Spending to impress others?
I entered university when I was 19, fresh out of JC. Feeling like a toddler flung into the sea of pre-adulting, the world felt like an endless horizon of opportunities, which was both daunting and exciting at the same time.
With this new stage of life which felt like a glimpse to adulthood, life was suddenly not just about uniforms, full on mugging and CCAs anymore. You were free to party, to gain more control of your young life, choose your own groups of friends and behave like an semi-adult.
With the opportunity to stay in hall, I decided to try it out. I've been a homebody all my life, and staying at a hall presented a chance to step out of my comfort zone. But staying in hall meant fundsSs$s$ needed. So does food. And clothes. And going out.
To fund all these, I was very fortunate to get bursaries, which helped cover a bit of my accoms. I also started to give tuition, which was the fastest way any undergrad could earn some money. I started exchanging a couple of hours each week to earn for my own spending. I wasn't one of the chiongsters, I was happy enough to earn more than I spent. I remember earning about 1k at my peak, with 4 students on hand. I thought that would be the maximum number I could take in order not to flunk my studies haha.
So, here's the thing about uni. So much emphasis is placed on looks, and how good you're supposed to look. Y'know how some people say girls look the best when they're 21? Something along this line. Perhaps that's why everything seemed so focused on looking good. I mean, even orientation camps were soooo 'aesthetics-focused' lolol. All the rumoured ranking-freshies-and-then-selecting-them for camps and all that jazz.
Be in the pageant, and you'll be seen with a constant invisible crown.
"Eh...... you know that guy?? Hall XX hall king leh."
"Eh that girl is the xxx camp's pageant one!"
You get my drift.
Looking good somehow brings you to another social tier. You get immediately bumped up to the next level, being ahead of others for this whole game of college life.
With this significant jump in the emphasis of looks, I felt the sudden urge to always look... presentable? This meant not being seen repeating your outfits every 3 days, and having decent looking skin, etc etc.
With limited $$, the practical side of me knew I wasn't capable of splurging on shopping trips and returning with bags of Topshop and Zara loots. I knew I couldn't survive with just 3 wearable tops in the wardrobe. Before I knew it, I was armed with the Carousell app all the time. Carousell was like shopping heaven for me. Prices slashed by more than 50%? Wow everything seemed like a good deal. I thought I was smart by doing so, that I'm saving while spending. And the funny thing was, I didn't realise I was under this societal pressure of 'looking good'. I thought I was just a youngling who wanted to shop for clothes, since I had the freedom to wear whatever I wanted now.
Soon, there were just so many parcels coming to me. It felt like Christmas every other day hahaha. But even though I was 'spending to save', I was in fact still spending. Also, the accumulation of clothing was a no go. I started owning pieces which were a 'wear-once-or-twice', and my wardrobe started filling up. It was terribly unsustainable.
The same went for skincare products. I was watching youtubers review beauty products, and jumped onto the bandwagon of trying new products every other week. I also shopped for them on Carousell, and also sites like Althea and Shopee. Little bottles started accumulating all around my table and shelves.
Upon graduation, I was lucky enough to land a job 3 months after. Having a job meant having a source of steady income, and it was time for me to take my finance matters seriously. I remember taking a look at my bank balance, and I think I remember it to be.....
With this new stage of life which felt like a glimpse to adulthood, life was suddenly not just about uniforms, full on mugging and CCAs anymore. You were free to party, to gain more control of your young life, choose your own groups of friends and behave like an semi-adult.
With the opportunity to stay in hall, I decided to try it out. I've been a homebody all my life, and staying at a hall presented a chance to step out of my comfort zone. But staying in hall meant fundsSs$s$ needed. So does food. And clothes. And going out.
To fund all these, I was very fortunate to get bursaries, which helped cover a bit of my accoms. I also started to give tuition, which was the fastest way any undergrad could earn some money. I started exchanging a couple of hours each week to earn for my own spending. I wasn't one of the chiongsters, I was happy enough to earn more than I spent. I remember earning about 1k at my peak, with 4 students on hand. I thought that would be the maximum number I could take in order not to flunk my studies haha.
So, here's the thing about uni. So much emphasis is placed on looks, and how good you're supposed to look. Y'know how some people say girls look the best when they're 21? Something along this line. Perhaps that's why everything seemed so focused on looking good. I mean, even orientation camps were soooo 'aesthetics-focused' lolol. All the rumoured ranking-freshies-and-then-selecting-them for camps and all that jazz.
