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Thursday 2 April 2015

Life after GST sucks!!!

It's just 2 days into our post-GST days and I'm already fuming big time!!!  I just have to write this post to let off fumes/steam/smoke/whatever you want to call it from my nostrils/ears/top of my head!!!

I was just at Aeon supermarket briefly today to get our bento for tonight's dinner.  It's one of those light and healthy meals I like to get quite often.

Like this Grilled Saba Bento @ RM6.80 (pre-GST price) with a slice of mackerel fillet (actually half a slice) and a fried egg - my favourite.  
 
Post-GST, it's repackaged (with a tiny pc of omelette, 2 thin slices of fish cake and 3 pcs of edamame but minus one whole fried egg) and renamed Grilled Saba Don and repriced (aka up the price) to RM7.90 (more expensive, less items and then give you the not-so-choice part of the fish) :p  I like it much better with the fried egg.
 
Now, if you do the math, RM6.80 + RM0.41 (6% GST) = RM7.21 only but there's an additional increase of RM0.69 to arrive at the new price of RM7.90 (total increase is 16%)!  So, not only do we have to pay the additional 6% GST, we're probably paying the supply chain's 6% as well).  What to do, as consumers, we're at the very end of the supply chain, so we get the shit end of the deal!!! T_T

Or this Chicken Burger Bento (Small) @ RM5.80 (pre-GST price) with a chicken burger and a whole fried egg (that my son likes).
 
It's now repackaged and renamed Chicken Burger Don and repriced to RM6.90 (post-GST price) for a total increase of 19%! >_<
 
RM1.10 may seem minimal, at first glance, but think of all the other stuff that we're buying and it won't be just RM1.10.  Worst still, they have the audacity to increase the price but give us less stuff.  These suppliers are just heartless and they would use any opportunity to raise prices with no remorse.
 
I didn't have time to really look around at the prices today but just had a quick glance at some of the stuff I normally buy and most have gone up in prices.  Now we know why there was a mad rush to buy stuff before the implementation of GST.  I know that when I have time to check out the prices further, I'm going to be in for more disappointment :'(
 
And worst still is when I looked at the receipt, there's no pre-GST and post-GST prices for the individual items that you bought, you only get one post-GST price.  They then give you a pre-GST price total and a total for the 6% GST.  If that is the case, how would one know which items are subjected to GST?  Since I only bought 3 items and they were all subjected to GST, I will have to wait until I do buy something that is exempted from GST to see if the receipt will clearly show the difference.
 
Another example - Pandora (and some other brands too) have also increased their prices last month prior to GST of between 12% to 15%.  Although I was told that there's no GST on Pandora purchases (but I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes ;D), let's not forget that they have already factored in the 6% when they raised their prices and, mind you, it wasn't just 6%.
 
I've also heard from staff working in the clothing line that they have increased prices of their products before GST was implemented.  So, again, we could be paying a 6% increase on top of already increased prices.
 
In the words of RealGunners, "The GST is charged across all layers of the supply chain, so we can expect a lot of hidden price markups on top of the official 6% on the final products"...and that's exactly what is happening....and these are clear examples of it (or, in some cases, clear examples of the opportunity to violate prices without an ounce of conscience whatsoever).

Of course, at the other end of the spectrum, some might say that we are in control of our own finances and have the power to choose not to buy or consume things that we don't need or want.  But who wouldn't be pissed off when we're not able to afford the same standard of living anymore (or have to change our lifestyle) because of the rising cost of living!
 
So, brace yourselves, people, for the rough and bumpy ride ahead!  It's gonna take a while to settle into this GST crap!!  The cost of my dinner tonight just went up by 18%.....sh*t! >:(
 

10 comments:

  1. I wonder what nasty shock I will get when I go grocery shopping in two days time... :(

    I don't understand people who say "we just have to tighten our belts" or "we just have to control our finances a bit better" to be honest. I have seen this phrase being uttered every single time there is imminent price hike. I think I have seen this probably 20 times over the past few years that I have been working. How many times do we have to "control our finances a bit better"? Until we all drop into poverty and take to the streets like what happened in Egypt? And our PM said we are going to be a high income nation by 2019. What high income?

    I saw someone comment on FB earlier today, "Now because I have to manage my finance better, I can no longer buy better quality food, I have to compromise my health by sourcing for cheaper food because I can no longer afford the better food with the same budget". That is my sentiments exactly! :(

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    1. Hi 5! Totally agree...I don't want to have to tighten my belt (I want a new belt ;D), I want to a have a better standard of living with the budget I have. High income nation by 2019...kiss my a**? How?....when salaries have not risen in tandem to rising prices!! :(

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  2. I think since you cook and raw food like vege and meat do not have GST then you can cook at home for every meal. I have seen prices increased before the GST at some of the places I eat at.

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    1. Actually, I don't cook very often....plus I don't want to also (too much work, lazy, etc). Even if I do cook more often, you may think vege and meat is safe from GST but prices have risen also.

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  3. yikes! it'll be interesting (and scary) to see how much your total monthly expenditure rises at the end of april ...

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    1. Yeah, it's scary indeed! I just had one of my usual breakfast of roti telur and teh tarik at a mamak restaurant and the price went up by 10%....not 6% (and with no receipt to show)!!

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  4. It's one of those things - with or without GST, prices have been going up and up and up...just that there was no obvious reason, nobody to blame. We'll just have to learn to live with it - my only concern is that the money will be put to good use...not for some wasteful extravagant spending or into some people's pockets.

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    1. You're right - the prices have been going up with or without GST. No-one to blame? One comes to mind. Is that a typo error..."your only concern is that the money will NOT be put to good use"? The wasteful extravagant spending and into some people's pockets...are you referring to today's Star (Page 14) and chedet.cc?....kekeke ;D

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  5. Oh, I can feel your angst! hee..hee... And you actually have the before and after pictures of the food. Believe it or not, I have not been shopping since 1st April but am going for my grocery shopping this weekend. Will probably experience what you did. Sigh....

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    1. I actually had the before pictures coz I am writing a post on that. Then I got pissed off with the post-GST prices and took pictures of it for this post. Hope your grocery shopping this weekend will not be too shocking! ;)

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