The Olympic Games opening ceremony was a tremendous show for all the world to see. No one can dispute the magnanimous production that showcased more than 15,000 performers and used up over 300 million dollars in production costs. The sheer enormity of that financial number should make you take a step back. It’s the most ever used on an opening ceremony, besting America and everyone else before Beijing. But is this typical of the Chinese? Aside from poverty issues, the country usually has a far different perspective on money than the US. I did a little digging to find out just how much of their money they like to save and how much they like to throw for lavish parties.

I came across a great article written on Chinese Money Habits. The article describes how the Chinese like to save and find being frugal a virtue. Do Americans find credit a virtue? I think so.

"The personal savings rate in China is incredibly high compared to the United States. According to this 2006 CNN article , the personal savings rate of Chinese households is 30% while Americans dipped into their savings that year. I know that my Chinese relatives regularly save 50 to 60% of their income and it feels normal to me that I save as much as them." [Source: WiseBread.com]

30% is a tremendous amount to save. The Chinese have it right, though. Imagine if you were to save 30% of your income a year. It’s not that hard to imagine. If you’re making 30K, then you’d be saving 10K. How many of us are doing this?

Learn to Talk About Money

It seems the Chinese also aren’t afraid to talk about how much they make. They talk about their salary and allow others to learn from their experiences. We can learn from each other if we talk about our finances. It’s why this blog works well, and the forums too — you can feel free to comment without others thinking you’re bragging.

The Chinese have pulled off a truly spectacular opening ceremony, spending money like crazy. We can learn a lot from the Chinese financial views. Now if we can just start to save closer to 30% ourselves. How much do you anticipate saving this year? Will it come close to 30% of your income?