it just turn 12AM already?!” I scream in my head.

After what seems like a gazillion years later, the clock finally chimes twelve.

I grab my phone in a hurry, almost dropping it in the process. I wait restlessly as my iPhone’s fingerprint scanner takes ages to read my thumbprint.

“Authenticated”, I read the single word off the face of my iPhone’s screen, feeling excited.

“$2,825 has been credited into your bank account.”

My screams of impatience turn into shouts of joy. Knowing that I will have a substantial chunk of change coming in from my various side hustles, which can cover most of my expenses, I quickly transfer $2,700 to my investment account. I add this number to my net worth, now standing at close to six digits.

For a moment there, I feel on top of the world. I survived yet another month at my crappy job!

After a few fleeting moments of celebration, my mind quickly returns to earth. I’m left with $900 for the month. “Yet another tight month”, I think to myself.

Satisfied that my pay has finally been credited, I eventually fall asleep. A smile plays on the edges of my lips as I dream about the day I finally get to start my own business. The day I finally get to be my own boss. The day I finally get to command my own hours. The day I finally get to survive on more than just $900 a month.

Another Long Day.

The first day of the month is always the worst. It’s another 30 or 31 whole days before I collect my next paycheck.

I reach the office, my spirits much lower than the night before. But like an obedient little corporate drone, I clock in punctually and head to my desk. Barely even 2 minutes in, I feel my mind drifting, my heart dreaming.

The hours drag by, as if intending to make me suffer through every excruciating moment trapped at my desk, staring at dreadful spreadsheets. But I trudge on, albeit rather unwillingly.

When lunch time finally arrives, my colleagues disperse. They’re headed to town to shop and eat delicious meals.

Me? I’ve packed two slices of bread. And jam.

But despite the lack of a thrilling meal, I’m excited to have my lunch hour to myself. Maybe I’ll get some writing done. Maybe I’ll read.

Every minute of my lunch hour is precious to me, and I savour it greedily. In no time, however, my short respite soon evaporates into thin air.

People flood back into the office, ready to resume their mindless and meaningless work. I’m no different. Doesn’t seem like I have a choice.

The next four hours of the day feel like four weeks.

When evening falls, my colleagues bid each other farewell. They then head out to have fancy dinners. Maybe shop a little. Maybe catch a movie. Maybe go drinking.

Me? I just hop on the bus and head home for the day.

I put on my shoes, lay down my yoga mat, and work out for half an hour. My heart beats fast and the endorphins race through my body. I feel great. I feel alive.

Price? Free.

After, I feel ravenous. I grab dinner from budget places – my usual haunts. Despite being cheap, dinner is satisfying. Not everything cheap implies that its of inferior quality. Sometimes, there are hidden gems all around.

Price? About $3 to $4.

I spend the last one to two hours of my day doing things that feed my soul. Sometimes, I read interesting articles. Sometimes, I read a book. Sometimes, I get on the drums. Sometimes, I try to pick up bits of a new language.

Today, I just want to enjoy my favourite YouTubers’ content. They’re currently in Europe! I stare at my computer, enthralled by the scenic places and the quality of their videos. My heart aches with wanderlust. But I smile knowing that one day I’d have the chance to travel around the world too.

What’s the price of everything listed above? Almost absolutely free.

Before I head to bed, I like to count my blessings.

“I survived work today!”, I congratulate myself. “And I’m really glad I had the time to do stuff that brings me joy.”

“I’m happy with that.”

The Rest of the Excruciatingly Long Month.

The working days of the month go by at an agonizing sloth-like speed. Mondays are always the most painful. Fridays are worthy of celebration.

But despite the meaninglessness of my corporate job, I try my darnest to make full use of every hour that I have outside of work. Those hours of joy make me a happy person at the end of every single day despite my strong dislike for my corporate job. Those hours that I spend on things that make my heart sing? They give me the strength and see me through one day to another.

Surely, albeit slowly, the month eventually comes to a close.

12AM.

“$2,800 has been credited into your bank account.”

