- Extreme Chinese cheapskates explained.
Are all Chinese that cheap?
(upbeat music)
- I don't do laundry, you have
to pay quite a bit in quarters.
So, whenever I have dirty clothes
I try to wash them while I'm showering.
Today I'm using a free sample of detergent that I got.
Okay, I need to get detergent, and bleach onto my clothes
before I put them in the shower to soak.
(splashing)
Then once I'm done showering then I lather up the clothes.
I almost never do laundry.
I think the last time I did laundry
was maybe three years ago.
And I start wringing out these clothes.
I don't use a dryer.
Not only does the dryer waste money,
but it shrinks clothes, and then wears clothes out faster.
You can keep your clothes looking newer for longer.
If you don't dry them.
But normally I would want to maybe do
a load of laundry every other week.
It costs like $3 to wash and dry clothes.
You'd save maybe $6 a month.
I don't use toilet paper.
I just use water and soap
to clean myself off after going to the bathroom.
I take this water bottle that I have,
and I rinse myself off.
If I just urinated, I'm done with that.
And then I dry myself off
with one of the paper towels I have.
If I took a dump, then I also grab soap,
wipe myself down with the soap,
and then I take the water, and rinse off the soap.
I don't believe in spending money on something
that you're just going to throw away.
Such as toilet paper, or paper towels.
Oh my God!
Now if you watches that clip, I want to assure you
not all Chinese are that cheap.
Now a lot of Chinese are kind of frugal and cheap.
And, not to that extreme.
Now what do you guys think of that lady? (laughs)
- Well, I think from a hygienic point of view
I was a little mortified.
(laughing)
I think it really crosses a--
- I'm surprised how small the soap is.
(Dan laughs)
- I mean, yeah--
- A soap, like not a full on soap,
it's like small little piece.
- That's probably still a full bar of soap to her.
To be honest. (lady laughs)
- Maybe she get that from a sample place,
or something like this, free sample.
No just-- - You don't pay!
- She said that the detergent is a sample, sample pack.
So didn't use money on that.
- I'm sure the soap was too.
- Yeah, I'm pretty sure--
- She didn't say, but, you know,
I have a feeling that was free too.
- Yes, yes.
- Yeah, but, yeah I mean--
- And she says she doesn't want
to spend any money that you're gonna throw away.
- Yeah, you know, it's really far to,
in my definition of cheap, and frugal
that's just really way beyond that definition.
- Yes.
- I don't even have a word for it.
I mean being Chinese myself I've never seen cheapness
and frugalness to that degree.
So, it's, you know, you learn
something new every day I guess.
- Yes. - Yeah.
- And she say "I don't do laundry.
"I just, I don't do laundry."
She washes herself, and the clothing at the same time.
Right (laughs)?
- I don't say it just has to be Chinese.
Just her.
- Just her.
- She has problems (laughs)
- She has prob-- - Not Chinese!
- I don't know, she can save money for sure, right?
But I mean it goes against, you know,
what I stand for.
That is more the abundance mindset, right?
- Exactly.
- Like, but you can see, I don't know,
cause I have an Aunt of mine right,
that's also very cheap.
Maybe not to that degree.
- No.
- But pretty cheap.
Like you can see that she never buys anything.
She wears the same shirt, and clothing for like 10 years.
Like running shoes, like for like many, many years.
And same glasses for many years.
Never spends.
She never spends many money on herself.
And it's even at the Chinese New Year
she'll give us pocket, the red pocket money.
And she would put in like candy,
and maybe they would be a dollar, like coins.
Cause as a kid the minute you get the red packet money.
We would say, "Is it soft, or is it hard?"
If it's hard, it's a coin.
Damn it, right?
Where if it's soft, it's a paper.
We would like it a little bit more.
Then it means it's a bigger dollar bill, right?
- Could it have been newspaper?
- No, there's never newspaper.
- Oh, lucky you!
- But she's cheap too, so my Aunt,
it's cheap, but you can see her face is like,
she's not happy.
- Not happy.
- She's not a-- - Not happy.
- Happy person, right?
You know so, for something like this,
I guess, we're not an advocate of debt.
But everybody has that choice, right?
What they want to do.
- Yeah, I just feel so bad for her.
Cause, you know, I feel like
she doesn't even love herself.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- You don't even spend a, not the money, it's--
- You don't even enjoy life.
- Exactly, you just, you don't say
you deserve a full bar like, you deserve
a $5 like, you know (laughs)?
- No, she would say-- - Or like a $3 for--
- Should I save a $3, right?
- For dry cleaning? - $4 a month!
- Six bucks for a month.
- That's something like that, right?
