相比欧美国家的超前消费观念，我国人民大都是"有多少，用多少"。据中国人民银行数据显示，2018-2019年中国人民的存款总额高达80万亿元，相比其他国家而言，这个数额十分恐怖。虽说如今国民经济上涨，人民生活水平显著提升，但国人出于以下多种原因，依旧热衷于存钱。在美版知乎Quora上，美国网友提问道：和美国人相比，为什么中国人这么热衷于存钱？这个问题引起各国网友的围观，我们看看他们的观点。
问题：和美国人相比，为什么中国人这么热衷于存钱？
美国网友丹妮特的回答
I live in America. A few months ago, when I was standing in line at the bank, I overheard a man asking the cashier for help to withdraw $300 in cash. The cashier said that there was only $10 left in his account. He seemed very shocked and asked the cashier to check it again.
我住在美国。几个月前，我在银行排队时，无意中听到一个人在出纳员那里请求帮助取300美元现金，出纳员说他的账户里只剩下10美元了，他似乎很震惊，让出纳员再核对一下。
When I heard this conversation, a wave of sadness came naturally. He looks more than 30 years old, with vicissitudes on his face... How could he become like this with only $10 in his bank account!? Then the cashier began to check his recent transaction records, and they tried to find out how his funds evaporated. He mentioned that he spent a lot of money in a bar, which was quite expensive. I immediately recognized the name of the bar, which is located in the center of this bustling city. The man counted carefully how much he spent there... He admitted that he often went there. The key is that this guy is almost bankrupt, but he is still drinking in a high-end bar!?
当我听到这番对话时，一股心酸油然而生。他看起来30多岁了，一脸沧桑……银行账户里只有10美元，他怎么会变成这样！？然后，出纳员开始检查他最近的交易记录，他们试图找出他的资金是如何蒸发的。他提到他在一家酒吧花了不少钱，这家酒吧消费相当高，我立刻认出了这个酒吧的名字，它就处于这个繁华都市的中心地带。这名男子细数道，他在那里花了多少多少钱……他承认他经常去那里。关键是这个家伙几乎已经破产了，却还在高级酒吧里花天酒地！？
Later, I realized that this kind of thing happened in this city at any time. I was surprised, but it shouldn't happen at all. Many Americans have poor awareness of financial decision-making. I don't know how many people I have met complain that they don't have enough money and can't make ends meet, but they always have a new iPhone, beautiful headphones, expensive sneaker collections, etc. they are addicted to playing in clubs and holiday parties.
后来我意识到这种事情随时在这个城市上演，我很惊讶，但这根本不应该发生，很多美国人的财务决策意识都很糟糕。我不知道我遇到过多少人抱怨没有足够的钱，入不敷出，但他们总有一个新的iPhone，漂亮的耳机耳环，高昂的运动鞋收藏品等等，他们沉迷于在俱乐部玩乐和节日聚会。
So why are Americans less able to save than Chinese? Well, I may not know much about Chinese consumption habits, but I can tell you that Americans lack self-control.
那么为什么美国人的储蓄能力不如中国人？嗯，我可能对中国人的消费习惯了解不多，但我可以告诉你，美国人缺乏自我控制。
I think Jack Ma is right:
我认为马云的观点很正确：
Let me first introduce his identity and experience. Jack Ma is the founder of the multinational Alibaba group. Alibaba is an online retail giant in China, larger than Amazon and eBay in the United States. His entrepreneurial legend is one of the most inspiring stories of starting from scratch, worth more than $38billion.
我先科普一下他的身份和经历，马云是跨国集团阿里巴巴（Alibaba）的创始人，阿里巴巴是中国的一家在线零售巨头，比美国的亚马逊（Amazon）和Ebay都大，他的创业传奇是最鼓舞人心的白手起家的故事之一，身价超过380亿美元。
At a dialogue meeting with Clinton, Ma Yun basically said this. Let me summarize:
在与克林顿的一次对谈会议上，马云基本上是这样说的，我来总结一下：
"Chinese people have been very poor for so many years. When they earn money, their first reaction is to deposit it in the bank. In this way, when the difficult times finally come, there will be funds to tide over the difficulties or have a chance of survival. Chinese people are worried about the future, so they are fully prepared."
