Star Q
I hear people making cynical remarks to those saying that they feel the pinch when the price of petrol was increased by twenty sen recently. I say that as much as those people have the right to make their cynical remarks, the complaining consumers also have the right to voice our their heartfelt opinions.
Twenty sen in reality, really may not be that much and there are times when we drop a twenty sen coin, we feel too embarrassed to pick it up, mostly due to its sheer negligible value. Well, not me. Every single sen is valuable and without twenty sen you cannot make a Ringgit (my late mother used to say!)
I have always prided myself as being frugal with my spending to the extent that my kids call me a miser, albeit they don't tell me directly for fear that I may cut their allowances or really pretend I don't hear them when they make small requests to purchase things they need!
But with the increase of the fuel price, even by twenty sen, I have taken necessary measures to make every litre of the petrol go that extra metre! I have now emptied the booth of my car (which I used to call 'my second home' because I dumped all my school work, files and books in it!) to relieve my car of any unnecessary weight. I have also decided not to turn on the air-conditioner when I'm driving alone (but with the rest of my family together in the car, I have no choice but to switch it on!) in order to save petrol. I have also opted to walk to work whenever possible (unless it rains!)
And being frugal with my expenditure does not only involve things that are directly connected with petrol. It also involves other types of savings. For example when I am at work I will now have to really consider how many cups of tea to drink, how many currypuffs to eat or what type of chicken dish I should take with my lunch (ordinary fried chicken would cost less than the one cooked in gravy!) I mean, I don't often go to the canteen to have tea (because I make my own at our coffee corner) and I don't usually buy food from the canteen either (more often than not you can see me carrying my lunch box to work!), but still, every sen is worth saving.
Anyway, it is the idea of being thrifty that has enveloped the nation ever since this hike in price of petroleum was imposed on the nation. It has got the layman, the low and middle income earners of this country (which is a majority of the people in this country!) to scrimp and save wherever they possibly can.
It seems rather unfair when these people have to be frugal while others do not really feel the pinch caused by this hike and can go on as they usually do, without a care in the world! Well, I guess that is how the world goes around; their way.
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