Let’s get something off our chest: There is NOTHING wrong with embracing the inner kiasu aunty when buying groceries. I mean, if we can save some extra money doing our weekly grocery runs, why not?
Whether you are a newbie to the NTUC Fairprice/Cold Storage/Giant/Jason’s/Prime labyrinths, or are a decorated supermarket veteran, hear from the #HugoHeroes at the Hugo team on how they save some moolah without sacrificing the quality of the week’s dinners!
The Freezer is Your Best Friend!
Yay, potatoes and carrots on sale! Will get more to make more stews and curries that’ll feed my ravenous family of 5 for a week!
Julia, our Compliance Head, not only has sharp eyes for regulatory details, she uses them to spot grocery items on sale. One of her best dishes to take advantage of cheaper prices, maximize freshness and still cook up an awesome dinner is a nice weekend stew. Whenever potatoes, carrots, stock and beef are on sale in bulk, Julia grabs them. Not only is freshness less of a concern when making a stew, but Julia can also make a large portion of it and freeze the leftovers, saving time and money on making future dinners.
Now that Julia’s a #HugoHero, she’s been using Money Pots to apportion her grocery budget regularly and avoid blowing it.
Go Big & Go Home
Erm no, Eunice ain’t no panic buyer. This photo was taken before Heightened Alert!
For non-perishable goods, buying in bulk is a lifesaver moneysaver. Things like toilet rolls, paper towels, hand soap and household cleaners often have bundle deals or come in bigger value packs, helping you stretch the dollar. As an added bonus, this is also better for the environment and you don’t have to go to the store as often.
Eunice is not the Hugo Financial Controller for nothing. Getting the best bang for the buck is her innate talent. Her favourite hack is bulk-buying 100-packs of toilet rolls for $35.80 from home and office supplies stores instead of purchasing 30 rolls from Fairprice at $18.95.
With these non-whole numbered prices, Eunice has no trouble generating Roundups that regularly get saved as gold!
Expensive doesn’t mean better
We swear that David will find any chance to show off his 30 years old shades!
Trust David, CEO of Hugo, when he says that just because something is “organic” or “atas” doesn’t mean it is always the better option. He’s always proud to show off the $75 pair of sunglasses that is still serving him faithfully after 30 years.
David and his family are fans of seafood. To indulge in seafood without breaking the bank, they love to get local fishes that are usually cheaper, fresher and just as good. For example, instead of the more expensive salmon, tuna and trout at the supermarket, they’d go for ikan kembung, ikan batang and Chinese pomfret at the wet market. They use visits to the market to teach their children healthy financial habits. Now that’s pretty cool!
Another example of how expensive ≠ good is well-known brands vs store brands! NTUC Fairprice and Giant both have in-house products that are often cheaper than the international brands for essentially the same product with the same specs.
Always do the math
Dear fellow marketing people, I know your tricks and you can’t smoke me with your spiels. Yours sincerely, Ritza.
Ritza, our Group Marketing Head at Hugo, confesses to being the ultimate aunty. Having been a marketer for the past 16 years, she has developed X-ray vision to see past marketing spiel such as, “Now comes in a bigger pack!” to calculate value objectively.
For example, Quakers Instant Oats costs about $5.10 for a 900g pack, making it $0.57 per 100g, while Cowhead Oats costs $3.10 for 500g at $0.62 per 100g. As oats is a regular part of her diet, she buys approximately 1-2kg per month. By getting Quakers’ over Cowhead’s, she saves $60 a year on oats alone! Be sure to compare the cost per volume/net weight of their regular sized packs against those in bigger packaging. Based on our oatmeal expert, the 400g pack costs $2.95 ($0.72/100g) so you are definitely paying the premium for a smaller pack. By doing the math, you can really accumulate a lot of savings across your entire grocery list!
Ritza regularly puts her accumulated savings into her Gold Vault to buy gold, preserving and growing the value of her money over time.
Bonus tip: Check out your friendly neighbourhood stores
Build up your community with the shops in your neighbourhood, get to know them and have friendly relations with the mom-and-pop or mama shops. Not only can you get discounts from the kind uncle and aunty shop-owners, but you can also build up a thriving community by buying local! Whenever possible, pick up fruits, vegetables and more at a fraction of what they cost at the supermarket/e-commerce sites.
Go forth and conquer!
Developing healthy financial habits is a creative process. Like the Hugo team, putting on the thinking hat when shopping for groceries can translate to great savings while cooking up a great meal for the family.
Use Hugo Money Pots to set aside your budgets, and Roundups to generate silent savings in your daily lives. Be sure to share your tips on our Discourse forum with other #HugoHeroes!