Grocery shopping

[Cebrose]

Hi there,

we've just moved here and did our first food shop. It was a medium shop, certainly not a week's worth - no meat or alcohol, just basics.

It was a bit of a shock $370.

We went to Cold Storage in Jelita. Please can anyone give me advice on better/ cheaper places to shop.

Thank you

[Hannieroo]

Fairprice. I prefer Finest or the new Extra one in Jem. Ghim moh market in that area is worth a look too.

[bgd]

Market Place, Cold Storage, Giant, Fair Price.

That's dearest to cheapest. I always try Fair Price first and only use Cold Storage as a last resort. Giant has just moved locally that has become my Cold Storage replacement. And if you find Cold Storage pricey avoid Market Place.

Do check prices. Often it's price per 100 grams which can be very misleading.

[Wd40]

If there is a Yes or Prime supermarket in your area, its the cheapest. Next one is sheng shiong. Fairprice is the worst. Cold Storage, dont even mention it, its for expats!

I am really surprised that given what the moto of NTUC is Fairprice costs higher than some of the smaller supermarkets.

Post Cereals is almost perpetually on offer in Yes supermarket for $4.95, whereas in Fairprice most of the time its $5.80.

Also baby food is expensive in fairprice compared to some of the other places.

Yet the queue in fairprice makes me wonder, if these people dont have other choices or no time, to walk a little further and get for cheaper.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Have you factored in the other goodies that translate into dollars later like NTUC dividends, kickbacks, points which translate into cash or merchandise (your choice - cash in the form of vouchers). This tends to bring the cost down if you factor that stuff in (Sheng Siong doesn't have it although they are a bit cheaper upfront but I don't think over the long haul they are cheaper. Additionally, I can usually find most anything I need with a few exceptions (of which ShengSiong wont have either - then you make your way to Giant if convenient or CS. Giant is a fair distance from me in both directions so I'd have to factor in transportation costs as well.

[Hannieroo]

Did you buy a lot if detergents etc? Because that stuff us shocking here.

But overall, if you factor in the cost of Internet, public transport and casual eating out your outgoings will be the same as the UK.

[Wd40]

Well, I have calculated the goodies and they are not really worth it. You need to be NTUC member/have an OCBC credit card for the link points and discounts and even after that, its not really worth.

I agree with you, though that fairprice has everything and in fact the one in front of my house is 24 hrs, which is a bonus. But then vegetables are often out of stock especially in the evenings. Mornings they stock up but queue is huge.

There is CK departmental store near my house and that has the best prices for stuff like soaps, shampoos, laundry detergent, dishwash soap, handwash soap etc. So those stuff we always get from there.

So fairprice we use mostly for UHT milk, marigold juice, Nestle Yoghurt. Both Juice and Yoghurt are pricier at fairprice compared to Yes supermarket. But the Yes supermarket is farther(like 1km away). Sometimes in the evening I go for a walk and at the same time I get these stuff from there.

Vegetables in the daytime we get from the wet market in front of our house. At other times Fairprice or Yes market.

I think Giant is as expensive as fairprice, when I did a few price comparisons and its far away too

[PNGMK]

Did you buy a lot if detergents etc? Because that stuff us shocking here.

But overall, if you factor in the cost of Internet, public transport and casual eating out your outgoings will be the same as the UK.

It's the price of good meat here that drives me insane. I gave up good cereals as well because of the cost. Basically to save you need to eat like a local. Your local wet market / dry markets should be cheap.

[uscate]

To the OP - I second the sticker shock for grocery items!! I get our chicken and pork at Fair Price, and get anything beef at Tekka Market (which is also where I get all of our fruits and veggies). The great thing about shopping at a wet market is getting to know the vendors. I'm still probably getting something around the Ang Mo price, but I've noticed that they've been throwing in freebies along the way too....

[x9200]

Hi there,

we've just moved here and did our first food shop. It was a medium shop, certainly not a week's worth - no meat or alcohol, just basics.

It was a bit of a shock $370.

We went to Cold Storage in Jelita. Please can anyone give me advice on better/ cheaper places to shop.

