And for us, it's usually the time to stock up on inventory. Cos that's when all the sales are available.
People may think... woah this means induced spending... but to me... it's something like stocking up for the whole year.
There's some stuff that we use throughout the whole year and it's really optimal to get during this period cos prices get really low and it's really worth stocking up.
So first on our list is packet Ribena... ok this is a luxury, cos most people would just say to use the syrup and mix with water. My wife likes her packet Ribena so she gets it... but we stock up on it during this CNY period. Usually we would stock up something like 10 cartons for the whole year, usually 1 carton per month.
Just recently, one of my neighbours said he had 3 cartons of expired Ribena... and I was so happy to take it off him. Past best before for 1 year already... but what the heck... it's sugared water sealed in a tetra pack, we're absolutely ok with this.
So drinks are really one of the best items to stock up during the CNY. IF you have regular consumption of bottled drinks or packet drinks, this is the best time to stock up for the rest of the year.
Hmmm... maybe it's cos my storeroom is well maintained so I can still stock stuff up, cos I know many folks have a messy storeroom so they don't even have space to stock up inventory... Oh well, moving on...
Abalone... Another luxury. CNY period is the time when we are able to get $20 cans of abalone. This is the max price I will pay for a can of 120 gm drained weight. We are ok with one big abalone or 6-8 small abalones per can. This is another thing which we usually get and stock up for the whole year. Our consumption rate is around 1 can every 1-2 months. Usually on lazy weekends when we're too lazy to go out to eat so we make some instant noodles and open a can of abalone for dinner.
Box tissues and toilet paper. I don't know how much box tissues cost these days, cos I stocked up mine 2 years back and I'm still using them. No, we didn't buy a lot, it's just that we don't usually use tissues very much. We tend to use wet wipes, which are $1 per box of 80 sheets, but those can be bought any time of the year.
Toilet paper is one of the more crazy things which I stock up for maybe 6 months. I usually buy 9-12 ten roll packs during sale period. They really do take up quite a lot of space. I would buy for the whole year if I had space to store them, but if I bought more then my storeroom would be messy and that's just intolerable for an OCD like me.
Beer is also really cheap during this period. I bought a couple of cartons couple of years back. I've since stopped stocking up on beer. Beer can get as cheap as $1.50 per can for Carlsberg. But no one really drinks it so I don't stock up anymore. But for folks who drink regularly... Hey! It's a perfect time to stock up.
Other canned drinks like Coke is also super cheap during this period.
I'm not really sure what else is worthy to stock up during this period, cos we don't really prepare for CNY. For me, it's just a time for some sales of some of the stuff which we regularly consume. But besides that, we don't get melon seeds or special sweets, sugared preserved fruits, etc... we don't really buy all that stuff.
To us, CNY isn't a period of increased consumption. It's a period to just stock up for normal consumption. I personally don't understand the rationale behind buying overpriced "goodies" during this period. I still send a couple of containers to my parents and in-laws but we try to keep that expense controlled. It's like the mooncake season all over again... so I'm hoping to maybe go Malaysia to buy some CNY goodies this year.
Ok anyone have any other nice stuff that they would like to recommend to stock up on? Please comment below. I'd love to know what else I can stock up on during this period.
Thanks!
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