B2 – Upper Intermediate
Amidst the low confidence in what the future holds for the economy, Chinese women are seeking for partners or “da zi” they can join forces with in order to save money.
Saving money has never been harder. Many women are concerned so they must find ways on how to cut down on their expenses wherever they can or finding something to do to earn extra bucks, thereby, increasing their savings.
Read the article about how Chinese women are teaming up with saving partners in order to be able to put some money aside.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-68692375
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “impulse purchase” mean? “They also help to stop each other from making impulse purchases.” Use this phrase in a sentence.
- What does “blunt” mean? “However, if people continue to avoid spending and save their money instead it could blunt the bank’s ability to influence the economy.” Use this word in a sentence.
- What does “banknote” mean? ”I feel safe and satisfied seeing stacks of banknotes getting thicker and thicker.” Use this word in a sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- What is your opinion on having saving partners?
- What might be the pros and cons of having “da zis”?
- How has having saving partners help Chinese women save money?
- What are your thoughts on more traditional saving method such as keeping cash at home?
- Are people in your country saving more or less in the recent years? Why do you think this is the trend?
- What are some things you have done in order to save money? How about to make extra cash?
One reply on “Chinese Women Teaming Up with Strangers to Save Money”
.- It seems to me very interesting to share your worries with other people since sometimes I think that it is easier that an external person to your life can find how to handle your own problems, when you feel stuck. They can have lived similar situations and they will be able to give some advice on how they managed it.
2.- Some pros are that you realize that you are not the only with the same problems, you can receive feedback from different people, and you can choose whether or not it can be applied to your case. On the other hand, there are many people who like to show off in front of other people and supposedly know about all the subjects and give some advice, sometimes wrongly which can lead you to make mistakes.
3.- According to the article, some women are persuaded to not buy some items or at least to choose others cheaper which means that they could save money to their household finances. In that sense, these partners have helped them to life peacefully.
4. From my point of view, keeping cash at home is not an advantage; on the contrary, it is a problem since if certain people know about it, you can be stolen. A neighbor of my parents had all their saving at home, and they were robbed and after that, they have had some problems to pay the bills or unexpected situations since they have lost everything.
5.- The problem in my country is that youth do not earn enough money to save. Wages are usually too low, and they cannot afford big expenses. All the money is spent to rent an apartment, to buy a car or the small daily expenses.
6.- I try to save as much money as I can, since I think that I can lose my job or when I get retired, I will need it. For that reason, I have never spent too much money to buy a house or car. I prefer to live in a modest way, avoiding borrowing from bank as much as I can, and when I have done so, I have firstly checked that I could pay them back in a few years.