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Q: Who are more frugal, thrifty, or cheap - Chinese or Jewish people?
Growing up we had neighbors that were Jewish and my pal Abraham told me that on Tuesdays and Fridays his mother, father, and himself would all shower together and they had a 7 minute time limit, and then father would turn off the water!
And Abe would be punished if he left any room without turning off the light. Do Chinese for crazy crap like this as well? I know it is admirable to be thrifty in China and when I see the elders digging through trash to collect plastic for recycling, it reminds me when Abe and his father used to collect class coke bottles in the 70s to collect 10 cents for every bottle they turned into the local beverage store.
Chinese, frugals ? In the countryside and old folks, it's by necessity, not by virtue... Go in any low income country, you will see the same rituals ie. recycling, saving water, fuel, etc. Never been in South East Asia ? Africa ? South America ?
Then, go to a moderately "classy" restaurant in China, and look how much food is left. It's so bad, there are public awareness spots on CCTV to explain that 50% of the food is left-over in China. Also, if you walk a bit outside, say, around a building site, you will see biiiiiig panels explaining food should be saved, currently, there as much wastage, which put a strain on resources blabla... I saw those panels all around the country during 2013.
Look how inexistant is insulation in China (despite heavy usage of aircon/heating in summer/winter), just pure concrete walls & floors in most places. You probably know the common practice of leaving open windows in a heated building, in the middle of the winter.
Finally, switching off lights that you don't use is not crazy, it's smart. Less expense of your own money, of the planet resources and less pollution. One stone, three birds 
coineineagh:
This is an unfair rap. There are generational wealthy families who run their affairs like a business, and they are cautious to advertise their wealth. Jews have more reason than most to not draw unnecessary attention to themselves. But when people have come into a financial windfall without the upbringing to handle it, they splash out in attempts to get attention and gratification. Being rich is like not having to worry about all the things normal adults have to, so nouveau riche tend to revert to a child-like state, with all the attention-seeking and unconsiderate behaviour. I admit that Chinese (Asians in general) have a fondness for childish things, but they are not more prone to spending sprees than any other nationality. You'll have uneducated golddiggers in the West, Arab oil sheiks shamelessly acting out wierd fascinations, and so on. China doesn't have a history of many wealthy family dynasties (*many* being the operative word here), so theyu haven't formed much of a culture around wealth yet. Jews have, but you can't attribute this to them innately; it's a product of their history. Chinese rich will grow up eventually. Let's just hope the environment can wait that long!
Thrift and frugality are virtues we should all have. Unfortunately, the advent of technology has produced a slew of products that we deem "must haves". As we move on in life, incomes improve and many of us lost those virtues. There are some who don't care how they make money, so long as they get it. So they cheat, lie, prostitute themselves, etc. I suppose you could regard these as cheap. Thrift, frugality and being cheap applies everywhere regardless of race, gender and religion.
DrMonkey:
Blame consumers, not technology ^^ With great powers comes great responsibility, this applies to technology.
louischuahm:
I think it's a question of "needs" and "wants". While technology may be able to churn out such products , there must be demand for it. Coupled with "intelligent" advertising, people feel that they must have those products. For instance, a Xiaomi phone can perform most of the functions that a user might want but it has to be an iphone isn't it? Technology plays it's part in driving the Joneses syndrome so much so that people need to live beyond their means. Many who cannot achieve the desired results resort to doing cheap things I said earlier. Thrift and frugality are tossed out the window.
I heard 'things' about Scottish
….never Jews or Chinaman. I'm looking forward for entries about frugalness of Moshavim's management.
.icnif77:
I'm not sure, are you new user or you changed your handle!
I had a talk here with Mike, who was also Scottish. I can't dig up my replies to him, but I know thing or two about Scotland and pipes&kilts.
I lived in S. Fl with brothers from Glasgow. They were both Celtic fans.
In the time of H. Larsson.
I thought Chinese were the product of Jew and a Scott , My wife is the biggest tight ass when it comes to Money but we use the word Thrifty
icnif77:
My 'Anshan ex-GF' wasn't that frugal! With my monnies! 'tight' is very nice word
!
How old are you Grumpy? about 70 years old! I'm sure someone cracked that joke to me when I was a little kid! (I'm not 70 by the way)....and I am secretly laughing! 
surely the true Jewish dilemma is free pork...
i have read stories on this forum of Chinese not turning on the A/C in summer, yet willing to splash out large sums of money on the latest iPhones or the latest designer fashions.
Bargain hard over a few mao in the market, yet serve enough food to feed an army at a meal, with a lot of it being wasted
to me that seems like inverse thrift.
Yes, i spend money to make my life comfortable - but i have been shocked by the excess i have seen here at times.
I am mocked for having a favourite pair of boots repaired, and derided for not having an iPhone. Neither Chinese or Jewish (terrible generalisations), i have a comfortable life here.
expatlife26:
I'm with you, Sorrel. I’ll spend a reasonable amount on my own comfort but very little on gaining face. I have a very modern 1 bedroom and if it's hot I run the A/C. At my office, there’s a constant rotating cast of fresh grads who usually wash out or get sent elsewhere and it’s shocking the way they live vs. the things they buy. I have a 2-3 year old Motorola phone which I think is perfectly fine and is probably one of the least prestigious phones in the office.
We’re talking latest iPhones/Xperias, leather handbags, nice looking clothes…and then piling in 4-5 to a shitty 1 bedroom apartment. Hell I get they only make 5-6K per month and that does NOT go far in Shanghai, but like if they didn’t buy the expensive stuff, they could cut that back to 2 roommates and live much more comfortably or eat some decent food now and then. Trouble is…they don’t think people can “see” living like a civilized person in your private life the way they can “see” an iPhone.
I actually think people can “see” that…a lot of my confidence and frankly credibility comes from going home every night to a comfy, private apartment. How can your bosses take you seriously as someone who deserves a seat at the table knowing that you share a bed with 3 other men?
On the other hand…I don’t have as much to prove as they do. In a land of such abject poverty, not being poor, becomes much more important to highlight. If you have the latest top-end Xperia you’re at least probably not destitute.
Techtronix:
Koreans are also frugal inside their homes but outside on the streets they must show the world they are successful. So they will drive a BMW and have designer clothes, but when you go into their homes, they have no furniture! So there are various degrees of frugality in the world.
It's simple really.
People with money do their best to keep it and make more. People without money will share their last dime with a friend to contribute to their mutual comfort.
Bigots will blame their failure on the success of others.
I am a happy Scotsman without money. you don't need money to be happy
.
To be unhappy because other people have more money than you is a terrible waste of a life.
If you are not enjoying your life, its not because of the Jews or the Indians or the Chinese or Muslims. It's because you have decided not to enjoy life.
The answer to your happiness is inside you. Go find it 
Talk about a tough question! I think the older both Chinese and Jews are, the more frugal they are because they have both lived through hellish times of starvation, droughts, government abuses, etc. There is nothing wrong with being thrifty. I think most all of us bargain when we shop in China,
Chinese used to be tightwads years ago. But these days, what uni student does not have an IPhone?
