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A while back, I wrote a post that payed homage to Asian Americans. This homage was richly deserved. Just take a look at the statistics regarding median household income by race and ethnicity.
Median Household Income by Race and Ethnicity - 2016
| Demographic Group | Median Household Income |
|---|---|
| Asian | $81,431 |
| Non-Hispanic White | $65,041 |
| Hispanic | $47,675 |
| Black | $39,490 |
Asian Americans are kicking ass. And they’re doing it the old-fashioned way. They’re working hard, both in school and out, procreating responsibly, and obeying the law.
There’s an old saw in politics that says those who want to understand corruption should “follow the money.” Well, let’s give that old saw a financial twist. Those who want to understand why some succeed economically and others don’t should “follow the habits.”
Now, assuming my newly coined follow-the-habits proverb is worthwhile, I have one thing to say to white, Hispanic, and black Americans who are struggling financially. Don’t “go west,” my friends. “Go east!” That’s right. Stop all the bullshit excuses. Look at what your Asian brothers and sisters are doing and copy them. The solution to your economic woes is as simple as that.
Hail Asian American Financial Bloggers!
Okay, I admit it. I’m an Asian-phile. And this affliction, so to speak, has a tremendous impact on my reading habits. I love Asian American financial bloggers (hence forth Asian bloggers for brevity and ease of reading).
Before I go any further, though, I need to stress one important thing. Asian bloggers aren’t chauvinists. In other words, the Asian bloggers that I follow don’t make a big deal about being Asian. They’re just Americans trying help other Americans. Their racial background is really immaterial to their blogging work. The only one making a big deal out of it is I.
So why do I love Asian bloggers? Are they insightful? Yes. Do they promote sound financial advice? Of course. Are they entertaining? Without a doubt. But I can get insightful financial advice with a dash of funny from any number of non-Asian bloggers. What makes Asian bloggers so intriguing?
In order to provide the answer, I’m going to embarrass one of my favorite Asian bloggers, Lily from The Frugal Gene. Here’s her bio in a nutshell.
- When she was born, her parents were so poor, they gave her to an aunt to raise.
- She immigrated from China to America when she was 9.
- Her parents worked in a Chinese supermarket in San Francisco for over 10 years at $5.50 per hour each.
- She didn’t have health insurance until after college.
- At 16, her severe nearsightedness was finally discovered. She didn’t get her first pair of glasses until she was 19.
- Lily is 26. Her husband Jared is 29. She’s an AirBnB hostess and blogger. He’s an engineer. Their net worth at the end of September was $950,238.27.
Is this a compelling story or what? Lily arrived on these shores at the age of 9 not knowing a lick of English. Her parents were dirt poor. And yet despite all these disadvantages, she graduated college, married a great guy, and—at the age of 26—is on the cusp of becoming a millionaire.
Lily is hardly alone. Most of the Asian bloggers I follow come from very humble beginnings. And this is why I find Asian bloggers so intriguing. They put a lie to all the “privilege” bullshit being bandied about in academia and the mainstream media.
Asian bloggers didn’t grow up with “privilege.” But instead of bemoaning what they didn’t have, they focused on what they did have. They took their functioning brains, their desire to learn, and they worked. And what they found was that the “disadvantages” they supposedly had weren’t really disadvantages at all. After all, you don’t need wealthy parents in order to read a book. Nor do you need wealthy parents to do good in school, make something of yourself, and be a blessing to your family, friends, and community.
So that’s why I love Asian bloggers. In ways both big and small they prove that habits are destiny. They are the embodiment of the American Dream. And in no particular order, here are some of my favorite Asian bloggers.
Financial Samurai
Frugal Asian Finance
Retireby40
The Frugal Gene
Financial Panther
If you’re not familiar with any of these bloggers, do yourself a favor and change that. These guys are doing fantastic work. And if you want a more exhaustive list of great Asian bloggers, here’s one put together by Ms. Frugal Asian Finance.
Final Thoughts
Okay, groovy freedomists, I’m almost done. Last week, my brother-in-law came down from New York for a visit. Great dude. And because he’s such a great dude, he very graciously agreed to be a guest on Talking Trash. But be warned, especially if you’re a Millennial. My Groovy brother-in-law is going to explain that there was once a time in America when one could get a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree for free. That’s right. For FREE.
Have a great weekend. Grease for peace.
Nice! Makes me proud! Good ‘ole work ethic.
I’m not an Asian American but I am an Asian. Can I be included in this list as well? Haha! All jokes aside, most Asian people are brought up with very strong family values. We were always taught to work hard and study hard. It’s easy to understand but difficult to execute. Extremely proud and happy for those who did it!
Haha! You’re included, my friend. And I totally agree with you. Poverty is no match for strong family values. Work hard, study hard, be a good person. Do these three things and you will not know poverty for long. Thank you, Terence. I really appreciate your contribution to our conversion.
