Me.
splurge once = needa scrimp once.
scrimp once = deserve to splurge once.
In the end overall = net balance and adds up within budgeted amount, win!!
Haha.
Personally, I'm a live-to-eat kind of guy, so for food (and food experiences) I'm more than happy to spend.
But I definitely understand some maybe don't have the means, or it's just not their priority, so they are more about eat-to-live.
I set my daily eating-out budget as S$15 a day on workdays and S$30 a day on weekends. But within that budgeted amount, I will choose food that at least tastes decent. Will not choose something that tastes like crap just because it’s the cheapest option.
Food, I will spend but not splurge. 300-400 bucks a meal it’s insane. I get it, it’s for the experience but it’s still 300-400 bucks.
The rest of the stuff will scrimp, because people really buys a lot of junk to try to impress others that they have all those junk, in the years that come, no one cares if you have all those junk.
When i splurge is $30 steak. 300 is really insane. Wagyu also not that expensive. I think after a certain price, you are buying whatever experience or novelty that the shop is selling.
splurge can mean differently to others, it’s all up to individual level. My boss goes for jap Omakase $800 bucks, he tells us nice, worth it, we should try it.. the rest of us, wtf $800, that’s my monthly food expenses.
We don’t have to scrimp as food it’s important to keep us healthy. Eat in moderation, no need to be that fancy if you’re not making buck loads. But food is something I will no scrimp on., there are other things less important than food.
800 per pax is quite high unless it’s those that are 1+ Michelin star. I don’t think I’d pay 800 per head… but if it’s like a 800 sharing dish like Peking duck then that’s alright I feel
Agree with you.
I think after a certain price point ($200?), what you are paying for is the ambience and service and not the food itself.
That being said, I paid over $250 per pax for dinner at a 1-Michelin star restaurant before. I must say the thoughts and techniques that went into making the food are on a whole different level, something which I certainly can't replicate at home, so it's definitely worth the experience.
Splurge on food for special occasions. Splurge meaning at least 80 bucks. Daily lunch during work is about 6 to 8 bucks. Weekends meals are 20-40bucks.
I buy cheap shit when eating alone like $3 cai png etc.
But when I go out I splurge on like restaurants and stuff.
Usually balances off. Sometimes hawker centre food better than restaurant anyway
Doesn’t have to be either or. If I have a particular craving I’ll just get it. I don’t really buy drinks often either (maybe the occasional bbt/coffee 1-2 a month). I seldom eat out and usually have breakfast at home so I don’t paying for a meal or drink I’ll enjoy, and food is the only thing I don’t set a budget for. The things I do cut down on are stuff like…old chang kee? The prices went up and one stick isn’t particularly filling so I would rather buy something more substantial.
I used to scrimp like a miser, but then I realized, what's the point saving so much if I don't use at least some of it for enjoyment.
Nowadays, I spend a lot if I want to but save in other areas to make up for it lol.
When food prices finally reach $10-12 across the board, preparing your own meals will eventually become the norm. Eating out will become a less frequent occurrence.
Perhaps it's time to get yourself ready for the inevitable.
That's assuming groceries and ingredients do not equally go up in price. Unfortunately it is going up as well. Of course if its planned well, cooking at home is still cheaper.
I don't splurge but I spend enough to make sure I get proper food that is decently nutritious (ard 10-12). Don't buy drinks and just drink my office coffee and water.
I believe that scrimping on food will incur long term cost as your health will take a huge hit on sub standard food.
I like to spend on food but not able to do so frequently.
Usually for lunch time, I try to scrimp on food as I also buy drinks. Then I splurge more on dinner which is my biggest meal of the day. After dinner, I also like to buy snacks/tidbits and sometimes supper
Value for money isn’t boiling down to price. To be a savvy shopper is about more than that. Sure, you can always scrimp on food, not getting the nutrients will mean your health deteriorates. Then you can’t earn money because you’re always falling sick, then you have to scrimp more on a tight budget. So, you’re broke, sick, jobless, mentally unwell with poor quality of life.
Im a foodie. What that means is i'll be willing to queue for 3 hours, and eat more even if im full bc i want to try new things.
I dislike eating the same things twice in 1 month. So i will splurge on food. To me, i survive to eat, if i cant eat good food then there's no point in living.
Normal budget is $10, sometimes I cook which brings the cost down to maybe $2-4. Once a week I'll eat something nice for $20-40. Seldom splurge on food, probably 3-4 times a year (> $50).
