Editor's Note: The "14th Five-Year Plan" proposes "promoting consumption in an all-round way. Strengthen the basic role of consumption in economic development, conform to the trend of consumption upgrading, enhance traditional consumption, cultivate new consumption and appropriately increase public consumption. Focus on high-quality brands, promote the development of consumption in a green, healthy and safe direction, and encourage the development of new consumption patterns and new formats. "
This issue will discuss youth consumption from three aspects-change and invariability under different business models, buying and not buying under different consumption concepts, and reality and emptiness under different development models. We invited practitioners from different industries to discuss consumption patterns, tell young people's different consumption views and stories, and invited experts to interpret young people's concerns.
Why do young people feel tired? Where did all their money go? As a post-90s generation, why is the consumption concept so conservative? How do they find themselves from the past when they got stuck in card debt? ……
This issue of "China Youth" walks with you and listens to the real voice of young people-
"Young man, is your consumption healthy?" Series report ⑥
Get married with a "diamond ring" from a two-dollar store.
My wedding, no diamond ring.
I don't need flowers for my anniversary.
I am a post-90s generation without credit card and debt.
I was laughed at by my parents for "living like an old man" and often laughed at myself for being "stingy". As a "migrant worker" in the new era, my consumption view is not radical at all. In my consumption dictionary, pragmatism is worse than the sky.
When I was young, money was candy.
When I was very young, I was already a "penny fan" at home.
During the Chinese New Year, the elders in the family can't sit still. In the early morning of the first day of junior high school, in the noisy firecrackers, the grandchildren who had just been dragged out of the warm bed by their parents were kneeling in front of them.
As early as ten days ago or a month ago, every child was taught by his parents to learn a few auspicious words. No matter how old he is, he kneels to the ground with his fist, and his face is full of innocence and expectation for a beautiful year.
I look no different from other children in my family, but that year I had the concept of money in my little head, knowing that those papers could be exchanged for sugar, toys, popsicles and everything I like. So, my little eyes glanced at the big red envelope in grandpa's hand from time to time.
Among the children of our generation, it may be because they always made trouble everywhere when they were young. Today I dragged the chicken, and tomorrow I drove away the other geese. Grandpa always spends more effort on me, so he loves me all the more.
I knelt down and kowtowed to grandpa three times seriously. Like other children, I got the New Year red envelope prepared by my grandfather in advance.
Young, I didn't know this was an annual income. I summed it up with my few "social experiences": Oh, kowtowing to grandpa will make money.
So, on New Year's Eve that year, there was such a scene: Grandpa was playing mahjong, and I quietly ran over with a mat, threw it on the ground, banged my head heavily, and then looked at Grandpa hopefully.
The family laughed their heads off. Grandpa scolded me a few words, and then took out a hundred dollars from his pocket and handed it to me. After lunch, grandpa left the dining table and sat on the sofa. I quickly climbed onto the sofa, struggled to keep my balance, and then kowtowed with the cushion. Grandpa couldn't bear to see me disappointed and thought I was ridiculous, so he gave me some money.
Grandpa was afraid to see me again and again that day. The red envelopes given to me also ranged from several hundred yuan to one hundred yuan, and then dropped to fifty or twenty yuan.
The ego also issued a big question: "Grandpa, it's all three heads. Why not give different colors and sheets every time? "
This matter has become my biggest "black material" and will be mentioned at every family gathering. The nickname "penny lover" is also my label firmly.
Actually, I'm still young, and I don't know the difference between 100 yuan and 50 yuan. I don't know how many pieces of sugar I can buy per piece. What I care about and enjoy is grandpa's blatant preference and spoil for me, and the hearty laughter of the people I love before every success.
Later, money was a sense of security.
After graduation, I traveled to Beijing alone.
In addition to daily expenses, the money earned is only occasionally used to reward yourself with a delicious decompression. If there is any left, I just want to save it.
Only when people use credit cards to buy coupons to save money, and use loan software such as ant flower buds and borrowing buds to save money, do I feel uneasy. Words like "debt" and "loan" always scare me, as if a pair of eyes have been staring at me behind me, which makes me panic inexplicably. Only by controlling my savings and life reasonably can I feel at ease.
