Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Murph]

What ways do most of you keep costs down with regards to food. I can't seem to find a way to keep my expenses low without sacrificing health. I could eat ramyeon 3 times a day, but I'm sure I'd be dead by fall. what are some creative cost savers?

[gprov]

try to buy in bulk

[Joe666]

Don't eat very much at night. Much healthier!

[Draz]

[Rusty Shackleford]

Eat at Korean restaurants. You can't buy and cook a meal for what it costs to eat out. Especially for one person. I eat out four nights a week and it costs between 4000 and 10000.

[Sergio Stefanuto]

Assuming one doesn't do privates, and assuming one is on way above 2m, saving between 1m and 1.5m per month gives one an average daily allowance of at least w33,000. There's no reason whatsoever, as such, to eat cheap Korean food, let alone ramyeon (which is absolutely disgusting, in any case)

I never eat at Korean restaurants, always eat at home, shop at Lottemart, and find that I spend an average of 20,000-30,000 per day on food, and in consequence save more than amply. Limiting myself to only a few expensive days/nights out per month is also not only necessary but desirable. Chasing girls in bars and going out on the town and getting drunk is infantile and doing so every weekend is an abomination

[eamo]

[wesharris]

[NightSky]

[quote="Sergio Stefanuto"]Assuming one doesn't do privates, and assuming one is on way above 2m, saving between 1m and 1.5m per month gives one an average daily allowance of at least w33,000. /quote]

and assuming one's not single, and one doesn't have children, or a car, or bills to pay, or student loans to pay off, or any responsibilities at all...

[Robot_Teacher]

Eat school lunch for only 2,500 won per meal. Eat oatmeal for breakfast for about 30,000 to 40,000 won a month with cinnamon and honey. Eat a 5,000 won dinner of a small portion of meat, potatoes, and vegetable. Eat a coupl bananas a day as a snack. That's about 10,000 won a day, sometimes 15,000. Drinkable beer is a whole other matter of cost as well as extras like juice, Gatorade, supplements, and bottled water. Food can easily be held within 400,000 month, but easily rockets up to 800,000 when you include beverages, special imports, and more variety from the limited selection of over priced fruits and nuts. For fresh greens, leaves intended for samgyeopsal are cheap enough.

Less is better, but with small quantities of a variety of foods though we love to eat more than what is considered less. I can see how Koreans keep their per person food costs within 100,000 a month by communal eating of cheap stuff like school lunch as well as undrinkable beverages that are almost free. Well, you truly get the quality level you pay for. For health and pleasure reasons, it's well worth to spend money if needing to enjoy something more than basic subsistence that's too salty and lacking fresh ingredients and nutrition.

[nicam]

Pork, tofu, chicken, and eggs are all reasonably cheap sources of protein here. So is fish. One of the best meals I make is whole grilled fish. I have one of those grill pans, and I buy the pre-gutted whole fish (they score, scale, and even salt it for you), rub it down with olive oil, pop it on the grill, squeeze some lemon on it, and viola. Friggin' delicious, and like 2,500 per fish. Don't even get me started on clams and mussels. Yum.

As far as veggies go, cabbage, zucchini, eggplant, lettuce, tomatoes, shitake mushrooms, regular mushrooms, carrots, etc. are all reasonably priced to dirt cheap.

Barley is much cheaper and healthier than rice. Pasta is always cheap, unless it's the totally *beep* De Cecco brand, but Barilla's a close second. Sweet potatoes and potatoes are cheap. Buckwheat and Chinese noodles are too, and bread's not bad either.

Sure, you can save a few bucks by eating kimbop every day and/or noshing at your favorite bargain K-restaurant, but that gets real old real fast. That's no way to live IMO.

[Illysook]

Make friends with a soldier who will take you to the shopette for vitamins, nyquil, razors and such. They are sooo much cheaper on post!

[Sergio Stefanuto]

[yingwenlaoshi]

I have 45,700 won left.

[cruisemonkey]

1. Learn to cook.
2. Buy 'on sale'.
3. Buy 'in season'.


I eat like a king for very little... but I have an oven and like to cook. I also make my own lunch.