http://www.divaasia.com/article/9898
Mon, Jul 12, 2010
The New Paper
Cheap for my sweet, sugar for my money
MEDIACORP actor Zzen Chong is on an austerity drive.
The 32-year-old has been cutting down on his expenses since he confirmed his marriage plans in March last year.
The Malaysian-born actor will wed his girlfriend of eight years, 30-year-old car dealer Geline See, on Jan 14.
The wedding will be held at an Italian restaurant in a hotel here.
Chong is most famous for his role as baddie Robert Zhang in the 2008 hit drama The Little Nyonya.
He has just finished filming the Channel 8 police drama Unriddle.
Even before he started saving up for his wedding, Chong said he was already quite thrifty.
He eats at hawker centres, coffee shops and foodcourts almost all the time and spends an average of $5 per meal.
Once in a while, he eats at zhi char stalls at gatherings with friends, where he spends about $20 a meal.
His Wedding Budget
Wedding dinner for 150
persons at $110 per head:
$16,500
Bridal photos: $2,000
Dowry jewellery: $1,500
Wedding bands: $1,000
Flowers: $500
Hotel rooms for relatives
from Kuala Lumpur: $750
Red packets for the
wedding entourage: $1,300
TOTAL: $23,550
Chong said he is penny-pinching to pay for the wedding expenses and the couple’s matrimonial home.
The Singapore PR, who used to live in Kuala Lumpur, told The New Paper: “I’ve sold my car and stopped buying gadgets to save up.
“If I wasn’t saving for our wedding and flat, I would have bought an iPad and a digital SLR camera.”
The couple now shares usage of Miss See’s car.
These days, Chong spends not more than $20 a day, down from $40 in the past.
This is because he and Miss See have cut down on their movie outings.
He has also adopted a new tactic when it comes to shopping for clothes.
“I now buy during sales and every item costs less than $50. I also accumulate the points on my credit cards and telco bills, and exchange them for shopping vouchers from Topshop or Zara,” he said.
In the past, he admitted he would have let those points expire without using them.
Chong said in total, he hopes to raise about $23,000 for the wedding.
Sponsors
He has found sponsors for the bridal outfits from a bridal boutique in Johor Baru, the wedding invitations and also a photographer and videographer for the wedding day.
He will pay for the rest – such as the wedding dinner and bridal photos. Chong said he has about $15,000 and that he has a long way to go.
“I used to spend my money however I like. But now, money is becoming more and more scarce,” he moaned.
“I’m short of about $9,000 now. But maybe I’ll be able to pay for the wedding dinner with the red packets from my guests.”
The couple has also hit a snag buying a flat.
Both are Singapore PRs – Miss See is from Johor Baru – so they can buy only resale flats.
Chong hopes to live close to the MediaCorp office at Andrew Road. The couple have seen more than 30 flats in the past four months at estates like Toa Payoh, Bishan, Balestier, Whampoa, Sin Ming and Cambridge Road.
But the main problem is the high price – up to half a million dollars for a four-room flat.
He said: “My budget for a flat was initially $300,000, then it rose to $400,000. But it seems now that I have to increase it again to $500,000.
“I’d most probably have to pay a cash deposit upfront of $25,000.
“If that’s the case, I may have to borrow money from relatives.”
This article was first published in The New Paper.
Mon, Jul 12, 2010
The New Paper
Cheap for my sweet, sugar for my money
MEDIACORP actor Zzen Chong is on an austerity drive.
The 32-year-old has been cutting down on his expenses since he confirmed his marriage plans in March last year.
The Malaysian-born actor will wed his girlfriend of eight years, 30-year-old car dealer Geline See, on Jan 14.
The wedding will be held at an Italian restaurant in a hotel here.
Chong is most famous for his role as baddie Robert Zhang in the 2008 hit drama The Little Nyonya.
He has just finished filming the Channel 8 police drama Unriddle.
Even before he started saving up for his wedding, Chong said he was already quite thrifty.
He eats at hawker centres, coffee shops and foodcourts almost all the time and spends an average of $5 per meal.
Once in a while, he eats at zhi char stalls at gatherings with friends, where he spends about $20 a meal.
His Wedding Budget
Wedding dinner for 150
persons at $110 per head:
$16,500
Bridal photos: $2,000
Dowry jewellery: $1,500
Wedding bands: $1,000
Flowers: $500
Hotel rooms for relatives
from Kuala Lumpur: $750
Red packets for the
wedding entourage: $1,300
TOTAL: $23,550
Chong said he is penny-pinching to pay for the wedding expenses and the couple’s matrimonial home.
The Singapore PR, who used to live in Kuala Lumpur, told The New Paper: “I’ve sold my car and stopped buying gadgets to save up.
“If I wasn’t saving for our wedding and flat, I would have bought an iPad and a digital SLR camera.”
The couple now shares usage of Miss See’s car.
These days, Chong spends not more than $20 a day, down from $40 in the past.
This is because he and Miss See have cut down on their movie outings.
He has also adopted a new tactic when it comes to shopping for clothes.
“I now buy during sales and every item costs less than $50. I also accumulate the points on my credit cards and telco bills, and exchange them for shopping vouchers from Topshop or Zara,” he said.
In the past, he admitted he would have let those points expire without using them.
Chong said in total, he hopes to raise about $23,000 for the wedding.
Sponsors
He has found sponsors for the bridal outfits from a bridal boutique in Johor Baru, the wedding invitations and also a photographer and videographer for the wedding day.
He will pay for the rest – such as the wedding dinner and bridal photos. Chong said he has about $15,000 and that he has a long way to go.
“I used to spend my money however I like. But now, money is becoming more and more scarce,” he moaned.
“I’m short of about $9,000 now. But maybe I’ll be able to pay for the wedding dinner with the red packets from my guests.”
The couple has also hit a snag buying a flat.
Both are Singapore PRs – Miss See is from Johor Baru – so they can buy only resale flats.
Chong hopes to live close to the MediaCorp office at Andrew Road. The couple have seen more than 30 flats in the past four months at estates like Toa Payoh, Bishan, Balestier, Whampoa, Sin Ming and Cambridge Road.
But the main problem is the high price – up to half a million dollars for a four-room flat.
He said: “My budget for a flat was initially $300,000, then it rose to $400,000. But it seems now that I have to increase it again to $500,000.
“I’d most probably have to pay a cash deposit upfront of $25,000.
“If that’s the case, I may have to borrow money from relatives.”
This article was first published in The New Paper.
