Tips for Saving Money

I’ve lived in Korea as a missionary for about nine years now. Over the years I’ve learned some convenient ways to save money while still living well. Here are a few tips…

TIP 1 – Make a large amount of spaghetti sauce (I get a big jug of spaghetti sauce, some sausages, mushrooms, onions, and maybe another vegetable, dice the veggies, and cook it all together) and then let it cool. Put individual servings into separate ziplock bags (about 3/4 – 1 cup, depending how much you like to eat) and flatten them. Place them into your freezer for easy storage. Then, whenever you’re hungry and want a quick meal, while boiling noodles pull out a frozen bag and put it under running water in the sink for a little bit until it defrosts a little. Then pour it out on a pan to heat it up to the temperature you like. Add the noodles and you have a quick and easy (and cost efficient) meal! =) Sky and I usually have this on Sundays before church when we don’t have much time to cook. Here is a picture of one of our frozen packs…

It doesn’t look that amazing, but once heated up it tastes just as delicious as when we first made it. We also freeze other dishes such as chili, certain soups, curry, and other dishes that don’t have leafy vegetables that might not freeze well. For some dishes, freezing it actually helps it marinate more so the seasoning tastes even better. I actually started doing this more out of convenience than to save money since I like already made meals, but cooking a lot at once is also far more cost efficient (especially in Korea) than cooking individual meals each time.

TIP 2 – Find a friend with Costco membership and go together to buy large packs of meat. Just like the spaghetti, put the meat into ziplocks according to the portion size you would want to eat. Freeze the meat. When you’re hungry, pull it out of the freezer and place it in a large bowl of water (while still in the ziplock) to let it defrost. Then cook it. If you can’t find a friend with Costco membership, then go to a local large grocery store and try and buy meat in bulk (if you can get a deal) and do the same. Here is a pic of some of our meats…

Pork, beef, and chicken. The chicken breast at Costco already comes in individually plastic sealed packs. The cost comes out to 3,000won ($3) per breast. While that might seem like a lot, it’s actually a decent deal because the breast is so filling. Sky’s brother taught me an easy, cost efficient recipe with chicken breast: slice up an onion and fry the sliced onion in a pan (using butter or oil to grease the pan), then add the chicken breast and let it cook with the onions, then add some salsa, a bit of orange juice, and some hot sauce and stir it up while letting it cook until the orange juice has been mostly absorbed by the onions and chicken. Done! He likes a lot of hot sauce (uses sriracha sauce); I only like a little. It’s a nice, easy, and cost efficient meal.

TIP 3 – Drink less coffee, soda, and other drinks that add up quickly. In Korea if you order one coffee per workday from Starbucks (5,000won, or $5), it comes out to about $110 a month spent on coffee (not including weekends). That is ridiculous! Soda at most restaurants is also $2 – $5. Making coffee and soda more of a treat (once a week at a coffee shop or restaurant) can help save a ton of money depending on how much you were previously drinking the stuff. It will also make you healthier. Try learning to brew coffee at home and get a good coffee tumbler that will keep it hot throughout the day. You can also get a 2 liter of soda at a mart for the same price you could get a small cup of it at a restaurant. If you have to have your soda, then drink some at home. Save your money!

TIP 4 – If you have to eat out at an expensive American restaurant in Korea (such as Outback or Unos, etc.), check out the side menu in the back. You can order marinated chicken breasts and baked potatoes at Outback for very cheap! Other American restaurants also have cheap side dishes in the back. So rather than paying $20 for a pasta or $30 for a small steak, spend $8-$10 on side dishes that will amount to just as much or even more food than those expensive “main dishes.”

TIP 5 – When you see a sale on some items you need, STOCK UP. I’m a cereal killer. I love my morning cereal. Cereal also happens to last for a long time (probably because it isn’t that healthy, but whatever…), so whenever I see a type of cereal I like that is on sale I will typically buy five – seven boxes of it. What was originally $7 I’m able to get for $4 or $5, so buying in bulk can save me $10 – $21. That’s a good amount of money for a single food item! The same goes for clothes. Look for sales! Clothes in Korea are pretty ridiculous, but now and then retailers will mark down a lot of items for 50%. Purchase a lot at once when you find such a sale (I recently saved a ridiculous amount of money at Muji on a variety of stuff). Or stock up on clothes when you go home to America. Last summer Sky and I went to an outlet center outside DC and spent most of our year’s clothes budget on a ton of clothes that would have cost us twice or even triple the amount here in Korea.

TIP 6 – If you’re living in Korea, try finding cafeterias or small neighborhood restaurants for regular meals. We have a small neighborhood restaurant by us that charges $5.50 for a good meal with a lot of Korean side dishes. Cafeterias at schools, universities, and businesses are typically very cheap ($2 – $4) and are great options if you have to eat lunch or dinner out everyday. If you have to eat lunch out everyday, an average so-so Korean restaurant will be $7-$8 with nicer options being $10-$20. Finding a cheaper option can save you a whole lot of money. Also limiting your visits to the nicer restaurants will save you a lot of money.

TIP 7 – Get a used cell phone or get a cheaper phone plan. Some people are paying $80 or $90 for their phone and their plan. If they would get a used phone or just get a cheaper plan, they could save $20 – $50 a month. That adds up! The inconvenience is having to use wifi more (for cheaper plans) or your phone not being as shiny/new. But most iPhone 5’s and Galaxy 3’s are still decent. I know people still using their iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S. Sooner or later you will need to upgrade, but consider going with a much cheaper (or even free) used phone then spending the ridiculous $700 or $800 on a new phone.

TIP 8 – Use Craigslist and GMarket for home appliances, furniture, etc. If furnishing a new home that is temporary, get it all cheap from those sites. If furnishing a new home that is more permanent, then go to a furniture store you like and buy in bulk. It will be expensive at the furniture stores, but it will be very good quality and by purchasing in bulk (sofa, TV stand, desk, etc.) you will save a few hundred dollars (and sometimes even more if you get a lot).

Please comment below if you have some tips to add. I hope this post helps some people! =)