Be in the pageant, and you'll be seen with a constant invisible crown.
"Eh...... you know that guy?? Hall XX hall king leh."
"Eh that girl is the xxx camp's pageant one!"
You get my drift.
Looking good somehow brings you to another social tier. You get immediately bumped up to the next level, being ahead of others for this whole game of college life.
With this significant jump in the emphasis of looks, I felt the sudden urge to always look... presentable? This meant not being seen repeating your outfits every 3 days, and having decent looking skin, etc etc.
With limited $$, the practical side of me knew I wasn't capable of splurging on shopping trips and returning with bags of Topshop and Zara loots. I knew I couldn't survive with just 3 wearable tops in the wardrobe. Before I knew it, I was armed with the Carousell app all the time. Carousell was like shopping heaven for me. Prices slashed by more than 50%? Wow everything seemed like a good deal. I thought I was smart by doing so, that I'm saving while spending. And the funny thing was, I didn't realise I was under this societal pressure of 'looking good'. I thought I was just a youngling who wanted to shop for clothes, since I had the freedom to wear whatever I wanted now.
Soon, there were just so many parcels coming to me. It felt like Christmas every other day hahaha. But even though I was 'spending to save', I was in fact still spending. Also, the accumulation of clothing was a no go. I started owning pieces which were a 'wear-once-or-twice', and my wardrobe started filling up. It was terribly unsustainable.
The same went for skincare products. I was watching youtubers review beauty products, and jumped onto the bandwagon of trying new products every other week. I also shopped for them on Carousell, and also sites like Althea and Shopee. Little bottles started accumulating all around my table and shelves.
Upon graduation, I was lucky enough to land a job 3 months after. Having a job meant having a source of steady income, and it was time for me to take my finance matters seriously. I remember taking a look at my bank balance, and I think I remember it to be.....
"$8xx"
Yep. Not even 1k. HAHA.
I thought I didn't spend much during my uni days, but I guess with my food and transport expenses, as well as all these unnecessary spending, I wasn't left with much to save. So while my peers had 5-figures in their banks and were ready to start investing, I had to start from ground zero. /sobs
Having a job also meant less time to shop, so slowly, my habitual scrolling of shopping apps began to decrease. This meant that with a higher spending power, I was instead..... spending less. I also forced myself to clear out my wardrobe, listing items on Carousell whenever my weekends were available, and giving clothes which seemed 'unsellable' away. Clearing the wardrobe also felt therapeutic, which was an unintentional plus point haha.
(Almost an obligation to say - Spark Joy....? #pleasedontkillme)
The same happened for my skincare products. I was taking plastic bags and just swiping all barely used products off my shelves. Seeing them emptier REALLY made me happier. I was like 'Yay! Less accumulation of dust!!!'
I stripped both my wardrobe and skincare routine down to the basics. I started not caring about repeating outfits, as long as I looked decent and did my job properly at work. I honestly don't care if anyone's going to judge me for rewearing my outfits, and if they do, it speaks about their personalities anyway. 😉 I just needed to be comfy and presentable.
With the rise in the focus of sustainable clothing, I've also started to take notice of such stores. I've been on a lookout of great basics, which are made of breathable material and of easy-to-match colours. The price tag is definitely steeper, but building a sustainable wardrobe that lasts through seasons and for years, is so much more worth it.
I also started choosing affordable skincare (I had a period of splurging on Origin's masks omg so expensive, it was nice but not nice for the wallet at all), and finding that they work just as well. I've found that Asian skincare really seemed to be working better, and any entry-level ones were sufficient in keeping my skin decent. Granted that I didn't have ~glowy~ skin, but I think I just needed to look un-zombie. 😁 I also made sure that I had the basics covered - i.e. face is toned, moisturized, not dehydrated, no pimple outbreaks can liaoz.
Just to clarify, I still do my occasional shopping. I would shamelessly admit that shopping does have its instant gratification, and now I buy things which I'm sure I need, and would be happy to own them.
Like how I watched this episode of 'No Sweat' on Clicknetwork, and purchased the Uniqlo one because of its reviews and I've been owning qoo10 ones for the longest time and realised I deserved better hahaha. 😛
This whole spending thingum will always be shifting and who knows, my thoughts might change in just a few years down the road. But one thing I know for sure is that it'll always be a journey I'm willing to explore and learn.
Till then!
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