Like salt, some butter, pasta, detergent, etc...
There is a big supermarket 3 train stations away from where I stay. Here, things are cheaper. It's a big 2 storey supermarket. Something like Giant at tampines.
Then there's another supermarket, which is considered the more atas supermarket chain in Paris. Probably something like Cold Storage. Selling some things which are better quality and some things which are the same but at a more expensive price...
I've bought stuff at both the supermarkets.
After some calculation, I realized that logically, I should be buying from the more expensive supermarket.
Butter (President brand 250gm) at the cheaper supermarket is EUR2.10.
Butter at the more expensive supermarket is EUR2.19.
Both sell dried pasta that I use for under EUR1 per kilo.
The thing is... Firstly, I buy very little things. The price variation for the stuff that I need is very low, around 5-10%.
The price variation of fresh food, vegetables, fruits, meat, seem to be more, but I don't buy such stuff.
So considering that I don't buy much stuff, and I don't go frequently, it's actually more worth it for me to buy stuff at the more expensive supermarket. Cos transport to the cheaper supermarket costs EUR2.90. Considering that I'm likely going to buy stuff maybe once a month or less once my shipment of consumables arrive, and not much stuff per trip. My savings would not make up for my transport cost.
I COULD... buy in bulk and save in the long run... But, that's just ridiculous. I'm not going to keep 10 blocks of butter stored in the fridge or 10kg of pasta. It's not like my apartment is big and I can store all these stuff easily.
Incidentally, I also use less shampoo and bath gel, cos I bathe once per 2 to 3 days... No, I don't stink. The thing is, in dry weather, bathing too much with shampoo and bath gel makes my skin dry and I tend to get eczema. So now, my bathing supplies can last twice as long.
Don't try to do this in Singapore though... it's humid and sweaty and... nvm...
Hmmm.... I do think that the idea that everything is expensive in Paris is flawed... Eating out is exceptionally expensive, rent in central Paris is pretty expensive, but general living outside of central Paris is affordable... It's like staying at Clementi or Punggol and travelling to work at Shenton way. One end of Paris to the other end of Paris is like 12-15km across so it's really a small area. So it's not surprising that it's going to be expensive. It's like if you live in Orchard road or Shenton way area.
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