11 Chinese Proverbs about Saving Money
Financial experts and self-proclaimed wealth-building gurus saturate the media these days. Whether it is network TV, call-in radio shows, podcasts, or self-help books, advice on saving money and managing your personal wealth overwhelms your senses. So how can you sort out what is good advice from the rubbish? For example, did you know that some of the best wisdom about saving money comes from Chinese proverbs?
Chinese proverbs on saving money provide timeless advice for personal gain and ways to be content with one’s possessions. These proverbs reflect a belief that wealth feeds a person’s soul and vice versa. Amid materialistic culture, the wisdom of these proverbs provokes their listeners to more profound thoughts about the true purpose behind our saving money.
Let’s take a deeper dive into the reasons why Chinese proverbs offer strong guidance among the noise of other advice on saving money.
What Is the Most Beneficial Chinese Proverb about Saving Money?
“When rich, think of poverty, but don’t think of riches when you are poor.”
If there is any saying that encapsulates the general philosophy behind Chinese proverbs on saving money, it is this one. Wealth is fleeting, and a person must be careful to appreciate what life would be like if they did not take care of it. Saving money is the key to preventing catastrophic events from ruining your future.
At the same time, the accumulation of wealth is not the purpose of life. Whether you are rich or poor, do not obsess with acquiring more. Be content with the resources you have available to you. When you have relatively few resources (i.e., you are poor in material wealth), take value in what you do have. If you live only seeking to acquire more, whether rich or poor, you will live as a poor person. On the other hand, a person who treasures whatever they have will live a life of abundance because their soul is full.
Why Are Chinese Proverbs So Popular?
Chinese proverbs are popular because they model a lifestyle of practicality and simplicity. In addition, ancient Chinese culture is attractive to Westerners in particular because it emphasized the quest to find a harmonious balance within one’s soul and with the outside world. These proverbs span different Chinese philosophical schools such as Taoism (living in harmony with the Tao, or life force) and Confucianism (living according to strict moral and rational principles). In all of these strands of Chinese philosophy, an overriding concern for how one lives in connection with the world and oneself is evident.
As contemporary people become increasingly restless and anxious with modern society, Chinese proverbs offer tried and tested methods for approaching their own outlook on life. Some of the specific financial teachings from philosophers such as Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi are radical alternatives to capitalist values. For instance, many of Lao Zi’s proverbs emphasize that social harmony is only achieved when no one owns more than their neighbor. For Zhuang Zi, wealth is fleeting and should only be used for helping others who are in need.
These proverbs preach an interconnectedness that many people are yearning to find. But how do you put these proverbs into practice?
What Are Proverbs Used for?
By definition, proverbs are “short sayings that are widely used to express obvious truths.” However, these sayings are more than mere soundbites. Proverbs are guideposts, pointing ahead to a specific place or goal a person would like to achieve. They are also measuring sticks, giving people the tools to gauge where they are on their journey.
A proverb is not a how-to manual for achieving your goals. But because they state timeless and eternal truths, they implicitly encourage people to read them together and to support each other in their quest to achieve, in this case, deeper wisdom and contentment with how they save and use their money.
11 Chinese Proverbs About Saving Money
Thousands of proverbs exist about wealth and saving money. But the following list – in addition to the most beneficial one listed earlier – provides a good summary of the essential truths about saving money found within Chinese philosophy.
Proverb #1 – Giving your child a skill is better than giving him one thousand pieces of gold.
A similar proverb or parable exists in Western society – “Give a man a fish, and you’ll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you’ll feed him for a lifetime.” But this Chinese proverb is concerned explicitly with saving up wealth – or what is truly the most important gift you can pass down to your child.
A skill provides life to the child and the broader community in which the child serves. A key point of Chinese proverbs is that wealth is not simply material possessions. Wealth is whatever a person possesses that provides happiness, joy, and contentment to themselves and the world. But a parent who fails to provide this gift to the child is depriving them the same way as if they did not save up an inheritance for them. The implicit connotation is that one cannot separate material and spiritual wealth. Both must be treasured and passed on to future generations to ensure that blessings continue.
Proverb #2 – Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come.
Wealth serves to provide joy to others. But the proverb doesn’t simply imply that the act of giving by itself makes the giver happy in return. Instead, when you share your wealth, you will attract others who will contribute their wealth to you and the community you serve.
This proverb strikes at the heart of the hoarding mentality that afflicts many people in contemporary society. But, at the same time, the proverb doesn’t say that you should give away your wealth to become a monk without possessions. Instead, it strikes a healthy balance between generosity and prudence in maintaining the ability to take care of oneself.
Proverb #3 – The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.
Acknowledge the fact that you could have been saving for a long time – then move on! This is the underlying message behind this proverb. You cannot undo past decisions (or indecisions, in the case of not allowing time for your savings to grow). But what you CAN do is make intelligent decisions for your future right now.
This proverb has a comforting message: it is never too late to invest in yourself, especially when you consider yourself an investment that can always contribute to others. But don’t waste the time and opportunities that lie before you!
Proverb #4 - Dig the well before you are thirsty.
Complementing the prior proverb, you cannot reap the rewards of your savings overnight. It will take a great deal of time and discipline before you can finally draw from the well of your savings.