I do my thing, clicking away at my iPhone. I tuck more than 75% of my pay away, never to be used for any purpose other than buying my financial freedom. My net worth slowly creeps towards that six-digit prize.

I know my happiness will be fleeting, so I try my best to relish the moment.

“That’s a nice number.”, I chuckle, gently reminding myself that the sacrifices of the present are temporary and will be oh-so-worth-it.

“I’m happy with that.”

Just a simple story of a person living a simple life.

Hope you enjoyed it,
Liz

A few days ago, I was side hustling till late. I ran into a few problems after. One thing led to another, and I ended up taking a cab back home. I paid $13.40 for the cab fare.

It got me thinking. Is taking a cab worth it? What have I learnt from taking public transport all the time over the last 2 years? (No cabs, no Uber. Just buses and the subway.) Should I keep taking public transportation?

Did I Overpay For My Cab Ride?

I currently earn $2,825 a month from my corporate job. I work 9 hours a day. On top of that, I need time to get ready for work. And of course, commute to work. I take about 30 minutes to get ready for work, and another 30-45 minutes to commute to work. After work, that’s another 30-45 minutes back home. Optimistically speaking, that’s about 1.5 hours each day, right there. Factoring in this time taken, I earn a very handsome $12.80 an hour.

After side hustling, I usually take only about 35 minutes to get back home by bus, which costs $1.37. This time though, I spent 5 minutes hailing a cab. After which, the cab ride back home was about 10 minutes. Altogether, 15 minutes. I saved only 20 minutes of my time.

This means that I should have paid only $4.25 ($12.80/3) for the time that I saved.

Instead, I forked over an exorbitant $13.40.

The Guilt

A wave of guilt overwhelmed me the moment I saw $13.40 flash across on the cab meter. Even before working out the math above, I already knew, “this isn’t worth it”.

I hopped out of the cab and reluctantly entered the cab fare into my expenses-tracking app. I watched as my cab fare ripped a hole into my transportation budget.

On a good month, I can spend no more than $60 on transportation for the entire month. When I’m feeling like living it up a little, my expenditure would increase to $70-$80. My cab fare was a whopping 15-20% of my entire transportation budget.

That night, I spent feeling guilty. I thought about how I could have fed myself for 2 whole days with that money. Or how I could have taken anywhere between 9-15 bus rides with that money. I looked back on how I was, 4 years ago. I was zipping around everywhere on cabs! It’s no wonder that girl could never save a single cent.

This reminded me of how I used to impulse shop. I didn’t have a lot of money either, but I’d see something and just buy it on impulse. Because it felt so good in the moment. After, I’d regret, but never once reflected on my actions. I kept shopping and then feeling guilty, over and over again. I smiled as I realised how much that girl has changed.

This time, I felt guilty. But this time, I had reflected. Never to make the same mistake again.

What 2 Years of Public Transportation Taught Me

We all know how it’s like on a public bus and train, being packed with a million other commuters. It’s the worst.

But with some trial and error, I’ve realised that it’s possible to actually enjoy your commute. I’ve learnt to time my journeys so that I don’t spend too much time waiting at the platform. I’ve learnt which buses will be packed, and which won’t be. I’ve learnt to read books, listen to podcasts, or do something enjoyable during my commute. I’ve learnt that public transportation isn’t so bad after all.

Actually, I can’t quite imagine taking any form of transport but.

“First you hate ’em, then you get used to ’em. Enough time passes, gets so you depend on them.”
– Red, from The Shawshank Redemption

Considering the fact that I save only 20 minutes of time each way if I were to take a cab, and also taking into account the fact that my cab ride would cost $12 more than a bus ride each way, why would I ever take another cab ride again?

Sure, I save 40 minutes each day. But that’s going to cost me $24 a day. That’s $120 for a 5-day work week. And $6,240 for a 52-week year. That’s more than 2 months of my paycheck!

Nah. I think I’ll save that $6,240 and spend that extra 40 minutes each day reading my books. Or listening to music. Or doing whatever it is I enjoy.

No more cabs for me. As far as I can help it.