- Most other people, that's just one cup of coffee.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But again, we're not projecting our values
on other people, we're just, it's up to her, right?
But I do think there, the hygiene part.
I assume she's single.
I think, I assume she is single.
It would be kinda interesting to see her go on a date.
With the other guy, if the guy,
if the other guy could take that.
- I think she would probably say,
"Please get me tent."
It's like table bread.
"I have to go!"
- You have to go, and I'm like,
I don't know, see how that would work right?
Unless maybe the other guy, that she's dating
is also, an extreme cheapskate.
And then, that's a lot of, that's a lot.
(lady laughs)
That would be a lot of cheapness--
- Imagine how their children is going be.
- Oh my God, oh my God, the king, and queen of cheapskate.
- Why do you think, you know,
the Chinese have this reputation,
in general, I mean, this woman aside,
being extremely cheap,
and extremely frugal, right, as one example.
As Chinese say, maybe it doesn't happen,
with her being Chinese, right?
It's just, you know, her being extremely extreme.
But when we go back to look at the, okay,
overall picture, yes, the Chinese--
- Yes mostly, I think Chinese they like to do,
also they spend a lot of money on things,
but I think most of them,
they like to be smart with their money.
They don't want to be wasteful, right?
They like to save money, cause Chinese we were saying
like, you don't, you want to be prepared for the rainy day.
- Yes.
- You want to be ready, you don't,
it's like, North America, credit card debt,
I want instant gratification.
I'll spend the money first.
With the Chinese, it's more like,
well, if something goes bad?
That's why they like to pay their houses like all cash.
They don't want a lot of debt.
- Yeah, I don't say, Visa cards even,
available probably-- - Until--
- For last 10 years in China.
- Yeah, yeah, it's only recently now you have that.
- [Jennie] Yeah only recently.
- Now you have the, a Gilead card, right?
- Yeah, yeah, before, no.
So, that's not even, you buy cash
- Always buy with cash.
- You always buy with the cash right,
that's always their concept.
Isn't also true, maybe because back then
when China is not as wealthy, not as affluent?
That people are--
- Well, we'd say poor.
- Poor yeah, and so, from there
a lot of those saving habits, be prepared for the rainy day.
A lot of those habits ingrained?
- Yeah, my Grandmas do like this,
but not like that for sure!
- Not like that, but frugal.
- Very, very frugal.
- Very frugal, like spends very little money.
- Yes.
- And they could be making tens of millions,
of millions of dollars, it doesn't matter.
Like, I've seen Chinese entrepreneurs
where they make tons of money
worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
They would try to go to supermarket,
and save $5, right?
To them it's not, like it's beneath them.
They don't think that way.
And I don't think Chinese value their time,
as much as like, a Caucasian entrepreneurs.
From my perspective.
Because I wouldn't do that.
I wouldn't, they try to make my own dumpling
and save like three, five bucks.
I would just buy it, right?
- I don't know, maybe, because a lot
of Chinese their work is not paid per hour.
So, they don't get the, like, hourly job.
- Yes.
- So maybe they don't have the concept of oh--
- How much my, my hour is worth?
- They don't really think in that way.
- Yes, yes, so, yeah.
- Yeah, I think the need versus want
is very defined, so do I really need this,
or do I just want this?
- Yes.
- Do I have this, like my parents
would always say, "You have this at home."
But it's not the same.
It's like, "No, you have this at home."
It's close enough, it's 70% like what
you want to buy right now. - Yes, yes.
- It's close enough, right?
So, that the mentality is very different,
and it's like, well if you don't need it
why are you spending money on it, right?
So, they don't really buy into the whole
emotional satisfaction point of things.
- They want practicality.
- They want practicality, there's no
such thing as retail therapy.
It's like, no, buying more stuff will make me depressed.
You know, retail therapy, doesn't exist.
You know, for my parents generation.
- They want cash, right?
They want cash.
- If I save my money, then that makes me feel a lot better.
- Yes, yes.
Now so, not all Chinese are that cheap,
and not all Chinese are extreme cheapskates.
That's just one example, but Chinese are frugal.
They are, they want to be smart with their money.
They like to save money, they want
to be prepared for the worst.
Comment below, let us know maybe
some of your Chinese friends, and the Chinese
that you know in your life, are they cheap?
Are they frugal, or are they, you know, very generous?
Also comment below if you have any other questions.
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for you to watch as well.
For me, you can, I mean don't be cheap.
It's about being abundant.
It's meaning, if you're trying
to save couple of money on a soap.
While using your soap to wash your,
wash your private parts,
that is just wrong, okay.
Until next time, I'll see you in the next video.