Budgeting | Personal Stories | Article

I Own Dozens Of Luxury Bags, But I Had Little Money To Buy Food

by The Simple Sum | 11 Mar 2024

It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me. 

I have an obsession with luxury bags and it is something I have no idea when it started.  

I recall I was in my mid-twenties when I suddenly wondered why my peers were carrying branded Loewe bags, and Prada bags during our gatherings. This prompted me to wonder if I was living life correctly, as a professional. 

The competitive thoughts led me down a rabbit hole. I decided to procure some branded bags for myself just to feel like I was “accepted”. This led me to spend the bulk of my monthly salary on the latest branded items. I could not stop the obsession as I climbed higher and higher up the branded ladder. 

I started from Coach, then moved to Prada and Gucci, and acquired Louis Vuitton. The pinnacle came when I procured a Chanel. It felt as though I had made it in my life, my career and my personal growth. 

The funny thing is that over this time, I was always broke because I spent a lot of money on beautiful bags. I had some months where I didn’t even have enough money to eat and relied on a credit card to pay for expenses. 

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Budgeting | Financial Planning | Personal Finance | Comic | 10 Aug 2021

Are You Rewarding Yourself the Right Way?

One day when I was waiting for my next paycheck I had a bad day at work. I was so tempted to quit but then I realised that I didn’t have the six months of savings normal people did. I also realised while talking to some peers that they were thinking of investing in fixed deposits as interest rates were high at the time. 

I had a sudden realisation that I had no money in the bank even though I was parading around with my luxury bags and expensive accessories. I also realised that I felt empty and that the memories of my mid-twenties mostly circulated around frequenting luxury brands and websites and the instant gratification that I received from being able to afford the branded items. 

Today I have quite a few savings accounts and am in full control of my money. Whenever I feel tempted to buy a new bag, I will walk to my trophy section of bags and touch them to get rid of the feeling of wanting new ones.