I the China Man?

A running joke we have in the family is my Mom (who is the financial controller for the family) is a 'China Man'. Now note the context in which this is used is non-derogatory (hey I love my Mom!). My Dad on the other hand, is the polar opposite (which is why he isn't the financial controller).

A 'China Man' in this context is one that is overly shrewd. Chinese are well known with their financial prowess. I happen to be half Chinese (from a ethnic standpoint though for I r teh American!).

My mom loves to hoard money in her many savings accounts and spend on cheap stuff (that I always poke at humorously tends to fall apart very soon after purchase). So we poke fun at her overly shrewd nature (on somethings).

But what about me? I am her son. We share genes (genetics!!!), and I have been cultured all my life (she did raise me). ZOMG! SCARY!

But in honest truth, I am shrewd when spending. I taught myself to always question every purchase a few times. As a result, I rarely feel that I 'wasted' money on something I bought. Though don't get me wrong. I don't question just the dollar figure (I like at the non-monetary costs associated with it as well - equal consideration). I audit to see if I will utilize it (I have some pretty expensive stuff that I use a lot of). But the bottom line is that I do spend. As shrewd as I may be, I am in no ways a stingy person though (I always say, I have an internal locus of control - so it's only with things that concern only me). :)

But at the same time, I am crazy good at saving and making my purchases 'lean'. I often go to bordeline "China Man' lengths. Though a great point of humor lately was my dad was watching me play Forza 2 (racing game for the Xbox 360). I had 1.5 Million in game credits and I was wondering which car I should be as it cost somewhere in the 200k's. My dad gave a 'hmph' and said that I am like my mom, "You're even very shrewd when it comes to money that is not real". HAHAHA! I had such a good laugh. I guess it's not just financials. It's resources in general. I am very shrewd. I keep things very lean (if only I could succeed in doing that to my food and gut huh?). Just me obsessed about it. I think wasting should be a crime (even if it's over something that is free).

But hey, my bank balance loves me (doing a good job for someone who is earning chump change). :)