Blowing Water | If you’re Chinese, then being a ‘shameless’ savvy saver is likely to be in your DNA
The desire for a nest egg comes from a deep sense of responsibility to provide for one’s family and stash cash away for a rainy day, Luisa Tam explains
Chinese people, like most others, love money. But to be more precise, we take great joy in scrupulously balancing between saving money and spending within our means.
This attitude has been extolled as a virtue. In fact, it’s become so ingrained in our psyche that no matter where or how we are brought up or how we are educated, when it comes to handling money, being sensible and frugal is second nature to us.
An ‘ideal’ retirement will take HK$5.11m in savings, up 18pc from last year: Allianz survey
We often do it without thinking and feel no shame in doing so, even if we might appear penny-pinching to others.
Another report by Wealth-X, a firm that conducts research and valuations on ultra-high net worth individuals, also found that Hong Kong is a magnet for the ultra-wealthy. It was the city with the second-highest number of such residents, after New York.
Hongkongers still seem to be a miserable lot, despite their blessings
Any Chinese would tell you that accumulating wealth may be hard work, but keeping it is even harder.
