November is just around the corner, so is the new year.
Have you been assessing your weaknesses and strengths this year? I personally have, which is why I am now currently making some adjustments into my life. The other day, I was curious about how much I spent on takeaway. I ended up checking my account and though it was quite fine, I think I could do better.I saw on twitter some people spend about $8000 and average is $200 on those food apps. Mine was only $100 for one app which I think was super reasonable.
I was thinking I’d spend more on the app but phew, I was relieved. Perhaps, I spend more on the other, who knows? But I don’t think it even reaches a grand. Apart from those spending concerns, I also started getting back into the gym after a month hiatus. I was shocked to see that I still managed my 20kg-ish weight loss. Being in a new environment, adjusting to newer scenes took a bit of my time. I even have to remember where I used to shop and such. So,I once again set myself on a journey to make my own food and eat healthier. For a single person, cooking might seem a waste but I found some simple tricks that work for me. I suppose in this post I would share it too, a trick that works when you go shopping for a single person.
Budget planning was hardly my thing. Until I went to college and was only given a certain money to manage. That was when I learned how to be enough with less. I used to live on $60/month and thanks to that, I got creative to make money. I still hate that but now, I learned that it was for my own sake. I learned the idea of 50/30/20 where I would save up 20 and 30 for fun, the 50 is for living. What I do with my 20 is basically spreading them half to crypto half to emergency funds. I was getting some unrealistic goals for my budget and my mom laughed so hard. She said the reason why I failed was because I was not being realistic. So, I talked to her and eventually we chatted about my reasonable spending that doesn’t make me reasonable but also be able to enjoy life later. After we agreed on the numbers, off I went to the supermarket.
Indonesia has plenty of fresh markets and supermarkets. Sure, the traditional market is cheaper but there are items that I hardly find there such as Korean spices and sauces that now I happen to love so much. In this market, I try to shop for 3 days worth of food aligned with my budget. There’s one mistake that I made in the past, I didn’t even count the amount of things I need to sustain myself. For instance, instead of buying an actual food worth a week, I ended up buying a lot of ingredients that will only go to waste later. I thought buying in bulk would be cheaper but it only ended up as a waste. So, now I just buy 3 days worth of food and make sure I know how much I need to eat and snack for a day.
Since I am also a prepper, I make sure to buy either canned food or basic prepper things for 2 items/trip. When covid hit the first time and shops were closed, those food and supplies saved me. So now, I am making a small habit to have enough of things when shits hits the fan, by that I mean earthquakes and volcano eruptions which are a real threat. As you see, the store has what you call, “exotic” fruits. It also has imported fruits and products as well.
The aisles are neatly arranged and the shops aren’t packed even on Saturdays. I love strolling around the place, getting my daily steps and then leaving when I have my things. Unmanned stores like this are heaven for introverts, you don’t have to interact and nobody is looking at you, offering stuff. My favorite aisle is definitely the coffee and the beers but with my budget and my gym stuff, I have to say goodbye to beers.
When I was at the checkout, I felt satisfied that within my 3 days budget, I got everything I needed and even some extra stuff within the budget that I set. Now, it takes a bit of creativity to mix and match these ingredients. For example, with rice, egg, gochujang sauce,fresh veggies, seaweed lavers, I could make some simple yummy dishes. Sometimes having less resources would actually spark creativity and make the best use of everything. But for real,
To summarize how to shop for a single person and not waste food;
- Make sure you know how much you eat
- Have some ideas what you like to eat
- Have a budget and shop enough for either 3 days or 7 days. I love mine 3 because I am often bored with my food. So, I get to work with different ingredients. But if you love boring food, go ahead.
- Make use of your food, even vegetable scraps. You can make broth with it too.
That’s all for this market and semi-self improvement type of post too.
 | 𝘔𝘢𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢. 𝘈 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺, 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭, 𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦, 𝘤𝘺𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘈 𝘳𝘦-𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. |
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That's too much spoiling if they spend $1000 on food apps. They can actually cook something more nutritious.
I became conscious of my food too recently as I wanted to go back to a healthy lifestyle. You know as we age, our body can't any longer tolerate some food (I have 2 food intolerances), so we have to be careful about what we intake.. My budget is less than $100 a month. Glad my weekday food is covered by my boss. I only have to worry about my weekend food..
Stay healthy. Live healthily 😊
I guess in the capital, they like to splurge on expensive food but it's less common in smaller cities. I tried budgeting $100/month but it's so impossible, everyone says it's because I include coffee as my meal😂. My diet is pretty much western or Korean food which makes it more expensive because the ingredients are quite specifics and some imported. I don't really eat local food since it's often oily and also full of MSG which like you said, as we get older. we can't tolerate some food. Back in college, I would rather not eat than having to eat oily and full of MSG food and I often opt for bread too. Thanks for sharing your insight on it!
As for me, I really prefer eating healthy and nutritious foods. Good thing that I don't get any problems about it because my mama and papa knows how to cultivate a land, the reason we have fresh harvest of vegetables and some fruits too. As for spending money, as much as possible, I want to avoid over-spending especially that I still don't have a stable job. Meanwhile, if I do need to have a budget plan for food, I think I can manage to spend only $50/month.
Fresh food is the way to go, you're so lucky because you can harvest them. It's a dream of mine and my family to live somewhere in country side with vast land to plant our own vegetables and such. I think as long as you have fresh ingredients, I don't think you should worry about food anymore😊
I am struggling with severe hairfall and other health issues like back and knee pain. I was high on multi-vitamins but I never really focused on my diet. Before reading your post, I was scrolling through Pinterest, looking for healthy recipes for better hair and overall health. I was just thinking that it's time to make some lifestyle changes while enjoying my morning tea. Then I read this post and it uplifted my mood and motivated me.
