Reply #22: They save because they remember what it's like to be poor AND have no social safety net

[HEyHEY]

As well, though they may make more money, they still aren't making much. The average waiter or waitress in Beijing is making 2,000 kuai a month, about $300 bucks, in order to get an education or start their own place they have to save that money. So, they live in horrible conditions. My Fiancee's last apartment was $1,000 kuai a month. The roaches were so brazen it looked like they were meant to be there. IT was just a hallway divided into five rooms with padlocks on them, it had a community kitchen and washroom. She makes about 7-8,000 kuai a month. Why does she live like this? Just in case. Just in case she gets sick, just in case she loses her job, just in case the Chinese economy tanks.

Chinese remember being poor and some seem to expect it to happen again, that's why they save.