Love,
Liz

As someone who dislikes her corporate job, I totally understand the urge to want to splurge on a Friday night. A small treat for getting through the rough week, right?

Unfortunately, this behaviour isn’t going to get me any closer to quitting my corporate job. It’s not going to do you any favours either.

Luckily, these 7 hacks will.

1. Eat in Advance, or Pregame

If you’re having a Friday night out at a luxurious restaurant with a loved one or friends, eating in advance will make sure that you stop salivating at practically everything on the menu.

While you don’t have to pre-eat a full meal, do at least ensure you’re not absolutely ravenous. If you’re a huge food lover like me, that’ll make you over-order, which will end up with you wasting food and costing you precious money.

What I would recommend pre-eating at home is some greens. Healthy, and light. And you save some money by not ordering an appetizer at the restaurant.

If you’re having a Friday night out at a club or bar, and you’re not a lightweight, then you definitely have to drink in advance.

Pre-gaming doesn’t have to be lonely, either. Invite friends over before hitting the clubs, and it’ll be way more fun.

2. Research Special Offers

I’m a huge fan of special offers, discounts and loyalty programmes. It’s one of the strategies that I use to save tonnes of money on dining out. Basically, I go wherever the offers are.

Restaurants, clubs and bars will always have dining and happy hour offers. It only takes a simple google search to find out where and when you can take advantage of these offers.

3. Plan your Night in Advance

Most people find budgeting a complete turn-off, but you have to set a budget for your Friday night out.

After which, plan your night according to the budget you’ve set for yourself. Know which restaurants or bars you want to go to, and how much they would set you back by.

For restaurants, make reservations where possible. It’s a Friday night, so everyone would be celebrating (who likes their corporate jobs, right?). Failing which, you’d find yourself wandering around, desperately looking for a restaurant that has vacancies. And you’d probably end up in a restaurant that is overpriced and doesn’t deliver good value for money. Been there, done that.

If you’re hitting up bars or clubs, try to avoid cover charges. While most of the latest clubs will have you part with your hard-earned money for simply walking into their premises, there will be other options that allow you to keep your money in your wallet and still have a good time.

Remember, research, research, research.

4. Have Post-Alcohol Food All Prepared

There’s nothing like good food to end a night of boozing and partying. Like a late-night pizza that would set you back $20.

Don’t waste your money on greasy, unhealthy fast food, when you can come back to your comfortable apartment to enjoy your pre-prepared food.

And don’t try to cook up a storm only after you’re doing partying. You’d be too tired and out of shape for that, and would probably settle for buying fast food.

Prepare your meals before going out. That way, you know you have delicious food waiting for you when you get home. And that delicious food doesn’t break the bank.

5. Reduce Transportation Costs

If possible, assign a designated driver and car-pool. Having a friend who is driving would also mean you’re in safer hands.

Otherwise, split the cost of a cab with a roommate or a friend staying in your area.

On a side note, this is why it’s so important to plan your night in advance. You don’t want to find yourself going out of the way and splurging on your transportation costs, just so you can accommodate your friends.

6. Know Your Alcohol Limit

If your alcohol limit is 5 drinks, stick to that. Despite the allure of drinking more, understand that it’s a huge mistake.

People tend to spend more when they’re in the heat of partying. It’s so easy to just whip out some cash or a card and keep drinking.

I’m quite a frugal person, but even I know that I will pay through my nose for drinks if I ever reach that state.

If you go beyond your alcohol limit, you’d only wake up with a flat wallet and your face in your palm.

7. Look for Cheap or Free Entertainment

While it’s fun to try new fancy restaurants and the latest bars, alternative sources of entertainment can save your wallet.

Such entertainment includes free admission to museums, enjoying beautiful views while picnicking, or even scoring cheap passes to events and festivals.

You could even consider a walk by the beach or enjoying a sport, like running or cycling.

8. Friday Nights In?

If all the above doesn’t save you as much money as you want to save, you can just do what I do. Ditch the Friday nights out, and spend them at home.

It may not be the coolest or the most Instagrammable thing to do, but why can’t a home-cooked meal, a good movie, and snuggling under the warm covers make you just as happy?

