PocketSmith’s Best and Worst Purchases of the Year

We haven’t had it for very long so I might eat my words in a year or two, but the Nissan Leaf is by far the best purchase we made this year. That thing rocks!

I don’t think there’s been anything that I’ve really regretted the money spent on it. Currently, the only thing I can think of is the cheap headphones we bought at the start of the year that the kids managed to break in the span of about 24 hours. But I’m also kinda happy because we could have spent hundreds of dollars on super durable headphones and the kids would still have broken them anyway.

— Mike, Software Engineer

Buying a house that I love has probably been my best purchase.

— Jayson, Product Specialist

Best purchase was the new Switch Joy-Cons because I play that Switch constantly.

Worst purchase was the Sims 4 because I now want to buy all of the expansion packs, so it’s an ongoing money suck.

— Chye-Xian, Technical Support

This year, our best purchase has been a Bosch dishwasher; it’s able to clean the dishes super well. Our old no-name brand dishwasher, which has been with us for nine years, was not always able to clean properly. Sometimes I had to wash the dishes for a second time, but the new Bosch has been doing a good job.

— Jiun, Senior Digital Product Designer

My best purchase of 2021 was an over-priced PlayStation 5 from a scalper. Unadvisable for every sensible reason, and I expected to regret it. But in a stressful year where leaving the house for entertainment hasn’t been much of an option, it’s proved to be worth the inflated price.

Worst purchase was a robot vacuum. I didn’t want to spend bigger on a smarter one, so this one usually misses spots and we often have to follow up after her. Not to mention having to baby-proof the house to prevent her from getting tangled up in power cables.

— Strahan, Customer Support

My best purchase of 2021 was a PS4 game called Spiritfarer. It was recommended to me by a fellow PocketSmither. I don’t even know what I was expecting, but from the moment I loaded the game in the console, and the music played, I felt like I was experiencing something completely novel. It was an utterly transportive experience, and was the best therapy for me in a year marked by loss and longing. The game’s themes of kindness, love and the afterlife were just the panacea for 2021.

My worst purchase was probably a Sabco mop that fell apart after first use. Worst thing? It was the one time I threw away the receipt after purchase so I couldn’t even go back to the supermarket for a replacement!

— Dora, Head of Marketing

The best purchase has been pet cover for my dog Fritz! It’s not insurance, it’s more like a subscription that gives you unlimited consultations, covers all vaccines, plus yearly bloodwork and urine tests, and gives you other discounts on pretty much everything else. Signed up on a Tuesday and by Friday it had already paid for itself!

— Amanda, Customer Support

The best purchase this year was a fire pit from Mitre 10. Was nice to sit around it with our neighbors, especially during the winter months.

The worst purchase was probably tickets to the Rhythm and Vines festival that caused a whole lot of stress due to lockdown restrictions and ended up getting sold anyway.

— Anton, Marketing Intern

Best purchase: A Winkl bed, which was way cheaper than mainstream bed shops and comfier too.

Worst purchase: $PLTR (Palantir Technologies) stock. I started buying near the all-time high, and it’s been pain ever since.

— Regan, Lead Software Engineer

It pains me to be that girl, but I think the best purchase I’ve made has been a suite of different apps like Lose It and Fitbod I’ve used to focus on and improve my fitness and nutrition this year. It’s felt really good to focus on that part of my wellbeing; 10kgs down and the fittest I’ve been since high school!

I’ll stick with the theme of app purchases and call out my worst purchase as the handful of times I used Uber Eats this year. In the end, it was never worth the extra price for a lukewarm meal just because I was too lazy to go for the five-minute drive to get it myself.

— Chloe, Content Marketing Manager