*As Told To RinggitPlus.

My phone bill arrived last Tuesday, and something was off. The total was RM100 higher than usual. Then I saw it: RM267.50 in-app purchases. 

My face went hot. I’d genuinely forgotten about most of those purchases. Gems here, boosters there, special offers that seemed too good to pass up. Each transaction was small (RM7.90, RM16.90, RM19.90) and barely noticeable in the moment. But together? They’d added up to more than my electricity bill.

If you’ve ever told yourself “it’s just RM10” while tapping that purchase button in a mobile game, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Welcome to the world of microtransactions, where small payments add up to surprisingly large problems.

The “It’s Just RM10” Trap

Microtransactions are designed to feel insignificant. RM10 for 100 gems. RM15 for a loot box. RM30 for a battle pass. Individually, these amounts seem harmless, what’s the big deal?

The big deal is that they never stop at just one purchase.

My descent started innocently with a mobile game that I downloaded to kill time during my commute. Free to play, or so I thought. Then I hit a difficult level. Just needed a few more moves. The game helpfully offered a solution by prompting me to buy more gems for RM7.90. One tap, and the level was solved.

That first purchase opened the floodgates. My card details were saved. Future purchases became effortless. Soon, I was buying gems every few days. “Just this once” became my most-used phrase. RM7.90 here, RM16.90 there, sometimes RM29.90 for a special offer that “saved” me 40%. I was saving money by spending money. Sound familiar?

How They Get You To Keep Spending

Game developers understand human psychology better than most psychologists. I wasn’t spending real money anymore, at least that’s what it felt like. I was buying “gems” or “coins” or “V-Bucks.” Somehow, spending 500 gems doesn’t trigger the same alarm bells as spending RM30.

The pricing sits between RM5 and RM50, small enough to avoid serious consideration but large enough to add up quickly. Modern payment methods have eliminated every friction point. Just your fingerprint or face ID, and it’s done before your brain catches up.

I realised how bad this had gotten when I bought a gem pack while watching TV, barely looking at my phone. Three seconds. RM30 spent with less thought than choosing biscuits at the supermarket.

When FOMO Meets Your Wallet

The daily gem purchases were one thing. But then came the items that were “only available today”.

Games like Dota 2, Apex Legends, and Mobile Legends have perfected the limited-time offer. Exclusive skins, rare character designs, special event items, all available for just a short window. Miss it now, and it’s gone forever.

I remember seeing an exclusive character skin pop up during a limited event. Stunning design, animated effects, only available for two weeks. The rational part of my brain knew it was just pixels. But the part that responds to scarcity was screaming “BUY IT NOW OR REGRET IT FOREVER.”

The problem? I didn’t have enough in-game currency. So I bought more coins than I needed, spent money on the item, and the excitement lasted maybe five minutes. But the real damage was the gateway effect. Once you’ve spent RM50, RM60, or even RM80 on cosmetics, smaller purchases start feeling justified. The anchor point for what feels “expensive” shifts dramatically.

Battle passes are particularly insidious. Pay around RM40 at the start of a season for exclusive rewards. Sounds reasonable. The catch? You need to play regularly to unlock everything. 

The Loot Box Gambling Problem

Loot boxes are exactly what they sound like. Pay money for a box containing random items. You might get something amazing, or you might not. 

This is gambling. It has all the psychological hooks of slot machines, including variable rewards, the thrill of anticipation and the ‘just one more try’ compulsion.

Belgium classified loot boxes as gambling in 2018, and the Netherlands also moved to restrict them and has fined companies like EA for non-compliance. The UK has debated  regulation multiple times, with parliamentary committees recommending loot boxes be brought under gambling legislation, though the government opted for industry self-regulation in 2022 while keeping its position under review.

Malaysia hasn’t fully addressed this yet, leaving players vulnerable, particularly younger players who may not fully understand the odds or have strong impulse control.

My Game Plan To Stop

After seeing that phone bill, I knew something had to change. Getting control means actively fighting systems designed by teams of psychologists and behavioural economists. Here’s what I’m doing now:

Remove saved payment methods. The first thing I did was delete my card details from every gaming platform and app store. Now, every purchase requires me to enter my card information manually. Those extra 30 seconds force me to pause and ask myself, “Do I really need this?”

Set hard monthly limits. I’ve transferred RM50 to a separate account specifically for gaming purchases. When that account is empty, I stop spending. No exceptions.

The 48-hour rule. For any purchase over RM20, screenshot it, close the game, and wait two days. If I still want it after 48 hours and have budget remaining, then I’ll consider it.

Disable in-game notifications. Those “limited time offer!” alerts aren’t helpful updates; they’re sales tactics designed to trigger impulsive spending.

What I Wish I’d Known

Digital worlds are fun. Games provide entertainment, stress relief, and social connection. But they shouldn’t drain your bank account through a thousand tiny taps.

I’m not saying never spend money on games. The problem is when spending becomes impulsive, when it exceeds your budget, when you’re paying to skip frustration deliberately designed into the game, or when you’re chasing random rewards through loot boxes.

Here’s what I’ve learned: I don’t actually need gems to beat those “hard” levels. I can just keep playing and succeed all the same. The game made me think I was stuck, but I wasn’t. And those limited-edition skins? There’ll always be another one, and another, and another. I can’t buy them all, and trying to would be insane

My future self, the one trying to save for a house, build an emergency fund, or plan a real holiday, will thank me for closing the game instead of opening my wallet. And if you’re in the same boat, yours will thank you too.

If you’re looking to regain control of your spending, whether it’s gaming, shopping, or anything else, RinggitPlus has budgeting guides and financial tools to help you build better money habits. Because your ringgit should work for your real life, not just your virtual one.

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