Jason Jue, a 31-year-old baker who lives with his parents in Honolulu, has shared the expensive hobby he can afford due to never paying rent.
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Instead of paying rent, Jason Jue lives with his parents and collects designer bags.
There is a lot of stigma among most Westerners surrounding living with parents at an adult age and indulging in expensive hobbies during a cost-of-living crisis that is slowly becoming the standard.
However, in Jue’s case, there is some important context.
The baker dedicates his TikTok to showing off his collection of designer bags. On January 30, Jue posted a video showing off a couple of designer bags, with the caption, “Normalize living with your family and spend the money you save on rent on a bag.”
With his relatively low follower count, he didn’t expect the video to receive almost 850K views. Admittedly, I assumed the comments would be full of people disapproving his choices and shaming him. However, there are many that relate to his living situation.
Jue spoke to PEOPLE about his way of life, and how growing up has influenced his spending habits.
Jason Jue Defends And Explains His Pricey Passtime
“I’ve always lived at home. Culturally, I grew up very Asian, so I was always taught from a young age to care for my elders,” he explained. Jue lives with his parents and a brother, and living at home has been encouraged by his parents.
“My parents are okay with my luxury purchases. In fact, every time I go to buy something, my mom is with me. She’s always in the know of what I’m currently eyeing or wanting,” he elaborated.
Some viewers commented that instead of paying rent when living with family, you pay instead with your mental health. To that, Jue says, “Of course, living with family has its challenges, but I’m fortunate enough not to have parents like that.”
Being a baker in a fine dining establishment allows Jue to pay bills, save up for investments and retirement savings, and indulge in his collector bag collection. So, it works.