"A big bag, now overseas counters discount season, thirty percent off. You should buy one too. You should also have some big-name bags. Don't worry, at least it's a symbol of status. " One day, my friend advised me.
But I found that I have no desire for these luxury goods that can symbolize my status. This question has nothing to do with whether I can afford it, but I know exactly what I need.
What I need is a bag that can hold my personal belongings, so that I don't have to worry about maintenance and can provide convenience. Not a "status symbol", and I don't have any status symbol.
In my consumption view, it is just a bag, which can never represent my "identity". I won't feel how successful the other person is just because he is carrying a luxury bag, and I won't despise her just because he is dressed in ordinary clothes. In the final analysis, it was my pragmatism that prevailed. I have no desire to spend more than my income, which makes me feel insecure.
Being in Beijing has brought me work and growth. It sharpened my spirit and enhanced my confidence. But perhaps because I was in a foreign land, I began to be swayed by considerations of gain and loss. After grandpa died, I became more and more aware of the crisis.
Grandparents are old. What should I do if I get sick?
My parents are old and always need to rely on me. What should I do?
What should the dearest sister do if she needs help when she encounters a sad hurdle?
Once I get sick one day, will I be old at this age?
Whenever I think of these hypothetical questions, I am more determined in my pragmatism. For me, it is more meaningful to spend my savings on any of the above problems, even if it is just a little help, than to buy a bag.
Some people say that money means freedom. For me at that stage, money was my sense of security. At least, it makes me feel that I have some ability to cope with risks and solve difficulties.
Nowadays, money is the icing on the cake.
The night before my wedding, the master of ceremonies asked during the docking process, "Where is the diamond ring? Prepare in advance and give it to the bridesmaid. " I suddenly realized: Oh, I forgot to buy a pair of fake rings! What about tomorrow's ceremony?
So, my mother-in-law flew on her way to the local two-yuan store at 9 pm the night before the wedding.
Fortunately, I found several two-yuan shops and finally bought them before closing time. Moreover, because I went too late and was in a hurry to use them, I spent twice the price to buy the pair of "diamond rings" with the original price of 10 yuan.
A friend called me stupid and advised me that the diamond ring proved the loyalty of love, the importance that the man's family attached to you, and whether the groom was willing to pay for your preferences. How can you get married without a diamond ring? Will it not be despised and despised in the future?
More than forty of my family members traveled halfway across China and rushed to a third-tier town in Northeast China to attend my wedding. My parents-in-law accompanied me all the way, arranged accommodation and took them to the surrounding area to play. Father-in-law revised the banquet plan to meet his family again and again, just to let them eat well and rest assured;
Before the wedding, my husband and I have been busy working in Beijing. All trivial things were agreed by my mother-in-law and the wedding company, but all things involving the ceremony plan were finally implemented after consulting me. My husband and aunt bought a big bag because I casually boasted that the grapes on the roadside stalls were big and purple.
They gave me enough sense of security with their full dedication and love, which made me feel more at ease than money.
Yes, money is never an expression of love.
No matter how many vacuum cleaners and massage chairs I send home, I am not as happy as my parents when they see me. I thought what I sent back was filial piety, but my parents wanted these materials. Their acceptance is actually a satisfaction to me.
Diamond ring can't prove my love, nor can it keep my marriage fresh; The flowers on Memorial Day are only fresh for a while, which is not romantic to me, but the withered roses will only add sadness; Credit cards can't give me a sense of security. When I really need money, it is only a comfort, far less practical and long-term than the awareness of financial management now.
I'm still the conservative "little pickpocket", just a little different. Take my parents to a restaurant they may never want to go to, accompany the elderly to the surrounding area as much as possible, and accompany my sisters on a trip they say they will leave ... these are luxuries I am willing to pay.
There has never been an absolutely correct consumption standard in this world, but finding people, things and things that I really care about and then paying for love is my consumption view.
Giving all my time and money to the person I love most is the most extreme romance I can think of in my life.
"Young man, is your consumption healthy?" Series report
I still want the moon without sixpence.
Young people dragged down by debt
The live broadcast transaction volume exceeded one trillion yuan. How much did you spend in the anchor pocket?
My family is better than me, but more frugal than me.
This year's young people are really "fighting"