Food inflation – it niggles our wallets every time we go grocery shopping. Dining out makes a bigger dent on our budget as pricier ingredients means more expensive meals. One can hardly remember how long ago it was when $3 at the hawker centre could get you a full meal including drinks.
Increasing costs of food is a global phenomenon, and unlike economic recession, it may be set to stay. Extreme weather conditions and pollution affect crop outputs. Rising oil prices spells increased costs in operating machinery used for farming purposes. More natural disasters due to climate changes can wipe out an entire year’s harvest, and in more extreme cases, lead to permanent damage of fertile grounds. Many of these causes are irreversible in the short term.
Some countries may take to limiting exports of food, thus further driving up our costs of living. Russia raised the alarm in 2011 when the government banned the export of wheat to protect the nation’s supply. More countries may follow in their footsteps and practice food protectionism, which could also include implementing heavy taxes on exports. Singapore, which imports majority of our food supplies, will be hard-hit.
On our part, a small country like Singapore can only go with the flow of world-wide inflation. But while we can’t prevent increasing living costs, what we can do is to eat smart, and spend smart. Apart from the obvious methods of taking advantage of sales and discount coupons, here are five additional tips to make food more affordable:
Eat at home
A fail-proof method that never gets old. Food courts, fast food places, restaurants and cafés charge you for service, air-conditioning and ambience. A lot of delicious and nutritious food outside can otherwise be replicated at home with some improvisation and substitution. Can’t cook? Fortunately, many young people these days are in the same boat. Food manufacturers embraced this trend and there are now plenty of pre-made foods in the market, including sauces, frozen food, even entire meals that simply need to be popped into the microwave.
Quoting Mum’s disdain towards Big M’s ‘overpriced nuggets’, “I can make a lot more nuggets for the same price by frying a packet of frozen nuggets from the supermarket.”
Don’t eat or cook more than what you need
It is a common observation in almost any eating place in Singapore that few diners leave their tables with clean plates. At home, our ever-concerned mum cooks extra food for fear that we would not have enough to eat, while the over-zealous host shouts down the guests’ protests to serve up an over-large meal.
Ultimately, excess food means increased expenditure, increased wastage, and in some cases, a doctor’s bill, a result of stuffing oneself to the brim or eating left-overs for days to avoid wasting food.
Start slow, only order or prepare as much food as you and your family really needs. Singapore is a food paradise. You can always get more food from just about anywhere if the first round didn’t really hit the spot.
Plan what to buy, and stick with it
If you don’t know what to buy, you end up buying everything that catches your eye for various reasons. Find out what’s short in the kitchen, and prepare a shopping list of things you need to buy and their quantities. Purchase only items from the list to avoid impulse buys which of course, includes snacks.
Check expiry dates
Sales tactics and discounts often tempt us to buy multiples of the same products. Bulk-buying is fine if you will use the product often. However, don’t forget to check when the item expires, otherwise, you end up wasting money by having to throw expired food away, or paying the doctor’s consultation fee for food poisoning.
On the other hand, some supermarkets like Cold Storage are known to mark down prices of food as their expiry dates draw near. Such food may not be the freshest, but are still safe to eat and do not taste much different in their optimum state. You could get some good deals without compromising health.
Shop on a Full Stomach
Have you ever watched a food commercial or programme when you’re not particularly full and went “I want that now!” at some finger-licking image? It’s the same with shopping on a dissatisfied stomach. When you are hungry, or have space for more food, and you’re in a supermarket filled with shelves of food, complete with mouth-watering images on the packaging, you will feel the urge to fill your cart with food items, never mind whether you need them. Do your grocery-shopping after your meal. You can work off some calories too.
Food is a basic necessity and daily costs can build up to quite a significant amount. However, a little prudence and effort can help to minimize this huge expenditure.
– This article first appeared in a lifestyle magazine
