My Food Budget

I just had a brilliant idea for tracking my food spending—why not display everything right here? I mean, sure, I already have an Excel sheet that records all my expenses, but let’s be real... I sometimes forget how much I actually spend (selective amnesia, perhaps?). SOOOOO, putting it here might gently remind me not to blow my budget on food.

I'll do my best to stick to this pattern. Also, fun fact: I’ve written over 80 blog posts now, and at this point, I feel like I can do anything!

Lunch: 2.50 SGD

Now, just because I only spent this much today doesn’t mean I skipped dinner—I’m not that dramatic. It’s just that calculating the cost of my dinner is a bit tricky. I usually eat fruits for dinner, like today, when I had a box of blueberries and a pear. But how do you put a price tag on a handful of berries? Too complicated. So here’s the plan: I buy fruits twice a week, and on those two days, I’ll log the total cost here. That way, it covers my dinner expenses for the entire week. Makes life easier, and my wallet happier!

To be honest, I’m not that particular about food, and I’m also not deliberately cutting down on meals just to save money. On average, I spend around 200-250 SGD per month on food. But then I scroll through XHS and see people dropping 600-700 SGD on food alone?! Like… are they dining at Michelin-starred restaurants every day? Is their rice sprinkled with gold flakes? Am I missing something here??

That said, I’m actually pretty lucky because my company cafeteria subsidizes my meals—bless them. I get 1 SGD off per day, so my usual meal, which includes a veggie, a meat, and a tofu/egg dish, costs 3.50 SGD, but with the subsidy, I only pay 2.50 SGD.

Meanwhile, my friends who eat out spend around 5-6 SGD per meal, which explains the huge gap in food expenses. BUT let’s be clear—I’m not just eating cheap food all the time. Weekends are my "treat yourself" days! That’s when I go out and enjoy some nice food because, you know, balance. Work hard, eat cheap on weekdays, and feast like royalty on weekends.

love you!

By the way, my sister told me that my baby dog has been feeling sick recently. Please send him a prayer for good health and for him to feel better. He is such a good boy, though he can still be naughty from time to time—but hey, that’s just a dog’s nature! I love him so much, and I really miss having him around to sniff. I guess this is a sign for me to watch out for flights to go home.

"Heavenly Father, please bless him with strength and health, so he can return to being his playful, joyful self. May his body heal quickly, and may he find peace and happiness in each moment. Keep him safe, full of energy, and as mischievous as ever—because that’s who he is. We love him deeply and wish him all the best as he gets better. Amen."