“中国人这么多年来一直很穷。当他们挣钱的时候，他们的第一反应是把钱存进银行。这样，当困难时期最终到来时，就会有资金渡过难关或是有一线生机。中国人担心未来，所以他们做足了准备。”
"You Americans like to spend tomorrow's money. Then, when the difficult time comes, there is nothing left, and then you start to worry that after you have money, you continue to spend enthusiastically, and so on, until you go bankrupt." Think about it, we Americans really have such a problem.
“你们美国人喜欢花明天的钱。然后，当困难时刻到来时，什么都没有了，然后你开始担心，有钱之后继续狂热消费，如此循环，直至破产。”想想看吧，我们美国人真的存在这样的问题。
中国网友王嘉明的回答
Why is China's savings rate so high?
为什么中国的储蓄率这么高？
• China is a large agricultural country in history. Usually, farmers must reserve the seeds planted next year. This concept has affected all aspects of the Chinese people.
•中国在历史上是一个农业大国，通常农民必须预留明年播种的种子，这种观念影响了中国人的方方面面。
• the life of the ancient Chinese people was very difficult, and there were few prosperous times. You never know when the war broke out, so even landlords would save money, or exchange money for jewelry, gold, land or houses.
•古代中国人民生活很艰难，盛世很少，你永远不知道战争什么时候爆发，所以即使是地主也会存钱，或者把钱换成珠宝、黄金、土地或房屋。
• for the sake of the next generation, parents tend to save some valuable things for their children to help their children live a better life than them.
•为下一代着想，父母倾向于为他们的孩子保存一些有价值的东西，以帮助他们的孩子过上比他们更好的生活。
• saving money to get rid of difficulties, relying on others' help is dangerous, and the idea that asking for others is better than asking for yourself is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
•存钱以摆脱困境，依赖别人的帮助是危险的，求人不如求己的观念深入人心。
Speaking of modern China, it is more important to save money, because the price of housing is very high.
说到现代中国，更重要的是要省钱，因为住房的价格很高。
In the first two years after my graduation, I once followed the trend and adopted the American lifestyle. Then I was completely fooled by this concept of advanced consumerism. In September, 2008, due to the massive layoffs of the company, I lost my job and lived on salary for half a year, but I didn't have enough money to pay my credit card bill.
在我毕业后的头两年里，我曾经赶潮流采取美国人的生活方式。然后我完全被这种超前消费主义的观念骗了。2008年9月，由于公司大规模裁员，我失去了工作，靠薪酬生活了半年，但我没有足够的钱支付信用卡账单。
I remember the worst day was one morning. When I dumped the garbage downstairs, I noticed that there was 20 yuan (about $3) in cash on the ground... For a month, I ate two steamed buns a day. I picked up this gift from heaven, threw it in the garbage can, and ran to the corner to buy a large bowl of ramen. In those three minutes, I almost choked to death, but it was the happiest day of the year for me.
我记得最糟糕的一天是一个早上，当我把垃圾倒在楼下时，我注意到地上有20元人民币（约3美元）的现金……有一个月时间我每天吃两个馒头，我捡起了这张来自天堂的礼物，扔下垃圾桶，跑到街角买了一大碗拉面。在那三分钟里，我差点被噎死，但那是我一年中最快乐的一天。
I know hunger is terrible, but I never thought life would be so difficult. After careful consideration, I borrowed my mobile phone from my neighbor, called my father and asked him for help. Whenever they tell me to save money for the future, I always laugh at their old-fashioned lifestyle.
我知道饥饿是可怕的，但我从未想过生活会如此艰难。经过深思熟虑，我向邻居借了手机，打电话给我爸爸，向他求助。每当他们告诉我要为未来存钱时，我总是嘲笑他们的老式生活方式。
If it weren't for my parents, I might not have the chance to tell my story here. I borrowed money from my father, charged my mobile phone, and returned my credit card (I was blacklisted by two banks, and they even warned that if I missed the deadline, I would be prosecuted). After a month of hard work, I got a job in the spring of 2009, and my life was back on track.
如果不是我父母，我可能就没有机会在这里讲我的故事了。我从爸爸那里借了钱，给手机充电，还了信用卡（我被两家银行列入黑名单，他们甚至警告说，如果我错过最后期限，我会被起诉）。经过一个月的努力，我在2009年春天得到了一份工作，我的生活回到了正轨。
So today, I don't even use a credit card. Even though the discounts on some goods in shipping malls or online stores are very attractive, I prefer to live a simple but stable life. I can buy a new Sony smartphone every year and upgrade my laptop every two years, but all the expenses come from my savings. I have an alarm in my mind. This alarm will be triggered when the deposit in the bank account falls below $8000. As I grow older, my income is also increasing, and my salary is also rising with the rise of prices.