We also don't spend a lot on dine-outs or takeaways and mostly cook at home. But Paksitani cuisine is not healthy. I was just planning to gather healthy and delicious recipes from different cuisines and incorporate in my daily food intake.
Having a diet plan might save some bucks at the end of the month. I really like this 50/30/20 rule. Usually, I run on extremes, save 80% three months in a row and then spend everything in a day. 🤪
P.S. Are you Indonesian?
I used to have severe hair fall too but it changed when I started having lesser stress and working out (gym or swimming). I also take better care of my hair with hair care and vitamin E. As much as I consumed multivitamins, they only work when I eat healthily and have healthier lifestyle.
Your comment got me thinking about food and culture. The thing is, there are cultures that its people live healthier and somehow "thinner" like there's something called the Chinese paradox where it was assumed eating rice won't impact the weight but in recent years, it has shifted. I saw some Pakistani food and I think that some of them certainly oily much like Indian food to me. Though I believe there are healthy ways to cook your local food as well with ingredient replacements.
😂 I can't do that, I hate living miserably and I promised myself to never do anything extreme. And yes, I am indonesian, somehow, not by choice :D if I were to choose, I would want to be something else.
How you consume Vitamin E? Orally or Topically? I am also thinking to incorporate it in my haircare. I'm more focused on oral consumption of natural sources of all necessary vitmains. Because like you said, only then any synthetic vitamins or topical treatment show results.
Pakistani and Indian Food are somewhat similar. Too much oil and over cooking everything. Trust me our food tastes divine but at the expense of health.😂
Coming to my poor budget management... I don't live miserably. It's just that there are days I don't feel like spendig anything and then there are days I have to buy everything to reward myself for the no-buying days. Sounds absurd? 😂
Good to find an Indonesian Hiver and by the way I don't think anyone ever has a choice to choose his nationality. It's our parents who decide. 😜
Maintaining a healthy diet and food is more like becoming a hard thing. All the destructions on body and than spending $500 to more on food apps is like a culture now.
If I talk about myself only once in a month or sometimes even after more than months just a one time treat if budget allows otherwise healthy home cooked food.
Also planning to make it up to the Gym and be consistent with that... It just need some motivation and Glad you're still doing Good there.
So, I'm Going through this Phase of life.. I mean still learning to make a budget from certain money I get for college.
Maybe consider something like I do? 3 days instead thinking of 7 days terms then apply maybe 80/20 which is 20 for savings and the rest for food and everything else? I mean, certain money is though and I've been there. Going to the gym and be consistent have been a challenge to me but there are times when I just go , fuck it, and leave for gym. Then, I would leave the gym happier and in more cheerful mood than my original mood.
This is exactly the kind of article I needed. I've been living alone for a long time and sometimes I don't know how much shopping to do. I will definitely try the 3-day shopping plan.
And who likes boring food 🤣?
The only problem is maybe commuting? Unless you're super lazy, even doing it twice a week is a chore. I was there 😂 but I found out, I saved more by buying 3 days worth of food instead shopping for 7 days straight. I don't even have any dedicated kitchen at my place and all I have are electric appliances even to cook. It's definitely better if you have fridge than can store food for long-term mine doesn't have it. So I always opt to either a day for fresh fish/meat, another with canned sardines 😂 or sometimes if I want to eat more protein, I just order the meat right away and have it delivered on the day that I want to eat it. Also true, who likes boring food and same food everyday!
You've made a habit of it. I will do it because it makes sense to me too. I normally go shopping every day and I also walk, but sometimes I am too lazy to do that hahaha.
Marketing gives a great experience. But I don't have much marketing experience and I don't have to do this much.Bmuch.But I enjoy marketing
😄
oh my favorites are here! avocados and dragon fruit!
Yes! I now eat more avo than I previously would. A great source of fat.
'Youre what you eat.' There are a lot of people who visit us in the clinics with aesthetic complaints. The complains are usually the same. Acne, hairfall, dark circles and a lot of other complications related to the face. Oh yes, let me mention it beforehand that dentists nowadays are focusing a lot on aesthetic demands of their patients. Not just the teeth but the face as well.
Anyway, I have always consulted them to have a proper diet and to hit the gym. I know it's hard. It's hard for me as well, going to the gym. But I have to a realization that if you consider gym as a chore you'll always quit it during the first month. You should be enjoying going to the gym in order to be consistent. Talking about the diet, people usually have this misconception that if they take vitamins and other medications it'll have an immediate affect on their face. That's not how it works. Infact, pills would do you no good if you don't have a healthy diet. For example if someone has a complaint of acne on his/her face and they tell me that they have been using this cream for the past one month without any results, I'll always ask about their food intake. In Pakistan, we have a lot of oil and spices in our food. It gets unbearable sometimes but it is what it is. So, you can imagine why the acne is not going. So yes, healthy food with a healthy routine does the trick.
Talking about budget planning, I don't live alone but I haven't asked for a single penny from my dad for over 5 years now. I have never planed my budget during this period and somehow I haven't ran out of cash completely. Maybe it's just God having mercy on me or idk what 😂
I don't buy clothes myself a lot, infact I mentioned this in my recent post as well. Mosttt of my money is spent on food and that too isn't planned. It's like, I am off to play cricket or football somewhere and after the game the boys feel hungry, I spend on food. I feel bored in the hospital and there's nothing to do, I order food. Maybe thats why I am having a hard time losing weight 😂. Need to add balance in my life.
I think I got it wrong. You managed to lose 20 kg without hitting the gym? Dude, how? I need tips