S’porean tracks food expenditure, shocked that they spent S$726 a month

Singaporean is shocked that they spent way more than they realise after tracking food expenditure

A Singaporean who thought they were spending S$10 to S$15 a day on food was shocked to discover their actual monthly food expenditure was S$726, roughly S$24 a day.

Tracked food expenditure for a month

Sharing their experience on r/askSingapore on Monday (22 June), the Original Poster (OP) said they had always assumed they were keeping their food spending relatively low.

The OP’s daily meals consisted of hawker food, cai fan (economy rice), and the occasional discounted drink from Luckin Coffee.

However, after diligently recording “every single food purchase” for a month, they realised they had spent an average of S$24 daily.

According to the OP, the biggest surprise was that the extra spending did not come from expensive meals.

Small purchases added up over time

Instead, it was the seemingly harmless purchases made throughout the month that quietly inflated the total bill.

Examples included ordering breakfast from Toast Box when the kopitiam downstairs was crowded, and ordering GrabFood after working late.

There were also days when they would join colleagues for lunch at newly opened eateries in shopping malls, too.

While each decision costs around S$5 to S$8 more than their usual option, the OP estimated these choices contributed to nearly S$300 in additional spending.

“None of these felt like big decisions in the moment,” they said.

The OP clarified that they were not advocating for everyone to survive on economy rice. However, they admitted they had underestimated how much they were actually spending on food.

Netizens share their own food budgets

The post sparked a lively discussion among Redditors, with many netizens sharing their own monthly food expenses.

A netizen shared that they usually budget S$600 for food and drinks, with a separate budget for treats.

A Redditor who spends S$1,600 a month on food felt that they needed to “revisit” their finances after reading the post.

Another netizen said they used to have a spending tracker for food, but have since stopped.

They added: “After all we work so hard, we deserve to spend on ourselves, right?”

Always wanted to track their expenses

The OP, who preferred to remain anonymous, told MS News that they have always wanted to track their expenses.

However, they kept procrastinating the process of setting things up to support expense tracking.

“So in April, I decided to fully commit to this, at least for the next month. I sat down and set up an iOS automation that automatically logs Apple Pay transactions to a Google Sheet as a start,” the OP said.

“Once I had that set up, the momentum kept me going. It’s like they say, the hardest step is always the first step,” they added.

The Redditor also shared that they were initially shocked by the amount, especially since they felt they were the type who would normally opt for cheaper food options.

When asked whether they would continue tracking their food expenses, the OP said: “I intend to keep this expense-tracking habit up so I can identify bad habits.”

“I don’t intend to fully eliminate them, but at least I can be more conscious and make better decisions.”

Also read: S’pore intern says hawker prices have become ‘unmanageable for youths’, asks for advice

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Featured image adapted from adrian825 on Canva for illustration purposes only.