所以今天，我甚至不使用信用卡，即使在航运商城或网上商店对某些商品的折扣很有吸引力，我宁愿过一种简单但稳定的生活。我可以每年买一部新的索尼智能手机，每两年升级一次笔记本电脑，但所有的支出都来自我的积蓄。我脑子里有一个警报，当银行账户中的存款降到8000美元以下时，就会触发这个警报。随着我年龄的增长，收入也在增加，工资也随着价格的上涨而上涨。
I have to admit that I am stupid in mathematics. Since junior high school, I have failed almost all math exams, but at least after the darkest days a few years ago, I know that numbers teach me how to survive.
我不得不承认我在数学方面很笨，从初中开始，我几乎所有的数学考试都不及格，但至少在几年前最黑暗的日子之后，我知道数字教导我该如何生存。
So... Why save money? For a better life, a controllable life, or at least survive. The economy will not be boosted forever. It will rise, peak and fall. We will become older and older. This is a fact that everyone must face.
那么…为什么要存钱？为了更好地生活，可控的生活，或者至少生存下来。经济不会永远提振，会有上升、高峰和下降，我们会变得越来越老，这是所有人必须要面对的事实。
美国网友菲利普的回答，他在中国工作多年
Why is the savings rate of Chinese households higher than that of other countries? I think you mean the typical working class, not the rich businessmen, the super rich and their spoiled children. They either focus on making more money, or some are very creative in spending money. They may never want to save money.
为什么中国家庭的储蓄率比其他国家高？我想你指的是典型的工人阶级，而不是富商，暴富者和他们被宠坏的孩子，他们要么只是专注于赚更多的钱，有的在花钱方面很有创意。他们可能从未想过要存钱。
For ordinary people like us, there is only one way, which means developing new ways to make money and reducing your expenses. Development channels include working hard to get overtime pay or promotion, paying close attention to higher paid jobs or business opportunities, getting a second job, self-improvement, investment, etc. There are many ways to reduce your capital outflow (expenditure), which is worth a complete article and tips, but it also depends on your ability and economic situation.
对于像我们这样的普通人来说，只有一种方法，就是开源节流，这意味着开发新的赚钱渠道，减少你的支出。开发渠道包括努力工作以获得加班费或晋升，密切关注薪酬更高的工作或业务机会，获得第二份工作，自我提升，投资等。有很多方法可以减少你的资金流出（支出），这值得一篇完整的文章和提示，但也取决于你的能力和经济情况。
When you have experienced difficult times and are currently enjoying a rich and prosperous life, you are unlikely to take this for granted. You know how bad things are, and you don't want to go back to the way they used to be, so you should be cautious, spend and save money in a planned way, and don't waste money again.
当你经历了困难时期，目前正享受着富足而繁荣的生活时，你不太可能认为这是理所当然的。你知道事情有多糟糕，也不想回到以前的样子，所以你要谨慎行事，要有规划的花钱和存钱，不要再铺张浪费了。
There are also some cultural aspects. The typical Chinese lifestyle is more about family and family responsibilities than individualism. Therefore, efforts should be made to improve the fate of families and future generations so that individuals can feel "proud and accountable to their ancestors", rather than enjoy themselves. At the same time, social and peer pressure is also at work.
还有一些文化方面。典型的中国生活方式更多地是关于家庭、家族责任，而不是个人主义。因此，努力改善家庭和后代的命运，使个人能够感到“自豪，面对祖先可以有所交代”，而不是自我享受。同时，社会和同龄人的压力也在起作用。
As a typical working class, Chinese people have invested more time and energy in their children, and the hard experience, values and habits of the past have been passed on to them. One of the most stingy things for Chinese people is to educate their children. Therefore, the children were positively affected. They grew up in a less luxurious environment and were not spoiled by their parents. They saw how their parents lived humbly, but sacrificed everything to support their family and education. Therefore, they are indirectly under pressure to perform well in their studies and work in return for their parents' sacrifice. This is how this positive feedback becomes a cycle and passes on.
