Confessions of a Former Shopaholic

Guys, the countdown is on—26 days until I’m home for Chinese New Year! I just saw a video of my baby dog (shoutout to my sister for filming it), and honestly, can we speed up this time-travel thing already? NASA, do your thing.

Also, I started this back workout yesterday because, um, I feel like my back’s been out here lifting weights on its own. Thick back gang isn’t really the vibe I’m going for, especially when tight shirts start looking like armor. But hey, it’s my body, and I want it looking fabulous! I love my body, so I’m giving it some tough love—aka training.

my dinner!

Anyway, I’m on a mission to keep my lunch budget at 2.5 SGD a day, and honestly, I’m manifesting this goal like it’s my life’s purpose. If I pull this off, I’ll save enough for the really important things in life—like traveling and pretending I’m living my best life on Instagram.

Now, don’t get me wrong—food is important. I’m not out here eating instant noodles every day (yet). I’ll still splurge on “good food,” which in my dictionary means anything priced between 5 and 20 SGD. But that’s, like, a once-a-week treat. Self-control is key, people.

Also, I’m trying this minimalist lifestyle because, let’s be real, humans don’t actually need half the stuff we buy. It’s just our inner goblin whispering, “Ooooh, shiny!” If you sit down and clear your mind, you’ll realize most of the things you bought are just... dust collectors. Like, “Oh, it’s cute!” Yeah, cute and useless. Meanwhile, businesses are out here laughing as they exploit our impulses for profit. If you can tame that little goblin inside you, you’ll save a ton of cash. Trust me, your wallet will thank you. 

I’ll admit it—I was once a helpless victim of cute things. Okay, maybe I still am, but it’s definitely not as bad as a few years ago. Back then, I didn’t even stop to think about whether the stuff I was buying was useful. If I actually sat down and counted the money I blew on cute nonsense, it’d probably add up to over 10K MYR. No joke.

Now, I can easily earn that kind of money, but here’s the kicker: I spent it all while I was still a broke university student. Can you believe how spoilt I was? I can’t. I don’t even want to believe it. I was out here splurging on anime merch, K-pop idol stuff, and random cute things like I had a trust fund. Spoiler: I did not.

Looking back, I feel like selling all that stuff online now. Some of those anime merch items were “limited edition,” which sounds cool until you remember I bought them from secondhand sellers at a higher price than the original. Like, who even was I? A walking ATM for fandoms? Silly me. Never again.