Just some food for thought.

Love,
Liz

I met one of my best friends for lunch last Thursday, in the middle of the work day. She told me that she wanted to treat herself to a good meal for having survived half a gruelling work day. I (reluctantly) agreed, while putting on my best I’m-so-down-with-this smile.

When we got to one of her favourite cafes, my eyes quickly scoured the menu for the most cost-effective item. There were none. Who was I kidding anyway, fat chance of that ever happening in a pretty fancy cafe.

My heart wrenched as I forked over $12.80 for the cheapest set on the menu. I thought about how I could feed myself 3 good meals for 2 days with that money.

The meal was scrumptious. But as I left the café, I knew there was no chance of me ever returning for a work lunch, if I had a choice.

The Massive Lack of Proper Value (for the Price You Pay)

My lunch set was simple. Brown rice, an egg, a few pieces of chicken, a little side of salad, a bowl of clear soup, and a cup of coffee. I could cook that for myself for say, $3.

Then you’ve got to pay for convenience and for sitting in the café. Apparently, that cost me a mark-up of about $10. I’m not going to lie though, the café was beautiful. Clean and minimalistic, just the way I like it.

But here’s the thing about work lunches – you’ve got all of 1 hour. 1 hour to travel to your lunch place, eat, and then travel back.

Within 30 minutes, my best friend and I were done with our lunches, and we raced back to our respective offices.

In 30 minutes, I rushed through lunch, didn’t get a chance to lounge around and enjoy the stunning ambience, and came out $12.80 poorer.

Definitely not good value for what I paid.

It’s different, though, if you get yourself this same lunch set over a Saturday. You enjoy a delicious and leisurely meal over an hour, savouring every bite. As you slowly sip your coffee, you get a little work done on your laptop or scroll through social media on your phone for the next hour. All the while taking in the stunning wood work and carefully placed decorations.

That’s much better value.

The Danger of “Value” Add-Ons

In order to rake in higher profits, restaurants would usually offer add-ons that would make your meal seem more value for money. Add on a drink, a salad, and/or a dessert for let’s say, $3.

This would mean that a singular food item that you really wanted to eat, which you could get for $10, would eventually become $13.

Over a month, you’re paying an extra $60 ($3 x 20 work days a month). Just for a coffee or a soft drink, and a few green leaves.

These add-ons are attractive because they seem to make your meal complete.

Since you’re already at the restaurant, and already ordering a food item, why not go all the way and just make it complete? Why not just experience the whole package?

It’s been a gruelling first 4 hours of the work day. You deserve a whole lunch set. And it’s not too expensive. Just add it on!

Sometimes, you do deserve a whole lunch set. But over time, these costs really add up.

The Temptation to Treat Yourself

My office is situated near a shopping district, which boasts plenty of food options. And more. Sometimes, I’d watch with intrigue as my colleagues lumber back to office with a bunch of shopping bags. Or a Starbucks in hand. They’d talk about how it’s been a crappy work day, and about how they needed to treat themselves. To make themselves happier by buying a few things.

Make no mistake, you don’t need to be working near a shopping district to be tickled by this temptation. Shops will pop up wherever there are crowds. Casually stroll into one, spot something that catches your eye, and find yourself shelling over hard-earned money for a quick relief in the middle of the work day.

I get it, work days are crappy. We all struggle to get out of bed at 7AM just to make it to the office on time. Then we fight the strong desire to fall asleep the moment our eyes meet boring spreadsheets. An awesome lunch break filled with great food and shopping can never be more welcomed.

But by bringing your lunch to work, you’re less likely to get tempted when catching a whiff of Starbucks. You erase any likelihood of you casually strolling into a random store. Removing that desire to constantly treat yourself in the middle of the work day would mean that your wallet gets fatter. And you’d soon be on your way to quitting your corporate job for good. Isn’t that better?

The Presence of Other Associated Costs

I don’t have many food options near my workplace. The easy solution to that is to take a 2-minute bus ride to the shopping district. That’s $1.