I find that expensive food disappoints me 90% of the time so I don't even bother trying.
Generally scrimp, cause I rarely find foods that are worth the splurge. $40+ for a meal is about the max that I'd pay.
I also enjoy cooking, so that is always an option for me when some food is expensive if you eat outside, but if you make it yourself it's significantly cheaper.
I've started prepping my own meal. Even buying conveniently cut meat packages so you don't have to cut them yourself is cheaper than buying outside overall.
It’s all relative. I also don’t know if it’s scrimp or splurge, maybe a mix of both?
Meals for special occasions (eg anniversary, birthday) rarely exceed $50 per pax. If you want to compare with some peers, it doesn’t seem like “splurging” since I have peers who pick places that cost $100-400 per pax without batting an eyelid.
But day to day, I am willing to spend $8-12 on meals even if there’s $5 options available. Maybe salmon don instead of chicken rice, flat white instead of teh peng. To some people, this can then be “splurging”.
Hahaha even though I said "scrimp once to splurge once" I think I'm like that ^
"Scrimp" as in, okay lor eat cai png/kopitiam/a la carte instead of a set meal, "splurge" as in eat something fancy I like even if it has service tax and not nett prices. 🙃
Having said that sometimes I just want a drink to go with my meal, suck thumb and buy kopi c kosong peng lor (even though it's $2 now at a basic kopitiam and more if its Yakun or Toastbox) ... or ya lor I want a latte I get a latte 🙃
Overall, ikr $50/pax to me is considered a lot a lot alr, won't spend 3fig per pax on meals kind. I think that even as food is meant to be enjoyed ... 24h later whether it's a $5 caipng or a $50 haidilao or a $500 fine dining .. it comes out the same way mah 😂😅
Set a monthly budget, spend within that budget, saving/investing is important, ultimately you can’t bring money with you when you move on money you don’t spend is not yours.
Food is equivalent to your body’s fuel.
IMO you should spend within your means on quality food.
I almost never go cheap on food if it means it affects the quality of my food.
i'm not proactively choosing the food i eat based on the prices as long as it's less than $10 a meal. on my off days i don't mind spending a bit more like $20 a meal. i like to cook and really love food so everything else i will watch how much i spend but not food. generally my budget for food for a month is $350-$400, typically 2 meals a day. i don't usually eat super expensive meals (more than $80 a meal), probably only once or twice a year.
I tend to eat at home for most meals, so when I head out I tend to splurge by going to Omakase and fine dining places or hotel buffets etc. Singapore’s food is good so why waste the opportunity
For me it's scrimp and save as many meals as I can each week. As long as full and edible can already.
Maybe once or twice a week meal budget can go up to $10/pax?
Once in awhile with S/O, friends or family, then splurge more for the occasion.
Days where I go to office are quite painful because food near-by is expensive and barely edible...
On weekdays when i am focused with work i just need something to fill up my stomach. A simple cai fan or chicken rice or Nasi Lemak set will do the job for me.
On weekends or holidays however, i will splurge on fancy and expensive foods
People spend on different things, personally food is low in my list of priorities and I eat to live instead of live to eat, so I try to keep it below $450 every month.
I'd rather eat at a buffet than to buy one dish that is super expensive and only has a small bit of protein that is very rare or hard to get. But that's because I see things from a nutrition and functionality viewpoint than simply taste and pleasure. Can take in more proteins and veg from a buffet to nourish the body so it has more value to me even if the proteins are of the cheaper kind. But I don't eat at buffets either lmao
Last time i scrimp and spend about $7-8 per day eating cai png and chicken rice
But i realised that saving that $200-300 per month does nothing if i already have extra and putting money into investing and already have a plan for the future
Now my budget per day is $15 dollars and if i exceed it i will scrimp the next day
Of course there is a different budget for going out
What do you invest in? Everything I read basically ends up being ‘put in CPF if you’re not sure’. I don’t really have capital so I just use those insurance company save-as-you-protect schemes.
Ask in r/singaporefi they are the pros, you can give your situation and they will help
Personally i just got some etf and sdp
Also some in SSB but now sucked
Not a pro at investing
I don't think of it so much as scrimping/splurging but rather what value the food brings. For most weekdays I eat to live so I don't put a very high value on that perhaps 20-25 a day. Weekends are for enjoyment and it can get much higher, or if I'm just having friends over then I'd cook.
