Style influencer Sincerely Jules — aka Julie Sariñana — started building her brand in 2009, when the influencer and blogging craze was just getting started. Her success grew out of her love for fashion and creative expression.

“It brings me such joy to know that it's been 10 years doing this,” the social media mogul told InStyle at the celebration for the launch of her Sincerely Jules x Billabong collection at Festoon in Los Angeles on March 19. “10 years ago, it didn't exist. It was just pure passion what we were doing, and there was only a handful of staff. I think timing was everything. I think I came at the right time and tried to just do it because I genuinely enjoyed and had a love for styling and taking photos, being creative, and writing cute little blurbs.”

In the beginning, Sariñana wasn’t totally convinced that her blog would turn into anything. It was only when her now-agent, Jennifer Powell, reached out to her a year-and-a-half into blogging that she began to understand its potential. “That was my realization moment of having someone outside of my family and friends see something and believe in me,” Sariñana says. “That really was the force that kept me going and believe in myself because I didn't think there could be something [made] out of this.”

Since then, Sariñana has amassed a following of over 5.1 million on Instagram, landed collaborations with Revolve, Scunci, SK-II, and more. Now, she’s teamed up with Billabong for a spring style capsule collection. Inspired by her signature beachy style and her home country, Mexico, the collection is the first of Billabong’s with global distribution. Sariñana says that the collection embodies her “dream, believe, and achieve” mantra.

As for the mantra that Sariñana attributes to her success: “Staying true to myself,” she said. “I know it's very easy to step away from that path, because you're caught up in meeting so many people and you get invited to places, and the money, and this and that. But as long as you stay focused and you stay grounded and you surround yourself with grounded people, family and friends, I think that what your goal is, you can reach it.”

We caught up with Sariñana about all things money, how she negotiates as an influencer, what she splurges on, the most luxurious item in her closet, and more.

What is the best lesson your parents taught you about money?

We didn't grow up with much, but we definitely grew up with a lot of love and support, and I think that's really all you need in order to succeed and to push yourself. Not having everything growing up really taught me how to respect money, and to value it, and learn how to manage it and save, really.

What was your first paycheck and how did you spend it?

I used to work at Rampage. That was my first ever job in retail, and I was about 16 or 17 years old. I bought a Marc by Marc Jacobs handbag with my first paycheck, and I thought I was like the coolest thing ever. At that time, the bag was I think $368, and to me that was a lot. Again, going back to my childhood, because we had so little, spending over $300 was just so much for me. That was my first ever grown up purchase. I still remember it vividly. It's green, which is weird, because that's not my go-to color, but it was a green Marc by Marc Jacobs bag.

What do you spend on now?

I'm such a bad person with shoes, and I always splurge on that. I think that as I get older, I'm finding myself spending my money on nicer restaurants and having nice meals and very nice vacations, because what I do really requires a lot of my time, and a lot of times I'm not able to enjoy the moment. So, being able to splurge on a vacation just to myself with [my fiance] to really enjoy that and not have to worry about working is really what I'm lately finding myself doing. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, but it's been nice to splurge on less materialistic things and more of time and moments.

Now that you're at a high point in your career, do you negotiate? How?

I think that doing what I do now, you learn a lot along the way. I think it really, truly is a 50/50 collaboration between my needs and wants and also the brand's needs and wants. I'm always very conscious to make sure that we both have the same goals and wants and needs, because I want to make sure that we're both comfortable with the proposal at hand. Being upfront completely from the start is something that surely makes a difference, because I want to make sure the conversation is as honest and real as possible.

What is the best thing that money brings?

It can go both ways. It can bring you a lot of problems, and stress and all that, because more money, more problems. But at the same time, because I didn't grow up with having quite a lot, it's nice to really feel comfortable, and be able to help others that are in need. So I think that's probably the nicest feeling to be able to have money in that sense, to be able to either help family back in Mexico that might need it or family members going through surgery but they can't afford to [pay for]. I tend to help my family, send money back to them, so for me that's such an accomplishment.

What is the biggest splurge item in your closet?

I think I'd say this vintage Chanel bag that I just got in Tokyo. It's like a jumbo size, and actually I think it was an amazing price for the size of it. Because when I would see that growing up, I'm like, "Okay, I could never afford that," or "Oh my god, that's not attainable to me." So now being able to afford that, and own one, is remarkable.

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