Hey <<First Name>>,

When I first bought my iPhone two years ago, my husband helped me unbox it since I was busy doing something else. That was a big mistake.

Because I turned around and saw him peeling the protective plastic off the screen.

I blew up. “But I’m not ready for the plastic to be taken off!” I yelled.

Yes, I’m one of those people who was going to use the phone for a few days with the plastic still attached to the screen. Of course, he didn’t understand. It was the first expensive phone I’d ever bought. I wanted to take good care of it. And part of taking care of it, in my mind, was keeping it as new as possible.

Nowadays, we look back and just laugh about it.

But it made me realize something. That everyone has a different reaction to when they now have money but didn’t used to.

Some people go on shopping sprees. And some people, like me, are still counting their pennies.

The reason why I’m anal about my stuff is because I don’t want to take it for granted. Everything I buy, I’ve bought with my own money. And when I work hard for my money, I’m super stingy about how it gets spent. Because I remember a time when I didn’t have stuff at all. Even though I have money now, every time I buy something that I love, I still get excited. I hope that feeling never goes away.

So maybe babying your stuff is not the “cool” thing to do. But not worrying about your stuff also seems like such a privilege to me. Why worry when you can just buy another later?

But I’d argue that if you truly valued your favorite whatever, you’d do things to keep it around for as long as possible. Read today’s post to see how I treat mine.

Luxe

My Weekend Money Diary #18: Socializing in the Time of Coronavirus

I’ve taken a big break from the blog as the pandemic has motivated me to prioritize my personal life a bit more, but I hope to be back much more regularly! As my first post in a while, I thought it best to catch up on what I’ve been up to lately, so here’s a […]

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My DIY NYC Rental Kitchen Makeover–No Paint, No Reno

I never thought there was anything “wrong” or “ugly” about our kitchen. But as I scrolled through countless aspirational home makeovers where everything was gut-renovated, styled by a fancy designer, and set free by limitless budgets, I felt both inspired and left out: What about the renters? The brand-new custom cabinets I saw were close […]

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What Day Is It? Life and Money During a Pandemic

On March 4th, my husband and I had an eerie feeling we should do a grocery shop. The store was bustling as usual, but I chuckled at the sight of an empty toilet paper shelf. In a health crisis, of all things to hoard–toilet paper, really? I snapped a pic, and posted it to my […]

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My Weekend Money Diary #17: Activate Beast-Mode Planning

Inspired by the Man Repeller and Refinery29 money diaries, I thought it’d be fun to see what happens when I track my spending for a weekend. Although I’m conscious about my overall spending, I’m at a point where I don’t feel the need to review purchases line by line. But that doesn’t mean there’s no room […]

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Ask Luxe: “Should I Buy ETFs or Mutual Funds?”

The best way to understand anything that seems complicated is to just try it yourself. I learned how to invest by basically clicking on a bunch of buttons, and I didn’t fully grasp how an ETF works until I attempted to buy one myself. And the second best way? Seeing what someone else did in […]

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What I Learned from Tracking Every Penny I Spent for a Month

How much I spent on a low-spend month, including buying a chair and booking a trip.

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Quality Clothes: How to Buy Better Sweaters + Make the Most of Your Money

*Affiliate links below* Note: If you’ve come from Instagram try-on stories from 11/28, here are the links to the Naadam sweaters I liked: Cashmere Oversized V-Neck, Cashmere Oversized Crewneck, and Cashmere Oversized Turtleneck. A few Fridays ago, to cap off a long work week, I went to check out the new Nordstrom. While the price […]

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Six Game-Changing Money Mindsets for 2020

As an antidote to my last consumerist post, today I’m back to basics with thoughts and feelings. And what’s more basic than the thoughts that pop into your head?  Specifically, how you think about money. Because personal finance is never just about doing math or following the right steps or developing enough willpower. I don’t know […]

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2019 Shopping Roundup: All the Clothes I Bought and My 2020 Wardrobe Resolutions

I bought 22 pieces in 2019--here's how much I spent and my style resolutions for 2020.

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The Logistics of Sharing Finances: How We Created an Argument-Free Money System

Growing up, my parent’s money system was simple. They never spent any money, so what was there to argue about? Without a clear model to follow, when it came time to share finances with my husband, it meant I could easily adopt my own system based on our own values. But first, the perennial question: […]

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