Share your spending tips and advice here
| Ngan | One tip I have for buying food and drinks is to use food delivery apps like Baemin (which offers great discounts), Loship (free shipping for nearby locations), and other apps like Grab, Gojek, and ShopeeFood to apply discount codes. While it's not as cheap as the vegetarian places mentioned earlier, you can still save some money when you want good food at an affordable price. Plus, if you order together and have a large bill, you can save even more. |
|---|---|
| ÉT | If you're a student who's always on the go: |
Prepare packed meals or portable food that you can take with you anytime: Cooking and bringing food to school takes about 30 minutes to an hour (or 10 minutes if you're a great cook). If you have a 9 am class and accidentally oversleep or worry about missing the school bus, having packed meals is very convenient and time-saving. Schools always have hot water available (or you can use the convenience store), so you can bring instant noodles (but don't eat too much), instant porridge, or cereals with a bowl, chopsticks, and a spoon. Buying packed food from supermarkets or markets is always cheaper than eating at convenience stores.
If you're always at home or in a dorm:
Plan your weekly menu: This is an excellent way to calculate your nutritional needs and estimate what you need to buy. Knowing your menu can make you more excited to eat. Set a minimum savings amount: Make sure you always have a certain amount of money saved (e.g., 1 million). You can spend on anything but must ensure that you still have that exact amount saved (for future emergencies). If you overspend, switch to debt repayment mode to restore your savings. | | Lalala | Some cost-saving food tips include:
Join school events, as there's usually free food. Volunteer for school activities, and the organizers will likely take you out to eat. Share meals with housemates, as someone might bring back a lot of specialty food from their hometown, enough to eat for a week. | | Min | For northern Vietnamese cuisine, try Tran Trong Cung Street, which offers dishes like bun cha, pho, and bun dau mam tom. There's a bun cha place for 35k, which is the best among all the bun cha places I've tried in Saigon (about 6 or 7 places). To eat cheaply, shop at markets or supermarkets, cook at home, and share food with friends. | | Cùng Đi Chợ | A friend's advice is not to eat too much instant noodles. They're easy to cook, cheap, and tasty but have low nutritional value and can harm your health if eaten frequently. I think it's best for everyone to try cooking. Cooking with roommates, housemates, or friends is more relaxing, fun, and cheaper. A shopping tip is that BigC offers a 10% discount on fruits, vegetables, and meat before 10 am, while Lotte and Bach Hoa Xanh have similar discounts. Sometimes you can find 5 lạng of meat for only 40k, which makes your day. | | Duck | For nostalgic dishes, you can try Tan My (heading out from Waterfront). It's a bit pricey but worth it if you're craving for it. For northern-style xoi (sticky rice) with meat sauce, you can order from Peofood or "Banh mi Pate, Xoi Hai Phong" on Grab Food. Don't eat xoi xeo at Ba Beo's house, as it's served with meat sauce, which is quite unusual. Other northern dishes like cha lat lot and cha nem are easy to make at home |
Your questions about personal spending while studying at FUV
| Name | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 3Np8aB | Can you give me the address of cheap supermarkets and markets near the school? | GO! Nguyen Thi Thap Market near Duc Khai apartment, at the end of Nguyen Luong Bang Street, 2km from school. In the morning, fruits, seafood, and vegetables from the west are cheap and fresh. BigC on Nguyen Thi Thap Street, near District 7 hospital, or Coopmart Huynh Tan Phat. Download Grab/GoViet/Be/Shopeefood apps to check discounts and reviews of good places to eat and places to avoid. |
| Linh | Do you know any places to buy cheap blankets, sheets, pillows, and mattresses? I need to buy these things for school. | Try looking for second-hand items on Facebook groups like Don Nha Do Chat (exchange used items). My friends and I bought them on Shopee. The dorm bed size is 1mx2m, but buying 1.2mx2m is cheaper (maybe because it's a more common size). |
| nhi | Are there any affordable places to eat non-vegetarian food nearby? | There are many eateries around Tan My Market, 1km from the school. They offer dishes like com tam, banh trang, bun bo for 30-35k, and banh cuon for 20-30k. |
| clara | Is it possible for Co23-24 students to spend less than 3 million VND/month on food? (I don't) | I only spend just over 3 million VND on food. There are convenience stores near the school, but don't eat there. It's expensive and not filling. clara: No, if you cook for yourself, it costs around 1.5 million VND. But if you eat out a lot, you can reach that amount if you don't control your spending. |
| Cúm | Can you share some tips on dealing with sickness and buying medicine in Ho Chi Minh City? | There are many hospitals near the school, such as Careplus (accepts Bao Minh insurance), District 7 hospital, Tam Duc hospital, Viet Phap hospital, etc. But the prices are a bit high, so consider your options. If your illness isn't severe, visit a pharmacy or Pharmacity near the WTF area to buy medicine. If you're sick, ask close friends to take care of you, cook for you, or buy medicine on your behalf. Ho Chi Minh City is prone to seasonal changes, so keep Efferagan, Panadol, and throat lozenges handy. |
| tuệ | How much do I need to budget for gas if I travel around Ho Chi Minh City? Is there a school bus available? | It depends on your vehicle. My house is 17km away from the school, and I go back once a week and hang out in District 1 and District 5. I usually spend 100k-200k VND on gas every week. Most people like to hang out in District 1 and District 5, which are about 20 minutes away from District 7. There is a school bus available. |
| đa | How many bus trips are there from the dorms to the school, and what times do they operate? | In the first year, students live at Water Front, which is a 5-minute walk from the school, so there's no bus service. In years 2, 3, and 4, students live at Dockland, and there's a bus every 30 minutes. |
| Hiền | If I don't have a motorbike and need to go to the market, is there a bus? What additional cooking utensils do I need to buy (pots, pans, plates, bowls, etc.)? Is there a canteen near Waterfront? What is the size of the mattress at the dorm? | Long: There's no canteen at Waterfront; it has expensive restaurants. If you want to cook, you can buy pots, plates, and bowls at the supermarket. You can ask your roommates if they want to share cooking utensils. You can buy a bicycle to go to the market; it's about 2km from Water Front. Look for second-hand bikes online for under 1 million VND. Riding a bike is suitable for traveling within District 7. Mattresses are provided at Water Front - you only need to buy a mattress cover. Check the mattress size with the school, but you can also buy one when you arrive in Ho Chi Minh City. |
| Gâu gâu | Do FUV students get discounts when purchasing items at certain places? | There isn't specific information about discounts for FUV students at certain places. However, students can always look for discounts, deals, or promotions at various stores, online platforms, or use apps like Grab/GoViet/Be/Shopeefood to find available offers. It's also a good idea to join student Facebook groups or forums, where members may share information on student discounts or promotions. |