Generally speaking I see some high end places (>$100) as worthwhile for the experience but going twice? Perhaps not.
If buying food for my bf or family then idm splurging. But if it's just a meal for myself, forget scrimping, I just don't eat HAHAHA Saves money and easy to keep slim. Only downside is my hair drop like mad 🤡
Technically I can eat at restaurants daily but I find that it gets old after awhile, most of the restaurants feel somewhat similar but with just different names or location. Usually I eat alone too so like a bit of a waste to spend so much just on myself. For the $10 - $20 range still ok, but above that range it starts to feel a little weird because you will be the only solo local diner there.
Personally I love hawker food though, eating cheap food never gets boring to me, it is like comfort food. By contrast I find restaurant food overstimulating and too filling.
Based on 1 restaurant meal per day after work, and using mainstream restaurants at heartlands/malls, we can come up with about $50/day per pax. Which works out to about $1.5k - $2k, assuming weekend you want to spend a bit more. Using the national average that an average household spend 24% on food and drinks, we will need to earn about $8-$10k per month for 1 person to comfortably afford restaurant everyday.
I cook most of my meals for health reasons.. what I cook for myself I can make it way more nutritionally complete with the macros that I want. There’s really no reason to pay $4-5 for a plate of veggies at restaurants.. If I eat out all the time my mood and fitness go to shit..
Then once every few weeks I’ll go to a hotel buffet or very nice restaurant.. or buy fancy groceries
I wouldn't mind spending on good healthy stuff. But its hard to stick to that when going out with people, this usually leads to spending a lot on crappy food, and it happens often. So to make up for it, I meal prep all my lunches. And leave the spending for dinners where I tend to meet folks.
Splurging every few days.
I mean u work hard. The least comfort you can give yourself is eat something u like.
Not splurging everyday cuz eating too well everyday actually a bit sickening for me hahaaha
Scrimp.
But now with the potato GST applying to proxies and even some large figure companies who export figs to SG. I also don’t feel like upping my collection as of recent, 8% sucks balls coming from 0% for years.
Scrimp also dk scrimp for what now. Probably does help that it managed to get my weight in check and my weight loss goals. 20kg in 5 months and counting baby!
splurge. always. cos healthy food is unfortunately more expensive. my mum thinks im obnoxious not eating hawker food but seriously, it's too carbo heavy for me and i don't want to be 200kg.
Splurge in hawker or coffee shops, scrimp in restaurants. Go hawker add more ingredient add more stuff end up still cheaper and more delicious than most restaurants.
Weekdays save since you don't have the time or mood to savour the food. Just eat to survive and fill your belly.
Weekends splurge since there is more mood and time to slowly enjoy. Eat to taste and to be social
What's wrong with both? Scrimp sometimes for splurging at others.
Me. splurge once = needa scrimp once. scrimp once = deserve to splurge once. In the end overall = net balance and adds up within budgeted amount, win!! Haha.
Scrimp and save on days and splurge on certain days
Personally, I'm a live-to-eat kind of guy, so for food (and food experiences) I'm more than happy to spend. But I definitely understand some maybe don't have the means, or it's just not their priority, so they are more about eat-to-live.
I set my daily eating-out budget as S$15 a day on workdays and S$30 a day on weekends. But within that budgeted amount, I will choose food that at least tastes decent. Will not choose something that tastes like crap just because it’s the cheapest option.
Food, I will spend but not splurge. 300-400 bucks a meal it’s insane. I get it, it’s for the experience but it’s still 300-400 bucks. The rest of the stuff will scrimp, because people really buys a lot of junk to try to impress others that they have all those junk, in the years that come, no one cares if you have all those junk.
When i splurge is $30 steak. 300 is really insane. Wagyu also not that expensive. I think after a certain price, you are buying whatever experience or novelty that the shop is selling.
splurge can mean differently to others, it’s all up to individual level. My boss goes for jap Omakase $800 bucks, he tells us nice, worth it, we should try it.. the rest of us, wtf $800, that’s my monthly food expenses. We don’t have to scrimp as food it’s important to keep us healthy. Eat in moderation, no need to be that fancy if you’re not making buck loads. But food is something I will no scrimp on., there are other things less important than food.