I grab a lunch set at an awesome café. $15.

After a quick lunch, I pop into a few shops. A second-hand book catches my eye. Another $5.

Before heading back to my dreaded cubicle, I buy a coffee to cheer myself up. $5.

Another bus ride back. $1.

That’s $27 in total. That’s what I used to do, and thought that it was perfectly normal.

A $1 bus ride may seem innocuous, but over one month, that could amount to $40 ($2 per day x 20 working days). Over the course of a year, that’s $480 ($40 per month x 12 months).

Imagine that. Just riding the bus to grab lunch and back will cost you $480.

Bringing Your Lunch to Work is a Great Solution

When you bring your lunch to work, it only costs $2-$4.

When you bring your lunch to work, you don’t get tempted by the “value” of add-ons. You don’t get tempted by a casual stroll into shops or Starbucks.

When you bring your lunch to work, you don’t rack up associated costs.

When you bring your lunch to work, you make great savings.

Love,
Liz

Here’s 3 strategies that I always use to eat well when I’m on a low budget.

Cook and Eat at Home More Often

If you really want to make a dramatic improvement in your finances, this is the most important thing you must start doing. And don’t worry, you can still dine out. (I’ll get into that a few paragraphs down.)

When you dine out at restaurants, you are paying for not only the food, but the convenience as well. You turn up at the restaurant, you wait a little while, the food gets served, you eat, and then you leave. Oh, and of course, you pay the restaurant for doing all the food preparation. Usually, it’s a hefty premium.

But food preparation isn’t all that difficult. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to spend 2 hours every day slaving away, just to make sure you’re well fed. With a little education, you can prepare all your meals for the week on just one day. Store it properly in your refrigerator. And when the time comes for you to have your meal, just heat it up. Viola!

Always Take Advantage of Food Promotions

If you love to dine out, this is a great tip. Always, always, take advantage of food promotions and loyalty programmes. And free food.

Food promotions can come in the form of couponing. Before I go to a restaurant, I’d usually first ransack my favourite couponing sites. If that doesn’t yield any results, I’d google the name of the restaurant + the word “promotion”, “discount” or “coupon”. If nothing turns up, I’d select another reputable restaurant that has a great coupon. Remember, food establishments are always looking for ways to drive more traffic to themselves. There will never be any lack of coupons on the Internet, so just keep your eyes peeled.

You can also get food promotions from credit card tie-ups. Usually, credit cards have a list of restaurants you can go to, which offer discounts when you pay with that specific credit card. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with Vietnamese Pho noodles, and I know a place that sells a good bowl of noodles for $11. However, when you pay with a Standard Chartered Unlimited credit card, you can get a lunch set for 50% off. That’s a huge bowl of noodles, spring rolls and an iced coffee for just $5.50! That’s amazing value.

Don’t have a particular credit card? Don’t worry, just sign up. Or make a lunch appointment with a friend who does.

Loyalty programmes are great too. You go to a restaurant, spend a certain amount, and rack up points. It’s as simple as that. But here’s the situation for someone like me – I don’t eat out often and I don’t spend much when I do. The one thing I look out for are points that don’t expire, or have an expiry date far from today. Some loyalty programmes have points that expire within weeks / months, and I usually end up allowing my points to expire. What a waste.

Free food is rather uncommon, I think. I have on occasion, though, scored a few free things. You usually have to download an app, do a few things (like post on social media or otherwise), be verified, and then get your coupon for a free meal. I don’t spend my time actively looking for free meals or anything, but it’s possible if you have the time to scour the Internet.

One last tip about dining out – I usually stay far away from fancy dining experiences. And when I say fancy, I’m talking about those 3-hour, $400 meals. Some fancy restaurants do offer discounts, but even with a 50% discount, you’re still paying $200 for a meal. Ouch. In my previous life, I used to eat fancy meals all the time. And they were good. Right now though, I only earn $2,825 a month from my corporate job. Do I want to drop 10% of my pay-check on a fancy meal? No way in hell.