So what did you buy there? If no meat, no alcohol and not even a week's worth I have a bit of the problem to imagine what basic stuff this could be. Cherries, strawberries and other similar fresh, imported goods, or if you are an addict cheese eater.. this can top up to a bill like this but if this is the case it will cost you an arm and a leg in any place in Singapore.

CS is most pricey but the differences are not that shocking comparing to the next down the price line Fairprice and Giant/Ship&Save.

[x9200]

If there is a Yes or Prime supermarket in your area, its the cheapest. Next one is sheng shiong. Fairprice is the worst. Cold Storage, dont even mention it, its for expats!

I don't see any other more budget friendly shop offering a better choice of food. You can buy very reasonable ham in S&S and exactly the same ham is 2x that price in CS but there are also many products that could be cheaper in CS like ordinary coke if one drinks it. IMHO it makes no sense do advise go here or go there. It depends what you want to buy and where you live. For example, I buy meat and yoghurts, alcohol, coke and alike in CS or Giant@IMM, but almost always I buy grapes and some other fruits in S&S.

[the lynx]

If you're around Jelita area and wish to avoid another Cold Storage, there is a 24-hour Fairprice along Holland Drive and a Giant/Shop 'N Save (Giant bought over S&S not long ago and it is a matter of time before all S&S's gets changed into Giants) at Ghim Moh Road.

Market Place is down Sixth Avenue but it is way more expat-y than Cold Storage.

Farther down a bit: Another Fairprice at Dover Road, Sheng Shiong at Commonwealth MRT station and another Sheng Shiong (24-hour) across the Commonwealth Ave West road from The Star Mall.

Hope that helps.

[x9200]

The bottom line is, unless OP bought something specific, going to a different chain store will unlikely change the magnitude of the bill. Paid $370 in CS, maybe will pay $365 in Fairprice for the same or quality equivalent stuff. The only way to save substantial money is what PNGMK mentioned - go local.

[katbh]

Yep, local is the way. Or eat in food courts and buy at local muma shops for your non food necessities.
If you can stay away from red meat and stick with chicken and pork, you bills will come down substantially.
Most locals get protein from eggs, pork, chicken and tofu. Far cheaper options.
Local vegetables are good value but vegetable that you think are cheap at home (broccoli etc) can be expensive here. Watch out for pumpkins. Local pumpkins are very cheap but imported are very expensive.
But one thing that remains expensive (but at least we can get it now) is good bread. But you simply can not use the sugary local generic bread.
Mind you a spot of green pandan bread hits the nostalgic spot sometimes! Along with the other local favourite - chocolate bread!

[Wd40]

If there is a Yes or Prime supermarket in your area, its the cheapest. Next one is sheng shiong. Fairprice is the worst. Cold Storage, dont even mention it, its for expats!

I don't see any other more budget friendly shop offering a better choice of food. You can buy very reasonable ham in S&S and exactly the same ham is 2x that price in CS but there are also many products that could be cheaper in CS like ordinary coke if one drinks it. IMHO it makes no sense do advise go here or go there. It depends what you want to buy and where you live. For example, I buy meat and yoghurts, alcohol, coke and alike in CS or Giant@IMM, but almost always I buy grapes and some other fruits in S&S.

As a rule of thumb, places that accept credit cards and have loyalty schemes have higher margins and prices are higher, in general. Places like Giant in particular, I notice that there will be like some 4-5 items that will have some sale or offer going on and only those are reasonably priced, everything else is overpriced. Giant lets you pay by HSBC card and you get like 5% cash back so if you do prefer to shop everything in one place and you have a HSBC card, then it makes sense to go to Giant. Same case with FairPrice and Cold Storage as well, they have loyalty programmes but with different Credit Card companies.

However the best prices overall are places which dont accept credit cards, only cash or nets like CK, Prime, Yes and Sheng Shiong. I live in a really nice area which has atleast 4-5 such options and I dont like doing all my shopping in one go, more of need basis and I find that thats the cheapest approach.

My average groceries bill in every outing is like $15 or even lesser I guess. Everything is in walking distance and we prefer going out and doing the shopping daily, sometime multiple times in a day.