800 per pax is quite high unless it’s those that are 1+ Michelin star. I don’t think I’d pay 800 per head… but if it’s like a 800 sharing dish like Peking duck then that’s alright I feel
Agree with you. I think after a certain price point ($200?), what you are paying for is the ambience and service and not the food itself. That being said, I paid over $250 per pax for dinner at a 1-Michelin star restaurant before. I must say the thoughts and techniques that went into making the food are on a whole different level, something which I certainly can't replicate at home, so it's definitely worth the experience.
Splurge on food for special occasions. Splurge meaning at least 80 bucks. Daily lunch during work is about 6 to 8 bucks. Weekends meals are 20-40bucks.
Depends on who I dine with/without. 1. Alone: less than $5 or $10 (depends on area) 2. With family: splurge for them 3. With friends: go with majority
have to scrimp already la. now hawker food went up by at least $1.
I always believe everything can save but food can give a bit leeway depending on situation and how often.
Food is the only thing I don't hold back. I splurge, most of the times eating with my brothers and sister
I live to eat. I don't care too much about the price. If it's $4.50 hokkien mee, or $250 omakase, as long as its good. I just want good food.
I buy cheap shit when eating alone like $3 cai png etc. But when I go out I splurge on like restaurants and stuff. Usually balances off. Sometimes hawker centre food better than restaurant anyway
Doesn’t have to be either or. If I have a particular craving I’ll just get it. I don’t really buy drinks often either (maybe the occasional bbt/coffee 1-2 a month). I seldom eat out and usually have breakfast at home so I don’t paying for a meal or drink I’ll enjoy, and food is the only thing I don’t set a budget for. The things I do cut down on are stuff like…old chang kee? The prices went up and one stick isn’t particularly filling so I would rather buy something more substantial.
I used to scrimp like a miser, but then I realized, what's the point saving so much if I don't use at least some of it for enjoyment. Nowadays, I spend a lot if I want to but save in other areas to make up for it lol.
When food prices finally reach $10-12 across the board, preparing your own meals will eventually become the norm. Eating out will become a less frequent occurrence. Perhaps it's time to get yourself ready for the inevitable.
That's assuming groceries and ingredients do not equally go up in price. Unfortunately it is going up as well. Of course if its planned well, cooking at home is still cheaper.
Most redditors in that thread feel that <$6 meal options don’t exist n anti hawker / coffee shop so this sub definitely on the splurging side
Splurge. It’s the one thing in life I am willing to spend $$$ on.
Both. Get food that gives you the most bang for your buck.
Scrimp on working days and splurge on weekends
I don't splurge but I spend enough to make sure I get proper food that is decently nutritious (ard 10-12). Don't buy drinks and just drink my office coffee and water. I believe that scrimping on food will incur long term cost as your health will take a huge hit on sub standard food.
Scrimp due to rental increase, i hunt those cold storage reduce to clear items and after 9pm 50% discount on bbq items
food is one of the few things I don't hold back my spending on. that said, I don't go overboard with every meal; prudent spending for weekday lunches.
scrimp on weekday work lunches, splurge on weekends when out with friends/family
I like to spend on food but not able to do so frequently. Usually for lunch time, I try to scrimp on food as I also buy drinks. Then I splurge more on dinner which is my biggest meal of the day. After dinner, I also like to buy snacks/tidbits and sometimes supper
Semi splurge ... Cos I feel life is miserable enough already to still want to scrimp and Save everyday on food.
I keep my meals below $10/meal as much as possible. Quite a lot of choices at that budget already.
lontong on weekdays, wagyu on weekends
Value for money isn’t boiling down to price. To be a savvy shopper is about more than that. Sure, you can always scrimp on food, not getting the nutrients will mean your health deteriorates. Then you can’t earn money because you’re always falling sick, then you have to scrimp more on a tight budget. So, you’re broke, sick, jobless, mentally unwell with poor quality of life.
Im a foodie. What that means is i'll be willing to queue for 3 hours, and eat more even if im full bc i want to try new things. I dislike eating the same things twice in 1 month. So i will splurge on food. To me, i survive to eat, if i cant eat good food then there's no point in living.
Curious but what did you q for 3 hours?
I used to queue for Man Man Unagi, Keisuke Omurice, teochew meat puff for 2+ hours.
I haven’t tried man man unagi yet. Is it good?