Seeing a person overcoming a dirt poor childhood is truly inspiring. Reminds me of my grandparents. They were all children of immigrants who came from nothing. But so many of my aunts have said to me: “We didn’t know we were poor!” Can you imagine?! This is the thing about privilege – it is very real. But growing up with privilege is not just about growing up with money and having your dad get your rape charges dropped (though that helps). It is about growing up in a family who has morals, who loves you, takes care of you, disciplines you without abuse, sacrifices for you and encourages you to be your best. Any kid who has that has a shot in life, whether their parents are rich or poor. And any kid who does not – I guarantee you, they know they are poor. The odds are not with those kids. There’s also a lot of screwed up rich kids whose parents don’t give a damn. They are pretty screwed also, except money is the fall-back that saves them from some consequences. That’s privilege. Does it belittle my accomplishments in life to admit that? I don’t feel it does. But what you are talking about about here is something I totally agree with. There is a reason so many Asian people, even if they start life poor, do well. They have strong family values that they pass on to their children and a culture that is worth emulating. It is a cycle. Not sure if the kid who grew up with an abusive drug-addict mother in the projects is going to be able to miraculously figure this out somehow, but no question, this is a group of people who illustrate very clearly that money is not the main ingredient for making a kid into a successful adult.
“It is about growing up in a family who has morals, who loves you, takes care of you, disciplines you without abuse, sacrifices for you and encourages you to be your best. Any kid who has that has a shot in life, whether their parents are rich or poor.”
Amen, sister. I love the way your mind works. You’re alright for being a commie New Yorker.
P.S. Sorry for the late reply, Linda. I’ve been a real lazy poop lately.
Thanks for the mention!
I love success stories too. They are very motivating.
It’s pretty amazing how some people start from nothing and achieve greatness. I think the main advantage Asian Americans have is the frugal culture.
Oh that’s true too. I was never teased for being cheap back in the old country like here, muahahaha, jk, I was 9. 😉
Yeah, we are hard on the frugal over here. Sad.
You’re quite welcome, Joe. Sorry for the late response.
I agree with you 100%. Culture is so important. It’s a great start in life if you’re born into a prime culture. The nice thing about culture is it’s free. We can learn from each other.
Thanks for stopping by, my friend. Always a pleasure hearing from you.
Aw thanks. Hail to you as well!
Sincerely,
The Debt Free Thai
Thank you, Chris. Made my day. And just so you know, Thailand is on our bucket list. Mrs. G wants to spend at least a month in Chiang Mai.
So, this proves the tax code is racist. The average Asian pays more in income taxes than the average white or black. No wonder my son-in-law lives in Singapore. (Why, yes, my tongue is in my cheek.)
Haha! You know, human capital flows to where it’s valued most. If we’re not careful, we could lose a major asset.
Thank you for the shout out Mr. G!!! I wish I hadn’t overslept this morning so I could be first comment haha.
The term Asian does cover a lottt of space, there’s probably a huge difference between S.E. Asians and E.As. I’m not sure how they did those income studies.
There’s a lot of dichotomy in the East Asian community and it’s never brought up. The main one being…making it out among the first generations. I know in Chinatown, my friend and I notice you either make it out of poverty or you don’t. Those that don’t make it out often don’t procreate responsibly (government assistance and forced family assistance).
Thankfully that behavior a statistical rarity overall. The ones that fail to thrive here go back to China.
Valerie and I promised ourselves we would make it out (and we did) but we know amazingly smart and beautiful girls who married gangsters and/or stuck around/got involved in a bad crowd during high school. To them, thats their world. They’re stuck in Chinatown because the feedback loop is too strong.
Out of raw potential, from my school, I was THE most unremarkable one. Being the weirdo loser combo and being lucky is more responsible for who I am today than anything else.
I didn’t have much privilege but I didn’t process it in a mature way. I was angry and bitter for a really long time at my parents/the world. It collided with the teen years :p
A lot of the wealth (if not all of it) is Jared’s. Jared got that by dumb luck as well. We are both impressively dumb lucky 🙂 I tried my darnest to grow it but the seed principle is his and we can’t forget that.
I love reading Asian PF bloggers (grrrreat list by the way!!!) I’m siding with Ms FAF, October feels like the new Xmas month, I can’t believe I’m showcase for Freedom is Groovy. Oh I want to hide so much from the glowing pride 😨😨 *shy shy shy*
It’s so odd to hear a second voice in Trash Talk! You guys sound so different for brothers!!! I can’t tell Jared apart from his brother on the phone.
Oh nevermind brother in law. That makes more sense 😥
Haha! Mrs. Groovy was about to jump in and point out that it was her brother and not mine. But you beat her to the punch. Nice recovery.
