Without fail every year, we will see media publishers and influencers put up “Ang Pow Guides” for Chinese New Year (CNY).
While some might think these guides are harmless fun, we think that sharing and referring to these guides may go against the spirit of CNY and your financial well-being.
First, How Do We Celebrate Chinese New Year?
Most Chinese believe that the colour red symbolises good luck. The act of giving red packets during CNY filled with new notes (or good as new notes nowadays) is a way to wish recipients a good and prosperous year ahead. That’s also why red packets are also given during other celebrations such as weddings and birthdays.
Most of us will agree that CNY should be a time for families and friends to come together and catch up over good food and drinks. The last thing we want is for people to feel judged based on how much they are giving, or stressed out by the thought that they are giving less compared to everyone else, especially if they cannot afford big red packets.
Guides For CNY Red Packet?
Guides are meant to help people make better financial decisions when information flow is limited.
For example, a restaurant guide may be published to help customers know how much they should expect to spend, and what they maybe should be ordering or not ordering, when they dine out.
Salary guides are sometimes relied on for workers to know how much to ask for when applying for a job in a particular sector (though we are not entirely convinced about them). Even wedding Ang Pow guides are useful because they help wedding attendees know how much a meal in the wedding costs for the married couple.
While many of these guides are compiled based on actual information gathered, a CNY Red Packet guide is based simply from an arbitrary number that the people creating the guides think is appropriate – some of them could be people who have never given a Red Packet in their lives!
One thing you’ll notice is that among the guides, there isn’t consensus, since there is no actual cost incurred, unlike attending a wedding or having a meal at a restaurant.
When it comes to CNY red packets, people should be giving based on what they can comfortably afford, and the amount that they are happy to give. They should not feel pressured or judged by the amount they give.
The presence of CNY Guides contradicts this. It suggests that there is a “socially acceptable” amount to give, and that people who do not give that amount may be giving too little. It’s almost like having a guidebook on how much you should give during a donation drive.
We Should Not Be Teaching Our Children There Is A “Market Rate” Of How Much They Should Receive
It’s disheartening to see a guide being produced not only to provide a recommendation on how much to give during CNY, especially if the amount is based on individual income. This suggests that kids should expect to get more money from relatives they think are richer and less from the poorer ones. It also directly equates the amount given in red packets to a person’s financial well-being.
CNY can be a great time to teach your children about the right values about money. Children can also be taught to use the money they receive wisely. They can use some of it to buy something they like, and to save up the rest for the future.
At the same time, we must remind them that money isn’t everything. And that we should never judge the worth of others based on how much they give. Remember, the CNY red packet is meant to wish family and friends a good and prosperous year ahead – and not a competition or make us feel bad if we dont get enough.
The post CNY “Ang Pow Guides”? Here’s Why We Think People Need To Stop Relying On Them appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.
