70% of Chinese professional women overspend
(chinanews.cn)
Updated: 2006-03-14 09:24

China's human resource website www.cjol.com recently published a spending survey of working women that shows 70 percent of white collar females spend their next paycheck, with 56 percent indicating they would not put money in savings deposits. They rather invest to "make extra returns". Another 14 percent is today's trendy "spend every dime earned in a month" crowd.

This survey targeted 5,000 plus white-collar females in various major cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Those interviewed earn between 2,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan a month (US$250 to US$625).

70 percent of those polled are under the age of 30 and they work large in telecommunications equipment, machine production and administrative industries. 56 percent of the interviewees say they would not pay any money out of their monthly paychecks into savings deposits. They rather use extra money for loans or investments.

Another 14 percent belong to the fashionable "spend every dime earned in a month" crowd, preferring to "never save, always spend." In particular, the higher the salary and the more important the position, the less likely these women would show any firm savings habit.

The survey also shows that each month, professional women spend their money in several major categories, the biggest being shopping and beauty, up to 39 percent. These working women have learned to love themselves, using beauty to decorate and comfort their bodies and mind that have been wearied at work.

Second, 32 percent say "their primary expenditure is their monthly rent or mortgage payment" with more and more women buying their own property. Other major expenditure items include "self fulfillment, learning," "social activity such as bar-hopping," "aerobics" and "children's educational expenses. "