Recognise that Satisfaction is Not Proportional to the Price you Pay

People always assume that an expensive item means that it’s better than a cheaper substitute. That’s why we go after expensive bags, expensive cars, expensive apartments, and expensive meals.

But do you truly understand what you’re paying for? I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no food connoisseur, and I definitely don’t appreciate high-end luxury foods the way I should. I probably can’t tell the difference between a $50 lobster flown in from Maine, and a $10 lobster reared locally, and I certainly can’t tell the difference between a $100 glass of wine and a $10 glass of wine. I’ve had my fair share of insanely luxurious meals in my previous life, but I’d never spend my hard-earned money on any of them. They’re just not worth the price you pay.

After I was forced to give up my luxurious lifestyle, I eventually realised that even some $5 meals derived an equal amount of satisfaction. Great food is available at even greater prices, as long as you know where to source them from. Or cook them.

If you’re able to give up your belief that “expensive always means better”, you could really do your savings a huge favour.

And that’s the 3 Strategies that I Always Use to Save Money on Food

It’s simple, right?

Just dine out less frequently by cooking great food at home. (Personally, I’m a terrible cook, so I’m trying to work on that.)

When you’re dining out, make sure to make full use of money-saving coupons and loyalty programmes.

Lastly, and arguably the most important point to take away, don’t equate quality with the high prices that you pay. You can get great food at even greater prices, with just a sprinkle of ingenuity.

Love,
Liz

Yet, I spend less than $200 on food (and drinks) each month. It isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but it is possible.

Here’s how. I’ll break it down for you.

Breakfast

I don’t like eating the same thing every single day, so I try to mix it up. A bowl of cereal. Or two bananas with some yoghurt. Or two eggs. Or oats.

They’re all simple dishes because I’m usually rushing out of the house to get to work on time. I find myself eating bananas and/or yoghurt most of the time. Easy to prepare, easy to eat. I’m able to finish my breakfast within 10 minutes.

At the same time, this simplicity is good for my wallet. I usually spend only $1 for breakfast. Most of the time, it’s even less.

Coffee

I used to be a huge Starbucks fan. I’d have a Starbucks caramel macchiato almost every morning, and sometimes even a matcha latte in the afternoon. But that’s crazy expensive, and would ruin my entire food and beverage budget.

Nowadays, I stick to good old black coffee powder, and I add a little milk and sugar to my liking. I get a pack of 40 coffee sachets for just around $6. With a little milk and sugar, that’s probably only $0.25 a cup of coffee. (I only drink one cup of coffee every morning because I’m prone to insomnia.)

Beverages and Alcohol

I cut out all sugared beverages from my life. I don’t drink Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper, root beer. Nothing. Once you get used to drinking just water, it’s actually great. Healthy, and very affordable!

As for alcohol, I don’t drink that either. I haven’t touched a drop of alcohol the whole of this year. I just don’t quite appreciate the taste of it like I should. I do, however, occasionally drink alcohol during social events.

Lunch

I pack my own lunch for work most the time. Nothing extravagant either, usually a simple rice dish. Or two slices of bread. (I try not to eat excessively during lunch, because a full stomach coupled with the extremely boring nature of my work tends to have me slumping over my desk in the afternoon.)

1-2 times a week, I’ll have lunch appointments with my friends. I have to dine out during these appointments, but I stick to casual dining establishments (sometimes, fast food establishments). With the help of credit card tie-ups and food vouchers / coupons, I’m able to get the most value for my money, even when dining out.

So that’s $2 a day if I pack my own lunch, and about $5 if I dine out.

Snacks / Tea

I do have quite a voracious appetite, and the little bit of lunch that I pack usually leaves me hungry by 4PM. Also, working at a corporate job is pretty damn boring, so snacking in the middle of the day gives me some much-welcomed comfort.

Over the last few months, I’ve been snacking on chocolate covered cereal bars. (How unhealthy, I know, I know.) I’ve found a place that sells 6 Cadbury Brunch Bars for just $1.90. Recently, I also discovered a supermarket that sells Waitrose digestive bars for cheap. I can get 10 of them, for just $1.60! And they’re delicious!

