Welcome to Money Diaries, a series where our #womenofstyletheory community gives us a candid 30-day all-access pass into their personal journey with money, fashion, and lifestyle.
In this series, our Business Development Executive Jennifer Ong shares her 4-week journey with money, fashion, and food. Let’s dig in shall we!
Hi Jennifer! We are thrilled to have you in our Money Diaries series. Are you ever in the habit of keeping track of your finances?
Unfortunately, I haven’t been in the habit of keeping track of my finances. It’s something that I know at the back of my mind that I need to do, but I always put it off! The only time I have a gauge of my monthly expenses is when I get my credit card statement.
Before you started renting designer bags with Style Theory, what was your relationship between fashion and money like?
I’m not a shopaholic but I do love designer bags and would splurge on a new bag every so often (usually after bonus season when I used to work in finance!) So the Designer Bags Membership appealed to me as it’s a form of self-reward at a pocket-friendly price!
Has your attitude towards money changed since the pandemic happened?
Definitely! I’m traveling a lot less so I’ve managed to save a lot of money — which has been great! Instead, I’m allocating my savings towards education and self-improvement. I’ve started spending more money on online courses. Before the pandemic, I’ve never taken online courses because I found it too expensive. However, I’m making a deliberate effort to invest in myself this year.
Jennifer’s Week 1
It was a wholesome week! I took a day off on Monday to celebrate my 10th anniversary with my fiancé. It was great to take some time off to focus on being with each other and to reflect on how far we’ve grown together. We splurged on a nice dinner and got a massage to decompress. Money worth spending!
I also rented a Celine Micro Belt Bag this week! I’ve always wanted to buy the bag, but after taking the Belt Bag out for a spin, I realised that it’s not very convenient for my on-the-go lifestyle: I found out that I need both my hands to open or close the bag, and I have to rest the bag on a flat surface just to take something out of it. Pretty thankful for my Style Theory Bag membership which enabled me to try the Belt Bag out for a week or two before taking that leap of buying it!
Jennifer wears Celine Micro Belt Bag from the Infinite Wardrobe.
Jennifer’s Week 2
My main highlight this week was receiving my monthly consignment payout from Style Theory. I made S$240! This is great because it helps me monetise my designer bags that I don’t use anymore. I’ve allotted my payouts to cover the cost of my Style Theory Bags Membership!
Read More about our bags consignment process.
I also had a pretty jam-packed weekend! I baked scones with a few girlfriends and went over to a friend’s place for hairy crabs and played Codenames!
My biggest splurge this week was my monthly gym membership. I’m now deliberating if I really need it since I’ve gotten very accustomed to exercising at home through following Youtube videos. Besides, I only go to the gym for weight training once a week now!
Jennifer’s Week 3
I had 2 festive meals this weekend and I was so stuffed! I haven’t been back home to Hong Kong for almost 10 months now :(, so it’s been nice to celebrate with friends in Singapore. The highlight of the meals was that my friend cooked the entire meal from scratch — super impressive!
At the end of the week, I splurged on a really nice dinner out with friends. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of drinks — which is probably how the bill added up! We didn’t realise how much we spent until the bill came, oops!
Jennifer’s Week 4
I rented an SG Bike and went for a sunset bike ride along the Marina Bay all the way up to East Coast Park! It was the best S$3 spent for one and a half hours of entertainment! Also, I picked up some flowers from the supermarket to brighten up the home.
Thanks for bringing us on a 30-day journey with you! Looking back on your month of tracking, did you notice anything new about your own spending habits?
Looking back on my expenses, I’m surprised at how much I spent on food!
What’s one lesson you’ve learnt about budgeting you’d like to share with our readers?
I try to balance out the money I spend on the weekends eating out by cooking at home on the weekdays! One of the biggest personal finance lessons I’ve learned is that money management isn’t just about managing your spending, but making your money work harder for you by investing. I try to be diligent with investing, and I’m glad to have made some tidy returns in 2020!
Enjoyed Jennifer’s Money Diaries? Stay tuned for more Money Diaries coming up soon!
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Join Jennifer in accessing your most wanted bags without spending a fortune with our Style Theory Designer Bags Membership, with plans starting at just $99/month.
Want to know how you can earn from your unused designer bags like how Jennifer does?Join our consignment programme to earn attractive payouts when you rent or sell your designer bags with our fuss-free signature white glove service. Click here to find out more.
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Join Jennifer in accessing your most wanted bags without spending a fortune with our Style Theory Designer Bags Membership, with plans at just HK$899/month.
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