'Used to be $8 a few months ago, but can't complain,' says the mother of four. 'At supermarkets, I can't get anything for below $12 a kilo.'
She lets on that the supermarket beef is probably of a 'higher quality', but her family is happy with this. 'We're cooking briyani today and the spices will compensate for a lack of flavour in the meat,' she says.
Next stop: vegetables. Nimble fingers sift through a thicket of green, picking out Chinese celery, mint leaves and spring onion. All for $1.
It is nearly noon and the stalls will close soon, she points out. 'This is when stall owners often sell things cheap and we find good bargains.'
Shrewd practicality flavours not just what Madam Noor says, but what she does at home and work too.
A financial consultant for more than 15 years, her work includes conducting budgeting courses for low-income folk who are struggling to make ends meet.
An initiative of the Central Singapore Community Development Council, the classes are held once or twice a month.
And she walks the talk. Her family of seven - four children, marine industry worker husband and her mother - keep their weekly grocery bills to $120.
With eating out becoming exorbitant over the past few years - a meal at a casual dining place like Swensens can set the family back by $200 - they have been eating home more often than before.
They still enjoy burgers, steaks and briyani - the only difference is that Mum makes them now.
Madam Noor's prudence has been honed by years of practice.
As a primary school pupil, she was given an allowance of just 30 cents a day, which she could use either to buy a snack or take the bus. She preferred the former - buying a piece of cake or a curry puff and walking from her Kaki Bukit home to her school in Kembangan, which took her around 20 minutes each way.
These days, she snips discount coupons, maximises credit-card promotions and frequents budget ABC shops and heartland malls.
'I don't go for branded stuff,' she says, adding that her eyes are usually trained at the lowest racks of supermarkets, which usually stack the cheapest goods. She also keeps an eye out for two-for-one deals on fruit and vegetables at supermarkets, especially at the end of the day.
She practises all the golden rules she imparts in her budgeting class.
Save before you spend. Put aside at least 35 per cent of your income away for a rainy day. Minimise loans. Avoid hire-purchase schemes with high interest rates as they usually make you spend future income.
Separate needs from wants. Meet the needs, avoid the wants, except when you want to reward yourself.
The family does not stint on rewards - travel is their big 'weakness', says Madam Noor. Aside from year-end holidays in the region, she has also taken four vacations in the United States, twice with her family. On all four occasions, Madam Noor clubbed the vacation with a work trip.
Last year, she booked early enough to get two '99 cent' tickets to Bangkok on Tiger Air - which cost her less than $200 for two, all taxes included.
Her thrift has rubbed off on her children. Her youngest, Nazrin Hussain, 13, saves half of the $4 pocket money she gets every day in a plastic Coke bottle covered with newspaper.
She uses the rolled-up notes to treat herself to bubble tea or a movie with friends.
The bottle was her Mum's idea, but she now loves hoarding money. 'It's fun to think that one day I'll have enough to give myself a big treat,' she smiles.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on July 5, 2008.
