Fashion is fun, but it can also make you broke.

Spending too much money keeping up appearances is a trap worth discussing. When I fully commit to my essential wardrobe philosophy, I save money. When I succumb to the “developing your taste” discourse, which is often just well camouflaged consumerism, I overspend.

We don’t all need the thing. We can observe and consider trends without participating in them. I think we (and I) also need to use a bit more critical thinking when the taste conversation surfaces and ask: are they trying to sell me something?

I spent way too much money in my early twenties on designer items. I had no dependents and my rent was cheap. The money I earnt also wasn’t budgeted — at all. I didn’t have multiple accounts to bucket and allocate. It was just all there, waiting to be spent.

I cringe further. I now recall I did have one big savings account. But it wasn’t earning extra interest — I might as well have put it under the mattress. I ended up spending all that money starting my e-commerce business. The one I didn’t pay myself a salary or super (retirement fund) from for four years. Wtaf.

Founders need to pay themselves at a minimum, super, even in the startup years. She says with the clarity of hindsight.

Thankfully, while I wasn’t paying myself from the e-com business, my side hustle of building my personal brand in the creator space paid the bills. But I didn’t allocate enough to my taxes and had huge bills each quarter. Tax return? You’re dreaming!

The worst thing I ever did, though, was ignore my finances entirely. Putting my head in the sand made it worse. So much worse. And I’m not going to do it anymore.