While the long-term strategy of savings is obvious, the way many modern people manage money demonstrates a failure to live by this principle. Chinese proverbs speak time and time again that wealth is not for instant gratification but for planting roots. Proper management of wealth should nourish you enough to live on now, but set aside enough so that you can drink when your health does not allow you to dig anymore.
Proverb #5 - If you save the green mountain, you will not worry about having no firewood to burn.
This proverb might sound eco-friendly on the surface. But the richer meaning is the work you do in the present will reap rewards for you in the future. The financial undertone is that your work maintains what you have without sacrificing the future to fulfill your current impulses.
Modern financial experts stress formulas or ratios for how much money you should save versus spending. But the proverb does not give a magic solution. Instead, it lays side-by-side the necessity of living in the present (i.e., spending) versus planning for the future (i.e., saving). These two poles are not opposites. A person genuinely content with their wealth will find a way to exist in harmony with both.
Proverb #6 - The palest ink is better than the best memory.
If you save money, keep track of it! This proverb applies to planning ahead in any capacity. But when it comes to wealth, the literal maintenance of good records is beneficial for numerous reasons.
- You can’t manage what you can’t control – How do you maintain your savings if you don’t have an idea of what you have? You must possess knowledge of your wealth to use it, and written records are essential for proper oversight.
- You can’t plan without a plan! – You can’t set goals for the future and use your savings if you don’t know what you have to use.
- You can’t pass on your wealth to others – Your money can’t produce any benefit for your descendants if they have no records to see what they might inherit.
- You can’t help others – Without a clear understanding of your possessions, you will tend to hoard instead of freely giving and contributing to the broader community’s needs.
Proverb #7 - Wealth and obscurity cannot equal poverty and fame.
What an antidote to the celebrity culture of today! It turns out that, from ancient times, human beings also acquired wealth to gain notoriety. The wisdom of this proverb implies that fame can be a curse to wealth. While fame may not always suck away the material savings one has, the contentment that true wealth provides can quickly flee from the pressures of notoriety.
Obscurity is not the opposite of true wealth but its faithful companion. Yet one who invests their savings to benefit others finds that they have loyal friends who value them for good reasons rather than for the lust of power and prestige.
Proverb #8 - Dripping water pierces a stone; a saw made of rope cuts through wood.
Saving money is a game of persistence and consistency. As water cuts a stream through rock over time, determined and disciplined financial management charts a gradual but inevitable course to the future. Likewise, the time it takes to weave a rope produces a cord strong enough to cut through all adversity and obstacles.
Little by little, the work you put into your savings can provide you with the confidence to feel secure and hopeful for the years to come, no matter the challenges that may arise. Of course, saving money is not an antidote to adversity. But the character you build in accumulating savings is more critical for facing struggles than the material wealth itself.
Proverb #9 - Covet wealth, and want it; don't, and luck will grant it.
At first glance, this proverb is antithetical to the prior ones: wealth happens as a matter of chance. However, luck in Chinese culture is much more than random circumstance as Westerners interpret it. Fu is a Chinese character who represents fortune, a gift that emanates from heaven. Luck is beyond human control, but a person can create conditions favorable for luck or good fortune to enter into their life. Luck is not a force that affects one individual but something one strives to achieve for all in one’s family or community.
Ironically, one who schemes to get wealth by neglecting the good graces of fortune will lose it. For financial planning today, you can practice good habits and discipline yourself to make sound decisions. Ultimately, though, a person who lives ethically and makes good decisions can find themselves benefiting from circumstances beyond their control. Instead of lusting for money, live within your means and treat others with respect. You will find that you will achieve contentment in earning your money in honest and good ways.
Proverb #10 - An inch of time is worth an inch of gold, but it is hard to buy one inch of time with one inch of gold.
Money can come and go, but a person can’t recover time. Several proverbs in this list speak about the significance of time in relation to money. But this proverb makes it clear that the greatest investment one can make is with one’s time.
The beauty of this proverb also lies in the physical comparison. An inch of gold possesses great value, whereas an inch of time appears minuscule (perhaps a few days or even a few minutes). But what you do with that sliver of time can have more profound consequences than what that same amount of material wealth can do.
As you save money, consider its importance relative to the amount of time you invest in accumulating it. Are you using this time only to build your coffers, or is your time being used to increase the wealth in your soul as well?
Proverb #11 - Happy is the man without sickness. Rich is the man with no debts.
Adversity afflicts all people. Even with proper exercise and thoughtful choices, people can suffer from illness or want. Is this proverb, then, insensitive to those who suffer seemingly from no fault of their own?
Quite the contrary. A person in sickness or need undoubtedly needs help from friends and family. But be wary of accepting help from those who demand favors in return for their assistance. Happiness and prosperity can quickly flee when one, whether rich or poor, becomes a slave to meet a need. As a person saves wealth, make sure another person does not become the guarantor of your future to solve a short-term need.
Conclusion
These eleven proverbs give sound moral and ethical principles to the crucial goal of saving money. What’s more, their wisdom encourages you when circumstances out of your control can cause you to doubt or become anxious over your future ability to provide for yourself and your family. So, as you plod along in your careful planning, make sure to enjoy the true wealth that lies underneath your material savings – the enjoyment of life and the people who can make you happy.