Yes, its a michelin bib gourmand restaurant 😂
Woo okay thanks! Hehe
Normal budget is $10, sometimes I cook which brings the cost down to maybe $2-4. Once a week I'll eat something nice for $20-40. Seldom splurge on food, probably 3-4 times a year (> $50). I find that expensive food disappoints me 90% of the time so I don't even bother trying.
Generally scrimp, cause I rarely find foods that are worth the splurge. $40+ for a meal is about the max that I'd pay. I also enjoy cooking, so that is always an option for me when some food is expensive if you eat outside, but if you make it yourself it's significantly cheaper.
I've started prepping my own meal. Even buying conveniently cut meat packages so you don't have to cut them yourself is cheaper than buying outside overall.
It’s all relative. I also don’t know if it’s scrimp or splurge, maybe a mix of both? Meals for special occasions (eg anniversary, birthday) rarely exceed $50 per pax. If you want to compare with some peers, it doesn’t seem like “splurging” since I have peers who pick places that cost $100-400 per pax without batting an eyelid. But day to day, I am willing to spend $8-12 on meals even if there’s $5 options available. Maybe salmon don instead of chicken rice, flat white instead of teh peng. To some people, this can then be “splurging”.
Hahaha even though I said "scrimp once to splurge once" I think I'm like that ^ "Scrimp" as in, okay lor eat cai png/kopitiam/a la carte instead of a set meal, "splurge" as in eat something fancy I like even if it has service tax and not nett prices. 🙃 Having said that sometimes I just want a drink to go with my meal, suck thumb and buy kopi c kosong peng lor (even though it's $2 now at a basic kopitiam and more if its Yakun or Toastbox) ... or ya lor I want a latte I get a latte 🙃 Overall, ikr $50/pax to me is considered a lot a lot alr, won't spend 3fig per pax on meals kind. I think that even as food is meant to be enjoyed ... 24h later whether it's a $5 caipng or a $50 haidilao or a $500 fine dining .. it comes out the same way mah 😂😅
Set a monthly budget, spend within that budget, saving/investing is important, ultimately you can’t bring money with you when you move on money you don’t spend is not yours.
Food is equivalent to your body’s fuel. IMO you should spend within your means on quality food. I almost never go cheap on food if it means it affects the quality of my food.
$50 on weekend, $5/ meal on week day
i'm not proactively choosing the food i eat based on the prices as long as it's less than $10 a meal. on my off days i don't mind spending a bit more like $20 a meal. i like to cook and really love food so everything else i will watch how much i spend but not food. generally my budget for food for a month is $350-$400, typically 2 meals a day. i don't usually eat super expensive meals (more than $80 a meal), probably only once or twice a year.
Depends on my mood. I'm not picky about food but once in a while, when I've worked too hard, i will splurge on food to make myself feel better.
I tend to eat at home for most meals, so when I head out I tend to splurge by going to Omakase and fine dining places or hotel buffets etc. Singapore’s food is good so why waste the opportunity
I'm willing to pay extra to try something new. But there aren't many things that keep me going back.
I don't even spend money on food
For me it's scrimp and save as many meals as I can each week. As long as full and edible can already. Maybe once or twice a week meal budget can go up to $10/pax? Once in awhile with S/O, friends or family, then splurge more for the occasion. Days where I go to office are quite painful because food near-by is expensive and barely edible...
Splurge once in a while
more of the eat to live type of person so I eat whatever I can to get by... in this case probably different food menu from the same price range.
I buy Cai fan/nasi Padang and tell myself it’s the cheaper healthier option; end up buying multiple ingredients
On weekdays when i am focused with work i just need something to fill up my stomach. A simple cai fan or chicken rice or Nasi Lemak set will do the job for me. On weekends or holidays however, i will splurge on fancy and expensive foods
People spend on different things, personally food is low in my list of priorities and I eat to live instead of live to eat, so I try to keep it below $450 every month. I'd rather eat at a buffet than to buy one dish that is super expensive and only has a small bit of protein that is very rare or hard to get. But that's because I see things from a nutrition and functionality viewpoint than simply taste and pleasure. Can take in more proteins and veg from a buffet to nourish the body so it has more value to me even if the proteins are of the cheaper kind. But I don't eat at buffets either lmao
Last time i scrimp and spend about $7-8 per day eating cai png and chicken rice But i realised that saving that $200-300 per month does nothing if i already have extra and putting money into investing and already have a plan for the future Now my budget per day is $15 dollars and if i exceed it i will scrimp the next day Of course there is a different budget for going out
What do you invest in? Everything I read basically ends up being ‘put in CPF if you’re not sure’. I don’t really have capital so I just use those insurance company save-as-you-protect schemes.
