Sudden realization: Raya as a fresh grad is EXPENSIVE lol

I’m a girl in my early 20s, just started working a few months ago. With Raya around the corner, it finally hit me: Banyaknya nak pakai duit. Like, A LOT.

Coming from a B40 background, I’m helping out quite a bit this year and the list just keeps growing:

• The Travel: Flight tickets alone already took a huge chunk out of my savings.

• The Siblings: I’m buying baju raya for my younger siblings. I grew up not really getting much duit raya, and I don't want them to feel that way, so I’m setting aside some for them and my parents too. It’s not "mandatory," but being the sister who rarely gets to go home, I feel like I should.

• The Food: Covering some of the groceries and kuih raya for the house.

I’m single with no kids, and even I’m already low-key panicking about how I’m going to survive until the next payday after Raya.

But then I started thinking... how do guys with families do it?

Like, the husbands/fathers out there. Baju raya for the wife and kids? The food? Tolls and petrol for the balik kampung crawl? Duit raya for the kids, the parents, AND the in-laws? My head spins just thinking about the total cost. I honestly have a new level of respect for my dad now. I have no idea how he managed all those years.

Anyway, just a small rant. To all the guys and basically anyone out there struggling to make ends meet this Raya season, semoga segalanya dipermudahkan untuk kita semua. ✨