Snack time, therefore, costs just $0.30 if I have a Cadbury bar, and $0.16 if I eat a Waitrose bar. That’s so awesome.

Dinner

My workplace is around the shopping district (with really high-end brands). After work, my colleagues are fond of treating themselves to a good meal. But me being anti-social me, I head straight home after work ends. Usually, I’ll have a decent home-cooked meal. That’s only about $3 for my entire dinner.

A Summary

On my more frugal weeks, I’ll spend only $40. On my more so-called “extravagant” weeks, I’ll spend closer to $50. And that’s how I usually keep my food and beverage expenditure below $200 every month.

All you have to do is to cook your meals at home more often. Brew your own coffee at home and take it to work in a thermos flask. Be resourceful when dining out to score great discounts. Stay home Friday nights, or at least do something more economically efficient, instead of going out to the most popular clubs or bars.

And stop patronising Starbucks so frequently! (I love you Starbucks, but not right now because I simply can’t afford you.)

These strategies work wonders for your wallet.

Closing Thoughts

One question I always force myself to think about is whether I want to keep living like this. I usually spend less than $1,000 a month, with only around $200 of that going to food and drink expenses.

The painful truth is, more often than not, I do wish that I could spend more on food. I really love eating, and $200 a month won’t get you all that much. Increasing my budget for food to $500 or even $1,000 a month would provide me with many more options. I could buy more expensive groceries. I could eat at a greater variety of restaurants. Yum.

But doing that would mean slogging away at a 9-to-5 cubicle job for a longer period of time, just so I can eat more expensive foods and down more shots at bars. For me, that isn’t worth it. I may love food, but I treasure my freedom more. And if sticking to a consistently bare-bones budget every month means I get to quit my corporate job sooner, then I’d definitely do it.

No question about it.

Spending less than $200 on food and beverage every month is not that easy, but it’s possible. Especially when you have a corporate job to escape from.

Love,
Liz

It’s been an… Interesting few years.

In a nutshell – I lived a lavish lifestyle growing up because of my wealthy parents. Then I came out, and got rejected by them. After which, I went through a lot of emotional torment, including losing my inheritance and purpose in life. I ended up with a whole host of mental illnesses and was on a downwards spiral to what I thought would eventually be me ending my own life.

It was an insanely tough time for me to get through.

But somehow, there was always a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. When my world crumbled to pieces, that light was faint, but it was still there. Each day I contemplated taking my own life, that light motivated me to hang in there. To take things one step at a time. To start afresh.

Eventually, I built myself back up and continued trudging toward that glimmer of light. In fact, I’m still in the process of making that walk.

But some days, I’d stop and look back along that dark tunnel, thinking about everything that I had gone through. Thinking about how far I’d come. I’d smile and think, maybe, all that struggle was for something after all.

Maybe, it was to teach me a lesson about frugality that I so desperately needed to learn.

Frugality isn’t Hard

I used to be one spoilt and self-entitled prick of a rich kid. I would blow through thousands of dollars every month on worthless shit. I bought clothes that are still hanging in my closet, untouched. I spent on shoes that I never wore and are now collecting dust. I signed up for classes in the spur of the moment but eventually never went for. I purchased stupid knickknacks that I eventually threw away, because I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why I would buy that in the first place.

Sometimes, I would reflect and regret some of the purchases I had made. But then I would go out, do it all over again, and repeat this vicious cycle.

As my relationship with my parents worsened over time after I came out to them, I knew it was impossible to live like I had before. The money habits that I had in my previous (luxurious) life would drive me into massive debt. For my own survival, I had to change my lifestyle drastically overnight.

At first, it was a real culture shock. Budgeting? Saving? Recording expenses? (Insanity, you mean?) They all seemed like foreign concepts to me. But for me, it was really do, or die.

I struggled first with sticking to a budget. I would attempt to save 30% of whatever income I had before spending the rest. But month after month, I would be puzzled at why I just couldn’t save. So I started recording down my expenses. At the end of each month, I would see what went wrong (and regret). And learn from my mistakes, of course.

