Generation Y Members in China and the U.S
Many Generation Y members in China and the U.S. value spending over saving. From the perspective of money, lots of teenagers in China Share a common value with the Americans—prioritizing wants over their needs. This is because they are encouraged to buy and consume at their early age in this information-rich world. The power consumers who are well off and addicted to shopping, prefer luxury goods and affluent brands, and it probably leads to improper money management. This phenomenon is obvious in rich cities such as Shang Hai and Los Angeles, where lots of globalized commercial brands like Agnes b and Calvin Klein are supposed to be permanently settled in and welcome huge amount of local consumers. Overspending often result in insufficient savings. According Erica Alini (2011),a recent study by the Royal Bak of Canada indicates that more than half of the interviewed post-80s generation in the U.S. have no savings at all. Similarly in China, young earners and teenagers in rich cities would like to spend as to maintain same living standard instead of cutting corners. Despite undergoing economic recession, such as financial crisis, many of them do not plan their expenditures nor keep to their budgets, eventually they may go bankruptcy and lost their shirt.
Furthermore, Gen Yers are financially dependent and rely heavily on their parents. Nowadays, many young job seekers in China and the U.S. fail to find well-paid jobs during the period of economic downturn. Therefore, many of them have turned to their parents. The parents thus have a greater financial burden because their children are born consumers. The article “Generation Spend” (2011) written by Erica Alini describes Generation Y in this way, “ The recession was supposed to teach some important lessons about saving and living frugally, but Generation Y seems poised to fall into similar spending habits that left their parents with crippling debt.” It is not only commonly happens in the U.S., but also frequently occurs in China because of the one-child policy. Being the only child and offspring of the family, many ar spoiled by parents and grandparents. The parents who are well off in China are willing to spend in order to satisfy their child’s material wants. Eventually, the Millennium would regard their parents as safety guards. They would think that they can get help no matter what problem comes, including unaffordable debts. Therefore, I believe that there are no big difference from the perspective of money between members in Generation Y members from China and the U.S..