Singaporean content creator Emily Tan enjoys getting personal when it comes to dishing out life advices on her YouTube channel. In most of her videos or vlogs, a presentable Tan is frequently seen seated in the comfort of her bedroom, right by her bed, where she shares her take on adulting woes—which run the gamut from personal finance to losing friendship—and how she would face them. Her YouTube channel sees more than 14,000 subscribers and some of her popular videos have raked in more than 500,000 views—an impressive feat for a content creator when compared to the likes of other mainstream, Singapore-based YouTubers who boast a well-equipped team of talents and creatives.
You might first recognize Tan as a girl-next-door influencer on Instagram through images of a young woman with long, hazel hair, a petite face, a pair of bright almond eyes, and a contagious smile. With close to 35,000 followers, you might even be inclined to assume that Tan is a full-time influencer. But it would be folly to do so because Tan is a hustler at heart, and being a social media influencer is anything but a secondary focus.
Tan is also quite the hustler. She is one of the two founders of oral beauty brand, Mooi Beauty. Tan, who wore braces when she was younger, saw a gap in the teeth whitening market and noticed how some people suffered pain while attempting to whiten their teeth. Mooi Beauty, thus, aims to circumvent that with a Singapore-approved, peroxide-free home whitening kit that is vegan, halal -friendly, pain-free, and safe to use.
Beyond her status as a social media content creator and a start-up hustler, Tan is also a financial advisor. She has, on instance, professed her interest in wealth-planning, but is rarely seen hard-selling her services on her Instagram. Instead, she transfers her knowledge on the industry into occasional and relatable YouTube vlogs that serve to educate those who are financially clueless.
And it is through these informative and casual vlogs that appealed to her followers.
When it comes to managing one’s personal finance, there are myriad ways to do so. From listening to informative financial podcasts in the morning to skipping the morning cuppa from your favourite café, there’s no one right way to save on a rainy day or to get educated on financial literacy.
For the bubbly Singaporean content creator, Tan frequently emphasises how managing one’s personal finance is all about having due diligence and making do with what he or she has in her videos.
Read on to find out the three practical personal finance tips Tan shared with hoolah.
Learn How To Save With The Bare Minimum
For Tan, separating her monthly expenses into different segments (loans, transports, phone bills, food, investments, and insurances) makes it easier for her to classify and determine how much she would have to allocate from her income every month. The remaining amount of the monthly income ought to go into your savings, she says in a video titled “Adult talks Ep 1 – How we save with $3,000/month salary”.
In the same video, she advocated using cheaper mobile phone plans, CPF calculator, and even getting adult concession card to manage her personal finance.
But one of the more important takeaways is to have at least three months of living expenses stashed away in case of an emergency. This advice comes particularly timely at a time of the coronavirus pandemic, where spare, liquid cash may be relied upon in instances of retrenchment and unemployment.
For Fresh Graduates, Hustle
For fresh graduates looking to better his or her wealth accumulation, Tan suggests hustling on the side or taking up part-time jobs. Beyond managing one’s own personal finance, Tan emphasises the saliency of having more than one stream of income—whether it is a tuition gig or waiting tables—to keep the money coming.
“It is precisely because you are a fresh graduate, you have little responsibilities, like taking care of a child, you should maximise the use of your time.”
Never Ever Compare Excessively. Period.
It is tempting to compare your income to a friend’s or a relative’s. I have done it and chances are you might have, too. But doing so, according to Tan, may do more harm than good. At a time of an economic recession and when retrenchment rates are high, unhealthy comparison may incite envy, negativity, and an unnecessary dollop of self-criticism.
Sure, we’d love to improve ourselves financially and comparing might just offer an insight or two to improve our quality of life. But sometimes, when you compare yourself to someone of the same financial bracket, you may come to realize that they are in a much better disposition. You’d ponder how do these people afford the latest sneaker drops, the latest phone models, or even the exotic vacation? And you might wonder: Where and what am I doing wrong?
“Everyone grows differently,” Tan says, reassuringly. “Always make do with what you have.”
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