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Definition of “cheap”

How do you define “cheap”?

We hear about the current credit crunch in the current global economic crisis and some had said it is due to people living way beyond their means.

I am wondering if being a TCK shapes the way people view money or it is more so due to the characteristic of each individual. A lot of Americans think everything under 100 dollars is cheap whereas for me anything under 50 dollars is cheap. Having grown up in various countries where 50 bucks can get you a lot of things it still takes a lot to get used to accepting something that costs 100 bucks when you can get it for a lot less elsewhere.

Maybe I should re-adjust my view of money in the US because standard of living is indeed higher here in the US. However, from my experience it is still possible to live comfortably without the need of purchasing something worth a few hundred bucks.

And I don’t see that as being frugal, I see that as able to adapt my life as a TCK to a society that tempts consumers to spend.

What is your point of view?

Popularity: 3% [?]

Posted by Cynthia at 8:22 am on November 13th, 2008. Comments
Categories: General Forum.

  • mmmmmm
    Man, back in the days when I was a local Chinese kid, I thought everything shud be cheap. I remember in grade 4 we were asked to learn to use pens (im talking about old school pens tat actually require ink damn they r awesome) rather than pencils, then I thought pens were the most unreasonably expensive things ever. I also thought all children's clothes should not exceed 40 RMB (tat's like $5 US lol), now i realize tat's basically impossible if u live in the city... but it's true tat ppl in the wrold actually only wear clothes of tat price. I remember my mom told me tat when she was young she knew a family tat owned 1 pair of pants and only the person who leaves the house gets to wear it 0_0 i noe it sounds absurd but...wow.
  • I am sure you already know but to support my discussion here when I said "mashimaro" here is the picture XD

    <img src="http://members.optusnet.com.au/wing813/mashimaro_wp08.jpg" width="400"></img>
  • Kevin, nice summary! i mean.. if you were summarizing what others had o to say.. if you weren't but explaining your original ideas, then that's good too. : )

    Cynthia, you know to share my own experience when I first came to the U.S. from Korea I was really hesitant about buying anything cuz i love stuffed animals and when i saw this mashimaro white bunny plushy in the store my jaw dropped. It was like 12 bucks for this tiny bunny plushy and in Korea that was like 4000 Won (about 4 dollars). I know the price has changed now but back to 7 years ago it was shocking for me. But then I think some things are cheaper here in the States than in Korea including fruits and meat so I am taking those for granted :)
  • Kevin
    Cheap depends on how/where you were raised.
    Cheap depends on where you are currently living.
    As mentioned, false economy is not cheap, it can be very expensive.
    Cheap, also depends on disposible income. No matter how cheap something is, if one does not have the money, it is too expensive.
    Does this help???
  • Uncle Dan
    Yes. 50 Rappen/centines for ONE pack of instant noodles I *know* I'd have gotten by the 10-pack for 1 Franc back in Indonesia...

    Or the sandwich which costs 5 Francs which is one slice of ham, a slice of pickle ON ONE END and a slice of boiled egg ON THE OTHER (for you to look forward to, presumably). While in the US you get big fat sandwiches with beautiful bread, free soft serve ice cream, free salad bar and free refills for your drink at 6USD.

    But you have to eat.
  • Sj
    Id say 20pence for a bottle of beer was really cheap but I kind of agree with Uncle Dan. Converting local stuff into RMB makes me cringe. Especially chinese food and all. I know prices are going up globally but come on! 1 pound for a pack of noodles i could have gotten for 20 pence back in China...I get angry sometimes
    *breathes*
  • Ayako
    I'm not into math so it takes me awhile to get used to currencies + the general cost of living in another country. There's also my financial situation to consider when it comes to 'cheap' or not 'cheap'.

    When I came to Spain 5 years ago everything seemed so cheap. Now I'm bitching like everyone else about how expensive milk, bread, olives and oranges have become.

    When it comes to major purchases though 'cheap' sometimes means paying more. When I had my book shelves and closets built, I asked the carpenter how thick the boards should be for optimal support and though these boards cost more than the boards my lawyer used to make his closets and I paid more - my bookshelves and closets are still standing today while my lawyer's stuff all fell apart in one year. :p

    That's what he gets for being 'cheap' - it ended up being more expensive!
  • Uncle Dan
    I really try not to think about how much something I buy in Switzerland is in Rupiah. It's part of why I hate going shopping for anything but food or something relatively high end, like electronics, here.

    But sometimes you just have to. If I have no other belts, well you have to have a belt, for example. But it hurts every time.

    If I even think about price equivalence of food... I probably would eat biscuits and small bits of cheese. Buuut I like food too much. *sigh*
  • Actully, same here. XD I never know what is or isn't cheap until I start comparing prices with other crountries. First port of call is the Malaysian RM since I keep going back, and then it's South African Rand because hat's where we moved from. Unfortunately, I don't actually know the current exchange rate to the rupiah or to the Filipino peso, so I just don't convert to those currencies. XD
  • Shreosi
    Haha, whatever we buy, no matter the country, first we'll convert it to Aus $$, then to Malaysian RM, then to Indonesian R, and then to Indian Rupees, just to make sure it's really worth buying from somewhere, cause unlike lots of people, we have the option of buying stuff in other countries.
  • MajorTom
    Dollar stores seem to work pretty well for me.
  • Uncle Dan
    I'll use say, movie ticket prices as a means of comparison.

    In Jakarta, a normal movie costed Rp. 60,000, about 5 or 6 USD Cheaper places when down to as much as Rp. 26,000.

    In the US, it varies, but a decent cinema I think was 12USD.

    In Zurich it's about 20CHF to see a movie. This is about 25 USD.

    Generally, I'm thinking, double Asian prices to get to the US, outside of high class or import stuff. In Europe... most of Europe's not too bad. France, Spain, Germany is fairly cheap in terms of living expenses, not even mentioning Eastern Europe. But Switzerland and London (and to some extent, the UK) is ridiculous.
  • It is indeed odd to me to know there are things more expensive in Europe. And I have heard people from Europe complaining about how privileged the Americans have for low gas prices and that they have no right to complain LOL

    Well I complain about Americans who really shouldn't be complaining because life isn't really THAT bad for them now LOL

    So yea, definition of "cheap" really depends on where you've been and used to see isn't it? :)
  • Uncle Dan
    Yeah, basically it's just "good price"

    Funny how Cynthia says that the US is more expensive to her, at least what she's used to for the past while.

    For me here in Switzerland, the US is cheap. My parents still talk wistfully of the cheap prices back there.

    I'm moving back there soon, and I'm actually a bit worried that because I'm used to the high prices here, I won't know a good deal over there...
  • Caitlin
    Um...my definition of cheap is: Silk Alley, Beijing, China.
    Or, (rather like Laura) in a lot of cases, just China.
  • I think the word "cheap" can have many connotations. In Finnish, cheap is "halpa," but in Estonian (very close to Finnish), "halpa" means that it's very poor quality. So in some cultures it can mean low-priced whereas it can also mean poor quality, even in English.

    Also having lived in China for a little while also made me re-think my view of what's "cheap" and what's not. (And college can do that to you as well ha ha!)
  • That is exactly what I do too when I look to buy something.
  • It's about adaptability for me. The value for me is not in money, but in flexibility. Is something multi-functional? Does it retain resale value so that I can get rid of it quickly? Would second-hand shops accept it if I get rid of it (for instance, here they don't take TVs that are more than 10 years old, or couches that have stains). If it can adapt with my needs, it's valuable. If it will bog me down, it's not.
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