Six things we splurged on in our childhood

When we were kids, we did not have smartphones and tablets to fill up our pockets of spare time. We probably received about $2 a day for our allowance, but we used it well to make the most fun out of our childhood.

Remember these things we first splurged on?

In-game cash

Gone are the days where we had to lie to our parents about using our recess money, just so we can change our hairstyles on MapleStory. (Sorry mom, never again.)

Back then, it seemed worth it to frivol away the little cash we had to show off our good looking in-game avatars. The adorable cards, especially the limited edition ones, were a bonus. How could we resist but to collect them all?

Let’s not forget how much we spent on Habbo Hotel‘s Habbo Credits.

Country erasers

Nobody actually used these erasers. But when riddled with a massive amount of stapler bullets, these erasers turn into makeshift spinning tops: our number one source of entertainment during mundane classes.

Cheap as they may be, our wallets were bleeding because just one or two country erasers usually do not suffice in a typical spinning top battle.

Pokémon stickers

About a decade ago, the closest we got to PokémonGO was the physical Pokémon stickers. Even the kids who were not the biggest fans of Pokémon could not resist filling up their sticker books with stickers of Jigglypuff and Chansey.

I guess it all started when teachers started to use these stickers as incentives for good behaviour in class.

Shaker pencils

I remember getting my first Shaker pencil in primary one as a reward for my good grades during the end-of-year examinations. Since then, I would not settle for anything less.

Somehow, adding a shakeable spring into any regular pencil increases its charm (and price). For a little kid, it costs a lot to write fashionably.

Water babies

When it came to water babies, we took it seriously. Every kid in school carried a jar of colourful, expanding pearls. Trading, selling, and intense discussions about water babies were commonplace.

While we now know that water babies are just absorbent crystals, we were once fascinated with how they seem to be “alive” and are capable of “reproducing”.

Slime toy

It was smelly, gooey, and disgusting, but we loved it anyway. When letting it slide through our hands got boring, the slime toy became a pranking tool. We often placed it on our classmates’ chairs or hid it in their pencil cases.

Truly, those were the days.