Culture Clash with Cash- Does Your Ethnicity Determine Your Financial Well Being?
About the Author
MakintheBacon$ is a personal finance/lifestyle blogger who enjoys writing about her own experiences in life and finance. When she’s not blogging she can be found at the gym motivating people, in the kitchen baking cupcakes, riding her bike here and there, travelling to an exotic destination or on the couch with a glass of white wine and a good book.
There are many factors that determine who we are as a person: friends, family, upbringing, environment, socioeconomic status and of course culture. For some of us, our families may have lived in North America for many generations. Some of us may be first-generation American born or first-generation Canadian born. Some of us may have immigrated to North America when we were very young and grew up here. Whereas some of us may have just recently arrived and are experiencing somewhat of a culture clash.
Interracial Relationships and Marriages
I am currently in an interracial relationship. In fact, all my relationships have been interracial. Even my own background is a melting pot of different races. Several of my relatives have interracial marriages and relationships as well. Nowadays it is just the norm. It makes me sad knowing that not too long ago, interracial relationships and marriage was against the law. Imagine being told who you can and cannot be with, based on the colour of your skin.
With the abundance of interracial relationships, there is the growing trend of interracial marriages. I haven’t been to many weddings with emphasis on a particular culture, but I am well aware that certain cultures have certain traditions in that the weddings tend to be very big and elaborate. They make weddings a HUGE deal, thus spending a HUGE amount of money. It boggles my mind how people will go to such great lengths and pay a ton of money for one event. Shouldn’t the wedding really be about having your loved ones with you to celebrate the special occasion?
Cultures and Their Values
Some cultures are well-known for being thrifty, cheap whatever you want to call it. Some are known for throwing their money around like its nothing. Some are known for having a strong business sense and being successful with making money. Obviously it is NOT true for everyone who is of that culture, but there are enough people who fit the bill in order to consider it a generalization. I came across an interesting article: Chinese Money Habits- How My Culture Influences My Attitudes Toward Money. The author is from China and moved to the US when she was a child. She mentions how frugality is a concept that has been taught to the Chinese for thousands of years. One point that stood out was that cash gifts are given to children for Chinese New Year and their birthdays. It was considered the best gift because you can do anything with it. However in North America, cash is considered thoughtless and instead gift cards are considered better gifts or actual gifts (but useless or tacky) because more thought was put into it. I’m sure we’ve all received gifts that were useless and wish they just gave us cash instead. I just recently celebrated my birthday this month and simply asked for cash because I knew it would be put to good use. It also took the pressure off my family stressing what to get me for my birthday.
Different Cultures Value Different Things
In Secrets to Understanding Other Cultures: The countries Japan, France, Spain and Italy are considered to be craftsman cultures. These particular cultures value art, literacy over money and power. Great attention and detail is paid to food, fashion and packaging. Can you say sushi and bento box?
In contrast, countries such as America and China are examples of business cultures. Business cultures consider money and power to be of more value. While the craftsman strives to craft one sword with the perfect balance of strength lightness and beauty, the businessman builds a factory to pump out swords for the masses with the best price in mind.
How Other Cultures View North America
On an evening out with some friends a few years back, an exchange graduate student commented on how much money we spend here in North America. We did spend a lot of money that night. The evening consisted of dinner followed by an adult version of Chuck E. Cheese, with the only difference being that there was a bar in the middle of all the games. It was a lot fun, but a lot of money was spent too. That was just his own personal observation, but can it be a generalization? Is the majority of North America THAT obsessed with spending money?
Do you feel the way you were brought up has anything to do with your ethnicity’s way of valuing money? Do you feel your spending habits are dictated by the consumerist way of this continent?
My financial values and upbringing are at total odds with my fiance’s – but more so due to class differences rather than ethnicity. Thankfully big weddings are not as big for us as they are for some – the first of my high school friends got hitched last year and it was a three-day Indian extravaganza (I don’t know how much it cost but I think whispers were about $40k.)
Oh wow. $40 k. For some people that’s a year’s salary or almost a year’s salary. Although I have been to weddings that have been a one day event and more than $40 k was spent. Mind boggling, I tell ya!
I don’t think our habits are dictated by other people’s consumerist tendencies. If that were the case, we’d spend a lot more than we do.
I think it’s a dangerous trap to fall in to to compare yourselves to others too much since it can lead to excuses and “I spent less than her” pats on the back when you still might have spent $100 you didn’t need to.
I say buck the system and ignore cultural values. Spend on what your values tell you is important!
Well said, Mrs. PoP!!!
Our financial upbringings are also from different ends of the spectrum due to socioeconomic and cultural reasons.
I completely relate to this post.
Glad you could relate 🙂 Although my bf and I are both quite frugal, our financial upbringings were quite different as well. I was quite spoiled by my parents. We went on a quite a few vacations when I was a kid and we often ate out at restaurants. He didn’t travel too much growing up and most of the time ate at home. I often wonder if it had anything to do with my parents immigrating from another country and trying to live “the North American Dream.”