作为典型的工薪阶层，中国人在孩子身上投入了更多的时间和精力，过去的艰辛经历、价值观和习惯都传给了孩子。中国人最不会吝啬的一件事就是对孩子们的教育。因此，孩子们受到了积极的影响，他们在较少奢侈的环境中长大，没有被父母宠坏，他们看到了父母如何谦逊地生活，但为了支撑家庭和教育而牺牲了一切。因此，他们间接地受到压力，要求他们在学习和工作中表现出色，以报答父母的牺牲。这就是这种积极反馈如何成为一个循环并传递下去。
In addition, after the founding of the people's Republic of China, the United States has always pursued the capitalist concept of life, which has not been shaken, the society has basically not been in turmoil, and there is no local war. In addition to several military deployments to overseas countries, the return is greater than the pay. The constitution of the United States has not been amended once since its founding. Americans' expectations for the future are based on the economy. As long as the economy does not collapse, the society will be relatively stable, so people dare to consume ahead of time.
此外，美国在建国以后，一直奉行的是资本主义的生活理念，没有动摇过，社会基本没与动荡过，更没有本土的战争，除了几次对海外国家的用兵，也是回报大于付出。美国人的宪法自从建国以来没有修改过一次。美国人对未来的预期是建立在经济基础之上，只要经济不垮，社会相对就稳定，所以人们敢于超前消费。
The disasters that China has suffered in the past 100 years have caused the Chinese people to feel extremely insecure. Only when they have money in hand can they feel more secure. This is the truth of their proverb: "when you have food in hand, you don't panic".
而中国百年来的遭遇的灾难一波接着一波，所以造成了中国人极度缺乏安全感，必须手里有钱才更有安全感，他们的谚语：“手里有粮心里不慌”就是这个道理。
美国网友皮特•克雷斯韦尔的回答
Americans always blindly advocate individualism. How can individualism be translated into economy and savings rate?
美国人总是盲目崇尚个人主义，个人主义如何转化为经济和储蓄率呢？
Pauldenlinger's answer is: at what age do people usually leave their parents' home and live independently in China? Compared with Americans, it is very late.
保罗·邓林格（PaulDenlinger）的答案是：在中国，人们通常在多大年龄离开父母的家，独立生活？和美国人相比，很晚。
Let's make a comparison:
让我们做一个比较：
Most Americans believe that if they start to live independently, they at least need to own their own house, so banks handle mortgages for every generation of Americans. This means that the debt burden of each generation is at least one housing mortgage. Compared with the Chinese people mentioned in my answer, two generations of Chinese people are actually paying a housing mortgage, while three generations of Chinese people live under one roof.
大多数美国人认为他们如果开始独立生活至少需要拥有自己的房子，所以银行为每一代美国人办理抵押贷款。这意味着每一代人的债务负担至少是一笔住房抵押贷款。与我在回答中提到的中国人相比，中国两代人实际上在支付一笔住房抵押贷款，而中国三代人住在一个屋檐下。
2. Day care costs. Americans need to pay for day care, while Chinese people can save this money because grandparents will take care of their grandchildren and bear the burden of cooking, shopping and other daily chores.
2、日托费用。美国人需要支付日托费用，而中国人则可以将这笔钱省下来，因为祖父母会照顾孙子孙女，负担做饭、购物和其他日常家务。
3. In the United States, health care is not a free human right, but a burden, which means that insurance companies and large pharmaceutical companies can regularly squeeze poor Americans. (if you are rich, it's not your problem, because you won't have any problems buying insurance.) This is why the life expectancy of Americans is the shortest in developed countries.
3.在美国，医疗保健不是一项自由享用的人权，而是一笔负担，这意味着保险公司和大型制药公司可以定期压榨贫困的美国人。（如果你很富有，那么这不是你的问题，因为你在购买保险方面不会有任何问题。）这就是为什么美国人的预期寿命在发达国家中是最短的。
Of course, banks are glad to see that Americans are heavily in debt. As long as they can repay the loan, Chinese people prefer to keep their savings at the family level. Therefore, I think the Chinese lifestyle is more stable.
当然，银行很高兴看到美国人负债累累，只要他们能偿还贷款，中国人更喜欢把积蓄留在家庭层面。所以，我认为还是中国人的生活方式更加稳健一些。