When I finally got the hang of budgeting and saving, I gradually increased my savings rates. First, from 30% to 40%. Then 50%. And then 60%. Up and up it went.

And the interesting thing?

The easier and easier being frugal became.

It took me months of floundering around to realise that I am capable of saving and building my own wealth.

By the time my relationship with my parents hit rock bottom, I was saving almost everything I was making.

Right now, I save more than 70% of my monthly income. Every month. Sometimes, I even save more than 80%. My current income’s far from great, but I keep my spending as low as possible to achieve a high savings rate.

Not too shabby for a spoilt and self-entitled prick.

Frugality Maximises Happiness

When I allowed myself to spend 100% of my income, I usually never thought twice before buying something or spending on something.

Paid for classes I never attended? It’s alright, I’ve still got lots of money left. Spent on something I never used? That’s okay, there’s more where that came from. Bought something but then got bored of it after a short while? No big deal, I’ve still got some serious cash to burn through.

Stuff I paid for but didn’t enjoy were always just thrown in a corner, because I constantly told myself “I still have money to spend”.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it works when you’re on a tight budget.

Every dollar wasted on useless stuff is a dollar that could be used to pay for necessities, such as housing, food, and transport.

I stopped telling myself that I still had money, that I could afford to blow through serious cash. Instead, I asked myself a variety of questions. Do I actually need this shit? Would I still be using this in months or years to come? Do I really need this stuff to be happy?

If my answer was yes to all the above questions, I would then wait a couple days or maybe even weeks before buying it. If I kept thinking about it every single day for weeks, then I would eventually get it. If not, then it’ll just be a forgotten memory.

Once I got myself to ponder deeply about whether stuff I wanted to buy would make me happy, I became more aware about what contributed to my happiness and what didn’t. I now know that shopping for clothes and shoes doesn’t increase my happiness. (Well, maybe for the occasional pair of sneakers.) Going out on the town and spending on booze also doesn’t do anything for my happiness levels.

So I stay away from all of that.

You know what? Without all that shopping and boozing, I’m still as happy, if not more.

And when I do spend on myself, it’s going to be on amazing stuff. Like paying for a blog theme, or buying a new musical instrument to learn, or purchasing language books to study.

And that makes me so happy.

Frugality Buys Decades of your Life

I stumbled onto a couple of financial freedom and early retirement blogs one fateful day. At first, I was skeptical, wondering what sorcery this was. But as a little more time passed, and the more I allowed myself to be exposed to such unconventional thinking, the more convinced I was that I could make it work too.

One day, that light bulb in my head shone brighter than it ever did before. I had my Eureka moment – so that’s the true value of money! Money’s true value is its ground-breaking ability to buy financial freedom, rather than just being a tool for accumulating more material possessions. People save aggressively and make their money work for them, so they needn’t rely on anyone else to give them a paycheck. So they needn’t spend their entire lives in the cubicle, miserable and dreading every single work day. So that they can escape the cubicle life decades ahead of their peers.

So that they have the choice to go out into this great big world and do what truly matters.

It’s a simple, yet beautifully astounding, truth. It was the truth that saved my life. It was the truth that made me realise that maybe, life was worth living after all.

And I’ve been truly and completely fascinated by the concept ever since.

So, Be Frugal

Right now, I do whatever I can to save as much as possible, usually living on less than a thousand dollars a month, and spending only on necessities (alright, alright, I’ll admit, as well as the occasional shopping item).

Determined to make sure I don’t have to stick around in a cubicle for too long, I dug down, cut out the fat in my life, and made frugality my lifestyle. It was uncomfortable at first, but I eventually got the hang of it. And once I did, I started loving it. I came to learn that being frugal wasn’t some death sentence; being frugal actually allowed me to be happier and more self-aware.

So, be frugal. It isn’t difficult once you get used to it, and you’re in complete control to ensure that every dollar you spend maximises your happiness. And the best part? You get to escape that damned cubicle as soon as humanly possible.

So, be frugal.

I’ll see you on the other side.

Love,
Liz