As with most Asian families, it’s likely that Jolin Tsai has retained one of the many frugal lessons that we all grew up hearing over and over again – “If it isn’t broken, don’t replace it”.
This is despite the fact that she’s one of the highest-earning mandopop artistes of her time, raking in about S$4.7 million annually.
Guess some things we learn when we’re young just stick with us like a particularly stubborn cellophane tape… even decades after the fact.
Perhaps it’s the sentimental value that matters
The 40-year-old celebrity was recently seen leaving her home to retrieve her white Mercedes-Benz SL350 that was parked across the street.
She bought the car in 2013 for around S$299,000.
The car looks to be in pristine shape, as though it is brand-new.
Note that a typical car’s lifespan is around 8 years, but a luxury car like a Mercedes-Benz might be able to last a lot longer than say… your typical Honda Civic.
Funnily enough, this 8-year-old car has been with her much longer than her longest romantic partner.
As pointed out by the Hong Kong-based tabloid, Apple Daily (蘋果日報), the writer noted that Jolin has actually been with this Benz much longer than the 6 years she spent dating Singaporean-New Zealander model, Vivian Dawson.
They broke up amicably in November 2016.
However, we suspect there might be more to this than simply frugality.
It’s likely that the car holds some sentimental value as well, and hence, her increased reluctance to have it replaced with a newer model.
This is evident in another quirk of hers – she is known to travel the world with her favourite Rimowa suitcase for years now.
The suitcase was used as a “snack bag” to store her favourite cheap Taiwanese snacks rather than to store her apparels though!
Asians will always be Asians
Frugality seems rather common even among famous Asian A-list celebrities, likely thanks to their upbringing.
For instance, Chinese-American singer Wang Leehom is reported to be driving the same BMW for 13 years now.
Despite the scratches and dings on the car, he has no plans to replace it anytime soon.
Singer-songwriter, David Tao, has also once revealed that Leehom have “a whole bunch of socks with holes in them in his closet”.
Similar to Jolin and her luggage bag, Leehom has even been using the same luggage for the past decade, and has apparently worn the same outfits for his shows for the past 14 years.
Famous Hong Kong singer, Eason Chan, is also seen to be driving the old Suzuki Hustler (S$27,000) he inherited from his wife, Hilary Tsui, after he bought her a brand-new Suzuki Jimny (S$35,000).
He did have the car repainted first though. After all, he wouldn’t want to be caught driving around a pink car!
Not to mention, Liu Yifei, the actress who starred in the highly-celebrated live-action remake of Mulan, has been using a chair that she brings to every film set she’s been to for 18 years.
Besides providing sufficient support for her back, according to the actress, she simply couldn’t “bear to throw away” the chair.
Of course, when it comes to ultimate thriftiness among celebrities, there is no one better to exemplify this than beloved Hong Kong actor, Chow Yun Fat.
He purportedly only spends S$141 a month, wears cheap (but comfortable) clothes, and uses public transport despite his net worth of over S$250 million.
Featured Image: Facebook (蔡依林 Jolin Tsai)