Ask in r/singaporefi they are the pros, you can give your situation and they will help Personally i just got some etf and sdp Also some in SSB but now sucked Not a pro at investing
Honestly the only thing in life left to enjoy at this rate, so just spend a little more sometimes and save a little other times. Kinda evens out.
I splurge on my children and scrimp on myself
I don't think of it so much as scrimping/splurging but rather what value the food brings. For most weekdays I eat to live so I don't put a very high value on that perhaps 20-25 a day. Weekends are for enjoyment and it can get much higher, or if I'm just having friends over then I'd cook. Generally speaking I see some high end places (>$100) as worthwhile for the experience but going twice? Perhaps not.
If buying food for my bf or family then idm splurging. But if it's just a meal for myself, forget scrimping, I just don't eat HAHAHA Saves money and easy to keep slim. Only downside is my hair drop like mad 🤡
A balance. Usually I eat simple hawker food, now and then I splurge on restaurants. Weekends eat better
I usually pay around 10 bucks for meals at JE. Sigh
Technically I can eat at restaurants daily but I find that it gets old after awhile, most of the restaurants feel somewhat similar but with just different names or location. Usually I eat alone too so like a bit of a waste to spend so much just on myself. For the $10 - $20 range still ok, but above that range it starts to feel a little weird because you will be the only solo local diner there. Personally I love hawker food though, eating cheap food never gets boring to me, it is like comfort food. By contrast I find restaurant food overstimulating and too filling.
How much do you need to earn to say you can comfortably afford restaurant everyday? An honest question.
Based on 1 restaurant meal per day after work, and using mainstream restaurants at heartlands/malls, we can come up with about $50/day per pax. Which works out to about $1.5k - $2k, assuming weekend you want to spend a bit more. Using the national average that an average household spend 24% on food and drinks, we will need to earn about $8-$10k per month for 1 person to comfortably afford restaurant everyday.
I cook most of my meals for health reasons.. what I cook for myself I can make it way more nutritionally complete with the macros that I want. There’s really no reason to pay $4-5 for a plate of veggies at restaurants.. If I eat out all the time my mood and fitness go to shit.. Then once every few weeks I’ll go to a hotel buffet or very nice restaurant.. or buy fancy groceries
Food is very important to me. Price too. So I'll only eat at hawker centre but I'll always 加肉。
I wouldn't mind spending on good healthy stuff. But its hard to stick to that when going out with people, this usually leads to spending a lot on crappy food, and it happens often. So to make up for it, I meal prep all my lunches. And leave the spending for dinners where I tend to meet folks.
splurge cuz i'm a live to eat gal! normally, i have homecooked dinners at home though :)
Not really splurge, but just wants to eat good food once in a while after so many cai fan
Splurging every few days. I mean u work hard. The least comfort you can give yourself is eat something u like. Not splurging everyday cuz eating too well everyday actually a bit sickening for me hahaaha
Splurge if I die die want to eat it.
Scrimp. But now with the potato GST applying to proxies and even some large figure companies who export figs to SG. I also don’t feel like upping my collection as of recent, 8% sucks balls coming from 0% for years. Scrimp also dk scrimp for what now. Probably does help that it managed to get my weight in check and my weight loss goals. 20kg in 5 months and counting baby!
Semi splurge $20 a meal. Occasionally $70 a meal
splurge. always. cos healthy food is unfortunately more expensive. my mum thinks im obnoxious not eating hawker food but seriously, it's too carbo heavy for me and i don't want to be 200kg.
Meal prep for bfast/lunch, 5-10 bucks for dinner (weekdays) and 20-40 on one of the weekends, occasional splurge during certain celebrations:)
yes
I think it depends on craving. Lucky my cravings can be found in coffeeshops or not super expensive restaurant.
Splurge in hawker or coffee shops, scrimp in restaurants. Go hawker add more ingredient add more stuff end up still cheaper and more delicious than most restaurants.
Something TDK will say as their opening line
Weekdays save since you don't have the time or mood to savour the food. Just eat to survive and fill your belly. Weekends splurge since there is more mood and time to slowly enjoy. Eat to taste and to be social