2 easy ways to save on your daily groceries and essentials

DFI retail group, which manages the Cold Storage and Giant supermarkets, has acknowledged that the prices of eggs have increased by almost 25 per cent since 2021.

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A study conducted by CNA revealed that the price of a pack of 30 eggs has increased from just S$4.75 at FairPrice in early 2021 to S$7.20 in March 2022. Our research shows that this price has jumped once again to reach S$7.50 as of April 2022.

Statistics show that Singaporeans consume an average of roughly 388 eggs per year. While this would have cost around S$61.40 annually before 2021, this same rate of consumption would now cost Singaporeans an estimated $97 per year, which shows an increase of over S$30 per capita.

Similarly, the price of fresh fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and spinach have also increased slightly since the previous year across all supermarkets.

Why are prices rising?

There is a myriad of reasons contributing to this price increase. As inflation rates rise amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, manufacturers and retailers are also having to deal with labour shortages, higher transport and rental costs, and other weather-related disruptions that lead to an inevitable increase in the prices of imported goods.

Furthermore, the conflict unfolding between Ukraine and Russia — both of whom are major wheat and food grain exporters — has put an additional strain on global food supply. This has been a major reason for the drastic increase in the price of eggs.

However, it's not all bad news: the prices of certain products such as imported Fuji apples have dropped instead, meaning that there isn't a uniform increase in prices across all products.

How can you save on essentials?

Although our core inflation rates have eased in the past couple of months, it is likely that food prices will either continue rising or at least maintain themselves at the current rate in the months to come.

In addition to taking note of the supermarkets which offer the cheapest rates, there are two other ways for you to save on your daily essential expenses.

1. Supermarket discounts

Supermarkets in Singapore have been rolling out initiatives to support customers during this period of price hikes in order to steer clear of transferring the increasing production or other retail costs to them.

FairPrice's Stretch Your Dollar Programme

NTUC's FairPrice has continued its Stretch Your Dollar programme, through which it offers a 5 per cent discount on a specified list of 100 essential items every Friday. Scheduling your weekly grocery shopping to the end of the working week can be an easy way for you to cut a little cost on your essential expenditures.

It also has an array of special discount schemes that offer special rates for customers part of certain categories, such as the Pioneer and Merdeka generations. These discount schemes apply from Mondays to Thursdays.

Monday	3 per cent Pioneer Discount Scheme
Tuesday	2 per cent Seniors Discount Scheme
Wednesday	3 per cent Pioneer & Merdeka Discount Scheme
Thursday	3 per cent for CHAS Blue cardholders
Friday	5 per cent ‘Stretch Your Dollar’ Discount Scheme

Giant’s Lower Prices That Last Initiative

Similarly, Giant has also come forward with special discounts to help customers deal with the rising costs of inflation. Giant now sells a curated list of 150 essential products at a discounted price that is up to 20 per cent cheaper than the products' average price. This way, customers do not feel the burden of the increasing prices of these products.

2. Cashback credit cards

Cashback credit cards are another easy way for consumers to earn cash rebates on their regular grocery or other spending, which can help to offset the generally increasing prices of essential products.

POSB Everyday

With high reward rates for categories of everyday spending, the POSB Everyday is a perfect cashback credit card for families looking to earn back from their essential expenditure — such as groceries, household care products, and even dining or commuting.

Citi Cash Back Card

The Citi Cash Back Card offers up to 8 per cent cash rebates for groceries and other daily spending. When combined with the other discounts offered by supermarkets themselves, this could lead to a huge relief on your wallet.

Conclusion

Essential products are items we buy regularly and cannot go without, which means that even a slight price hike for a few of these products can really add up to a considerable amount.

However, looking out for the cheapest prices, best discounts, and other easy ways to save can be a big help to your wallet.

Methodology

Essential items were identified by the lists provided by major supermarkets such as FairPrice and Giant. The prices of 23 of these essential items (roughly one or two products from each category) at each of five major supermarkets in Singapore were obtained from their respective websites and compiled into the table seen above.

In the case that the supermarkets offered different brands of the same product, the lowest price for the products which were the most similar in description and quantity to the products offered by the other supermarkets were chosen.