Money lessons from growing up first-gen

At yumi we’re proud of our heritage and the unique lessons gained from growing up in an immigrant family. Not all advice turns out useful, as we find out. One member brought up this very thoughtful question: How has growing up in an immigrant family affected your personal finance? and here were some takeaways:

The good:

• Buy on sale. Whether it’s buying your clothes off-season or timing your grocery trips to the best deals, if you can get the same item for a cheaper price, why not.

• Live within/below your means. Don’t put more on your credit card than you can afford, don’t pay more rent than you can afford, et-cet-era.

• Use your grocery bags as trash bags. Save money where you can and always leave some extra on the table for a rainy day fund or to donate.

And the bad:

• Zero risk tolerance. Understandably the generations before us have their reasons to play cards safely, but having a risk minimizing mindset may lost you out on several big wins.

• Thinking that all debt is bad. In actuality, there is good and bad; not all loans should be avoided.

• Always buying cheap. Your number one priority is yourself. Eating higher quality food is an investment in yourself. A pricier name-brand product may last longer.

It’s definitely not one-size-fits-all, but I think we can all agree that being brought up this way lends itself to a unique perspective on our relationship with money.

For example, immigrant parents may be more unfamiliar with credit cards and investing— and when you’re unfamiliar, it seems more risky. Even though the Chase Sapphire Preferred can get you a free international flight and an Acorns account takes money just sitting around and invests it for you. I’ve used these for years. And yes, use my referral link ;)