"Pinkee" is a Chinese catch phrase which refers to a person who is willing to share things with others. It's a term frequently used by young Chinese who seek to live a comfortable life and save money too. Pinkees will share things from apartments, cars, restaurant bills and even shopping coupons. In this way they can get what they want at a minimum expense.

Here are some examples of some young people and their pinkee lifestyles:

Xiaoyu graduated from college last year and is now working as a technical assistant in an IT company. After tax, he makes about 3,500 yuan each month and lives in a two-bedroom apartment near his office. The rent is 2,300 yuan per month, a bit high to Xiaoyu. So he asked his classmate Xiaozhou who happens to work nearby to share the living space with him. Each of them pays half of the rent and half the utility fees. According to Xiaoyu, apartment sharing not only helps him save money, but having a roommate offers him companionship.

Comment: It's better to share an apartment with someone you already know, such as a friend, a classmate or a relative. If such a person isn't available and you have to share an apartment with a stranger, then you may need to sign a contract beforehand stipulating how much rent and utilities each should pay and the rules of the house.

Yuxin works in the fashion industry and she is a shopping expert. Though she earns a satisfactory salary, making every penny worthwhile is still her priority. One day she came across a promotion by the skin care product Olay: clients who buy products worth over 880 yuan can have an Olay trial set consisting of six products. So she called a friend who is an Olay fan friend and told her this news. They two made a list of the Olay products they wanted. In the end, Yuxin spent 500 yuan buying what she needed, and her friend spent 800 yuan. They got the trial set as well as a chic bag.

Comment: Shoppers can share their coupons. Say a department store offers coupons worth of 600 yuan for every 900 yuan spent. You spend 900 yuan and it covers all you need, but then what to do with the 600 yuan coupons? One solution is to sell them for say 300 yuan. Then both of you can almost enjoy a 40 percent discount.

Wangdan, who works as an editor in a website company and lives far from her office, so commuting is a problem. She can't afford a private car and taking a bus takes too long and is too crowded. Taking a taxi saves time and is more comfortable, but it is too expensive. So Wangdan had the idea of finding someone who drives a car to work and whose route is the same as hers. She logs onto an online forum and puts up a post looking for such a person. Soon she gets many replies, interested in her offer of giving them money for rides. Then she talks with each of these respondents through instant messenger and by that same afternoon, she goes back home by car.

Comment: This practice is good for both the passenger and the car owner. The former enjoys the comfort and convenience a private car offers without paying too much, while the latter finds some people to share the cost of petrol. Besides, when they get familiar with each other and become friends, they may also ride the car for an outing together on holidays.

Xiaozhao started working this year and is a secretary in a trade company. She likes reading fashion magazines. But fashion magazines are expensive and buying many of them would take a heavy hit on Xiaozhou's wallet. So she finds a colleague who shares the same hobby as her. They two buy one magazine each and read it, then exchange it. In this way, they spend money for one magazine but read two. If you get to know someone really well, you may even start sharing various cards, like facial cards, gym membership cards, and even credit cards!

Xiaowang and Xiaozhang share an apartment and last month they started sharing a broadband Internet service. Just after paying some money for a router and connection lines, they managed to connect onto the Internet through the same broadband connection. Xiaozhang worksduring the day, and Xiaowang does the night shift. So when connecting to the internet, each of them is actually enjoying a bandwidth costing 900 yuan per year by paying just 450 yuan per year.