Super interesting! I think there’s value in all cultures, and while you should be fiscally responsible to function in North American cultures, respecting the fact that it’s not as important to other people in other parts of the world is important. I do agree with other commenters that our relationship to our cultures is not the only thing that dictates our spending habits, but it does play a large role, and it’s not something I’ve seen addressed a million times. Great post.
Glad you enjoyed the post. I thought it would be nice to have a not so common personal finance topic that would generate some interesting opinions and comments.
The food in Japan is incredibly tasty. If there was one thing I miss more about that culture than anything it’s the food. The stuff in U.S. just doesn’t compare. We have a lot of catching up to do.
Japan is on my list of places to travel to. It was only over a year ago that I finally started to like sushi (more so the California rolls, rather than the sashimi). I am always impressed by the quality of the food and the effort made on the appearance. Well presented food definitely makes eating more enjoyable.
The first morning I woke up and went outside, it felt like I was on a different planet. Everything was so strange: lego-size buildings, tight spaces and vending machines every 20 feet lol.
Mmm… I wouldn’t say that Chinese are frugal in general. At least here in Vancouver, Chinese immigrants and investors are very much guilty of gambling away at the casino, buying mega-houses and fancy cars for their children. At the same time, there are a lot of older Chinese bottle-pickers who return empties for money. Whether they do it to be frugal or to actually make money, I don’t know. So there is still a spectrum across the culture, more so than can be captured in a generalization I think.
I would say that there is more emphasis on food culture – preparing a good meal and making eating an event rather than a chore. So perhaps there is money savings to be found there. But you could say that about many South Asian, Eastern European and Middle Eastern countries as well. Actually, it’s really just North America were convenience is a trait valued in food :S
When I went to Europe several years back, I noticed the emphasis on food culture as well. They really seem to enjoy their meal and savour it. Aside from convenience, I think quantity vs. quality is another trait valued in North American food. We’re all about all you can eat. All you can eat wings. All you can buffets. Guess the saying less is more doesn’t apply here.
I am Mexican and my husband is white. I am WAY more frugal than he is, even though I make about 3x as much as he does. It drives me NUTS sometimes that he won’t shop for better prices or that he’ll pay full price for something just because he wants it. It’s caused a lot of arguments. I’m not saying it’s because he’s white, but definitely it’s the way he was brought up and I notice the disparities between his culture and mine.
Haha. That would drive me nuts too. I guess I’m fortunate in that sense that my bf will shop around for better prices and will wait for a sale if he has to. Its interesting how sometimes the way you were brought up financially can still be carried on to your adult years and how it can change dramatically as well in your adult years.
My parents were not very frugal and not the greatest with money. They looked down on things that were used and not made in North America. For the longest time, I was the same way. I hate to admit it, but I thought secondhand clothing was gross. I was somewhat careful with my money growing up, but I’m definitely a LOT more frugal now than I was back then.
My money outlook is more determined by the economic situation I grew up in than my ethnicity. But then again, most of my family have been in the US for quite a while. One of my ancestors did some of the original surveying for the colony of West New Jersey for William Penn!
My paternal grandmother was a first generation American, but thouroghly wanted to be thought of as just an American that she hid as much of her ethnicity as possible. To this day, I don’t even know where that part of my family is from, aside from the now-defunct nation of Austria-Hungary.
Its interesting that during that time she wanted to hide her ethnicity as much as possible. I still think that exists somewhat especially with some of the younger generation newcomers. They want to fit in so much with the other kids that they’ll hide their culture. But on the other hand, nowadays, multiculturalism and diversity is embraced, especially where I live. There is a festival of cultures that occurs every May. People can visit different countries which have booths at various locations throughout the city and get their pretend passport stamped.
I really like the concept of the “craftsman” vs the “business culture,” it is a very effective way to articulate the idea.
I write all the time about how cash is the best gift 🙂
My spouse and I were brought up with surprisingly similar financial habits, with ethnicity having very little to do with things.
Cash is so much more practical, but I guess people may be embarrassed because then the recipient knows exactly how much was given? People may feel pressured to give more than they would want, whereas with an actual gift, you don’t know the exact cost? Unless you forget to take off the price tag. lol
I totally get this. I have noticed that in the Asian and Arabic cultures handle money very differently than I do. Consumerism and marketing has played quite a bit into our way of thinking here in the US, and in some ways it has gotten out of hand.
I definitely agree with you on the last point. Its amazing how much money companies will pour into for marketing because there is so much competition out there. They all want you to buy their product.
Chinese culture is rich in values regarding financial well-being. I like their rich traditions and beliefs in achieving wealth. However, one’s racial roots do not necessarily guaranty financial responsibility. It all really depends on the individual.