My Best and Worst Spending in 2016
In the spirit of sharing, and just to show you that I make as many stupid purchases as I made good ones, here’s my list of best and worst spending in 2016.
Related: My best and worst spending in 2015
Best Spending in 2016
- Trip to Krabi. RM900. I wrote about my Krabi trip here.
- Trip to Japan. RM2500. I wrote about my Japan trip here.
- Kerastase shampoo. RM90 from a kind lady in Carousell. Original price is RM100+ I think, not sure. This shampoo makes my hair look fabulous y’all.
- Fleece blanket. RM49 from Tesco. Oh my fleece blankets – good quality ones – is so soft and so perfect to sleep in. I’m one of those people who can’t sleep without a blanket and made do with spare bedsheets instead of actual blankets for the past 5 or so years. Super worth it.
- 8 x container baskets. RM5 each from MR DIY. Beige colour, rattan design. Organised the shit out of my shit. Now I have containers for beauty products, medicine, DIY stuff, accessories, electronics, and other miscellaneous items.
- Hand truck. RM60 from Giant, on sale. Super handy during the moving process. I don’t think I’ll need it anytime soon, so I may sell it – which is good because apparently the going rate for new ones range between RM80-RM150. I may get all my money back!
- Malaysian Writers’ Society membership. RM70. Now I can say I am ‘a registered member of the Malaysian Writers’ Society’. Cewaaahhh.
- Uniqlo jeans. RM149 for the first pair, then bought 3 more for RM99 each during MyCybersale. I’ve yet to wear 2 pairs – they will be worn in stages for the next few years.
- Website banner. RM87.80 (or USD20) from Fiverr.com. I love it. In case you didn’t know, the flower is Alstroemeria flower, also known as the Peruvian lily. It was picked because I love the meaning behind the flower.
- Xiaomi powerbank. RM107.10 from Lazada. Lifesaver in many, many occasions, both for myself and my friends.
- Umbrella. RM19.50 from MR DIY. Does the job. Did not get drenched in the rain even once in 2016.
- 2 x glasses. From Selectspecs; both for RM118.88. Select a cheap frame ($10ish), enter your eye power (? not sure of correct terminology here), choose extras (optional) and get it delivered (free!) within a few weeks. I’m comfortable with recommending them; have bought about 6 glasses in roughly 6 years. Not be best quality, but suitable for a rough user like myself.
- Lenovo K4 Vibe. RM830 from Lazada. Picked based on the recommendation of Soya Cincau’s Best Smartphone Under RM1000 article. It’s only my second smartphone ever.
- A book on sambal recipes. RM5 from MPH. Made three types of sambals in the first week. I like my sambal, this was money well spent.
- Hyaluronic acid. RM44.50 from Guardian. Face tonic from the Hada Labo brand. Significantly improved my skin.
Worst Spending in 2016
- Cheap pan and pot. I got them for RM12 and RM10 each, which are ridiculously cheap. Unfortunately, they were also ridiculously horrible to use. When I tried to make a simple omelette with the pan, the freaking non-stick coating wore off. I know this because the omelette tasted funky, chemical-ly. I wasted 3 eggs here. The pot, on the other hand, fails to cook anything without burning it. I wasted another 3 eggs here.
- Scammed out of RM1400. Not proud to admit it, but this happened and I’ll take partial blame for it. I was searching for furniture and tempted by low prices by this one Carousell seller. I was supposed to receive a dining table, bed frame, sofa and custom wardrobe in the first week of December. As of a mid-December, he cut off all communication with me. I’m thinking of making a police report.
- Paid to get off blacklisted telco list. Sometime ago, I used my name to help out a family member to get internet dongle or something. Little did I know that this person did not care to pay the monthly fee. It was deactivated shortly after, but not until RM280.80 damage was done. So I got blacklisted, and had to pay this fee before getting postpaid line.
- Gym mat. Crap one that costs RM34.15 from Guardian. Damaged easily from normal use. Would not recommend.
- Overdue ASB loan. Aka what the what?? I took RM50k ASB loan from Maybank, and have been paying RM289 monthly for it. Then somehow it was increased to RM308 about a year ago and I did not know about it?? I underpaid for months, and owed them about RM310. It’s annoying because I consented to have the loan auto-deducted directly from my bank account. It shouldn’t have happened, but it did.
- Fined. RM302.12. I can’t even remember what for. Wasted money, in my opinion.
- Unnecessary ATM fees. RM6.30 because in multiple occasions I failed to plan ahead and had to withdraw money outside of my bank’s ATM.
- Shitload of tobacco and Coke Zero. I don’t even want to calculate this. Dammit Suraya.
- Becca Under Eye Corrector. RM90 from Carousell. Bought because some beauty Youtubers recommended it. Did not work with my skintone. Made my eyebags look worse.
- Black skirt. RM59 from Jusco. When I bought this, I already own 5 black skirt (leftover from office days). When I moved, I donated 3 of them, including this one.
- Printed skirt. RM20 from Cotton On Sale. Pretty but badly stitched. Ripped the side within a month. I’m probably not going to buy anything from Cotton On again.
- Foam Roller. RM44.72 from Lazada. Read that it can help massage my back. But personally it’s unpleasant to use and now stay boxed. I might donate it soon.
- Stevia leaves. RM20 from pasar malam. I badly want to love stevia, but I don’t. I bought a packet containing about 20 small pouches and maybe used two.
- Hair dye. RM19.35 from a pharmacy. Bought and applied sometime in March 2016. I don’t know what I was thinking – I love my original hair colour and this product worsen my hair fall problem. It’s back to natural now, and so much healthier too.
- Junk food. According to my spending tracker, I wasted RM645.70 in junk food and drinks in 2016, or roughly RM1.77 per day. I don’t regret many of them, but I wish I didn’t cave in more than I should. I’m supposed to be dieting :/
Really? Coke Zero?
C’mon, be better than coke zero :p
#cokeclassicisstillthebest
Come hop on the #nosugar train with me!
Lol! I tried them once foregoing sugar altogether from my resolution 2016 (apart from my grandiose intent to reduce smoking as well) but alas I’ve fallen off the wagon two after that (somehow I can’t make stevia and coffee works for me, sigh)