How to buy any game when it releases.
Written by Kyo on
Being a seller to all of you, I know the struggles that you guys go through. Some times, some months the expenditure may be much higher (hence everyone is screaming at their wallets to grow money). But what if I told you that I can help you out with just a few simple steps? And with these few simple steps, I would show you how you can buy any game that you want possible, and you don't have to worry about not having money in the month either. So, read on~
Step One: Preorder the game you want.
All the online sellers in Malaysia nowadays have started opening preorders for everyone else. Usually, we would open these preorders the moment we get a release date / the moment we get a price for it. And with preorders, you usually need to provide a deposit fee. Depending on when the preorder opens, commit to an RM 50 to the seller. It doesn't have to be me, it can be any seller even. Give them that Rm 50, and get them to acknowledge your payment to them (either by a reply, or email, depending on what suits you).
See, committing a certain amount of money is the first step to say that you seriously want the game. And this should be a good reminder that you want to commit to getting the game. But, you need to be smart. You shouldn't have to tell your seller that you want to wait for your next salary or gaji to pay for it. You should tell them that you have been ready since the day they opened the preorder.
Step Two: A weekly budget savings.
Once you've done your commitment, it is time to save. No, not the end of the month whatever is left in your pocket savings. But instead, every week, you need to set aside a minimum of the money.
Kyo recommends you put aside RM 20 per week. Here's why:
- Preorders open usually a month before the game launches. Some sellers even open it from 2 (Kyo has personally opened the Pokemon X&Y preorder since July 2013. That was 3 months before it was made available.)
- If the game is to launch in a month, you'd have just about enough time to pay for it. 4 weeks before launch: Total is RM 80. Commitment earlier: RM 50. Total price: RM 120 - 130. Any 3DS title would have been easily achievable.
- RM 20 is an easy enough money to keep. Seriously. If the time frame before the launch is much more wider (say 2 months), RM 10 is just peanuts. It is entirely possible.
But, you need to however do 1 extra step: Create a separate savings account.
We will call this the Game Account (or whatever name suits you).
Once you have the money that you can save for the week, you need to send it to the Game Account. So, at the start, or the end of the week, transfer it to the Game Account. And here's a few more tips to help you with that.
- The separate savings account should be a new account. Even better, set it to your seller's bank account (Mainly Maybank or CIMB or even Public Bank). Setting your separate savings account to match your seller's saves you the trouble of having to go through Transaction Fees. And you can basically send it immediately to them and there's no need for that 1 extra day wait.
- The seller's bank is not available in your area? Set that separate savings account in your preferred bank still! However, you need to ensure that it is online enabled. What that means is that you can open the account and ensure that you can access the account online. Having online access will be your savior when you need to send money around. The only downside anyone will encounter is the 10 cents Interbank giro charge for every transfer you make. Then again, 10 cents to transfer RM 20 isn't that bad. Honest.
Step Three: Commitment til the end
Whatever you do, be disciplined. Remember always how much you need to set aside. And if you need to make compromises, here's how it is possible:
- Stop drinking sugary stuff. Really. It's not worth it. Air Suam costs 20 to 30 cents nowadays. You'd save RM 10 at least if you stopped drinking for a whole week. Air Sirap is not worth it either.
- Your ciggies can go down by a pack a week. If you're feeling like you want to try quitting, take that money that you got to buy the ciggy and keep it still. Go cold turkey, if you're brave. But even better, bum off from someone else. :P
- Economy rice. I can't think of a better alternative then all the goreng food that you can devour outside. I wouldn't recommend a daily Nasi Ayam intake though. Got into trouble with that once (you don't wanna know).
There's plenty more ways that you can make compromises at, so you can figure it out.
Step Four: Pay for the whole thing! (When asked to)
Proper budgetting helps you get the game when you need it the most. If it's going to come out in the middle of the month, you know budgetting will help you get through. Even better, you don't need to tell yourself that you don't have the money to be unable to afford it. This helps when you know you can't miss that First Print Edition Atlus game that is coming and will only be available at that certain time.
Well, this has been Kyo's preferred method. Seeing that, this is the method that he used to get his PS2 and the DS as well. So, if I can do it, I don't see why you can't. :P But hey, what's your method? I think sharing might be better. And if you think you can improve my method instead, shoot me and go ahead. :D
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