Little Miser

        Anyone who is a financial fan, must be like me, sensitive to my everyday consumption. Once the daily consumption changes, they may feel, as do I, extremely uncomfortable. In particular, I have detailed plans and requirements for my own financial management, but after coming to Chicago, I found my daily consumption in the United States is very different from that in China, I lost the way I used to manage my money, the  inconvenient terms of payment, the burdensome taxes and the price gap with China all make me feel confused and out of place. I am not as good as money manager as I used to be, and I miss the way of life I used to have.

            The difference in payment method was the first thing that made me uncomfortable. There is no Alipay in the Untied Stated, which is a kind of payment platform very common in China. It is payment software installed on the phone. In China, it is widely used, fast and simple. Before I moved to the United States, I didn’t need a wallet because I could carry a mobile phone to pay for anything I wanted, but now, I need to carry my wallet with me. After I moved to Chicago, I often lost money, because carrying cash or cards is unnecessary in China, but now I have to. This change has caused me to often forget where my money is. Sometimes I need to use different payment methods and I always have a hard time keeping track of my purchases at the end of the month.

            In addition to the different payment, the method that people pay taxes in the United States is inconvenient. I remember when I first came to the United States. One day I forgot to take my wallet with me because I was in such hurry, but I was thirsty and needed a drink. I took the only two dollars with me to the food market. I was glad at first that a bottle of water was a dollar and ninety-nine cents, and I could just buy one, but when I had to pay, I found I need to pay the tax. For sure people need to pay taxes to buy things as well in China, but the price already includes all the money people need to pay, people usually don’t make fools of themselves because of the tax. It turns out that in the United States, the price people see on the shelf is not the same as the price people pay.

 

            However, in life people win a few, lose a few. Fortunately, compared with China, the daily expense in the United States is relatively low. In my grandfather’s words, he used to say so long as people work and spend money sparingly in the United States, food, clothing, housing and transportation are not the problem. I work a part time and go to school, but I can afford school tuition and daily expenses with my earnings. After all, I live alone in this country and sometimes I have a lot of stress to support myself.

            My daily consumption and my financial management are like a couple. My financial management changes with my daily consumption because they influence each other. I gradually realized that it was my responsibility to accept these changes, and I wish I could learn something new from the new way of managing my money, of course I still miss, but with my financial plan becoming more and more handy, I have become more and more accustomed to living in Chicago.