You’re the best, Lily. Thanks for being a good sport. And thanks for providing more insights into the Asian community. Very fascinating. The older I get, and the more I immerse myself in personal finance, I can’t help but marvel at the power of habits. Those who adopt good habits tend to thrive. Those who adopt poor habits tend to flounder. And I relate to you and Jared because Mrs. G and I benefited from a lot of good luck too. But here’s the critical point. It’s not enough just to be visited by good luck. You have to be a good steward of that luck if you expect to do amazing things. Many people fail in this regard. Mrs. Groovy and I are most proud of how we handled our good luck. We really dedicated ourselves to not squandering it. And you and Jared should be proud of what you did with the breaks that came your way. Like I said, a lot of people are poor stewards of their luck. But you guys are crushing it! Thanks again, Lily, for being such a good sport. You were the main inspiration for this post. You’re awesome! awesome!! awesome!!!
Cool to see your brother-in-law, gotta love those free educations (even better, he GOT PAID!). Also, I agree that there are some impressive Asian blogs in the blogosphere.
Yeah, my brother-in-law is only six years older but he hit the sweet spot when it came to higher education. Also, don’t forget that when he started college, America was still a manufacturing country. In other words, unlike today, only a small number of high school graduates went to college. State subsidies therefore went a lot further. Thanks for stopping by, my friend. Hope all is well at World Headquarters. Give my regards to Jackie.
Where’s your brother-in-law New Yawk accent?
Can’t argue with those numbers. A little hard work has gone a long way. A $16K bump for Asian-Americans. Nicely done.
You know, it’s amazing. Mrs. Groovy and my brother-in-law grew up in Brooklyn. I was born in Queens but grew up on Long Island. And I’m the one who has an accent that sounds like I came from central casting. What the heck happened?
Great list of bloggers you mention. I’ve enjoyed reading each one. Lily keeps me laughing and warms my heart.
Brother-in-law Groovy sounds like one smart guy! I hope to make it to NY someday and check out the parks among other things.
Yuppppp it’s officially Xmas 💖
Haha! I little Christmas spirit in October never hurt anyone.
Nailed it, Amy. Lily is something special. I learn so much from her and I rarely finish one of her posts without laughing out loud. Great stuff. And my brother-in-law is indeed awesome. One the smartest and kindest people I have ever met. My only regret is that my smartphone sucks and I didn’t have enough storage to finishing recording our conversation. Perhaps it’s time to get a SD card. Thanks for stopping by, Amy. Very perceptive comment as always.
Yes, it’s admirable how asians become so successful.
Immigrants in general do become successful, we don’t take anything for granted and appreciate the opportunities America and Canada present.
Even if we might need a little help at the beginning, we eventually become successful, create businesses/jobs, and pay our fair share of taxes.
Thus immigration shouldn’t be hated, it should be encouraged and facilitated.
For example one of our highly educated, successful professional, asian business acquaintance in US is on a 15+ year green card waiting list and is about to immigrate to Canada where it would only take her a year or so to get her residency/green card.
Mr99to1percent also immigrated to Canada for the same reasons.
That’s some brain power that the USA continues to lose to Canada. But good for Canada and especially good for me because I got to meet Mr99to1percent ❤️😀😀😀.
99to1percent recently posted…How we increased our annual income from $0 to $160K+ to $400,000+ https://99to1percent.com/increased-annual-income-0-400k/
I love it, Ms99to1. Thanks for sharing your story. And I’m so pissed we lost you and your husband to Canada. But you’re absolutely right. I our immigration policies are very screwed up. We seem to punish those who play by the rules and reward those who flout the rules. Meh. We have a family friend who worked for a time in Hong Kong and fell in love and married a wonderful Chinese girl. And he went through hell trying to make her a U.S. citizen. Perhaps one day will get things right. I doubt it though.
I will never be comfortable with the term “Asian Financial Blogger” because of my HR background. Never the less, some of the best personal finance blogs are written by “Asian Financial Bloggers”. I am a big fan of the blogs that you listed and have nothing but respect for their work ethic.
I couldn’t agree more, Dave. I was very conflicted writing this post. On the one hand, I hate tribalism and all the identity politics nonsense that goes on in this country. Moreover, I don’t admire “Asian” bloggers because they’re Asian. I admire them because they’re great freakin’ bloggers. On the other hand, though, the work ethic exhibited by many Asian Americans is truly remarkable, and I think many Americans will be inspired by Asian American success stories–especially when those writing those stories come from severe poverty and hardship. But mark my words. This post is definitely a one-off. I said my peace and I’ll never refer to “Asian” bloggers again. Thanks for stopping by, my friend. I really appreciate your contribution. Cheers.
Hey Mr. Groovy! Thanks for the shoutout! Really appreciate it! Also, I need to get out this talking trash YouTube channel you’ve got going on. I’ve been missing out.
Haha! One day, my friend. One day. I’m definitely going to rope you into an episode of Talking Trash. Hope all is well on your end, FP. Have a great weekend.
Thank you so much for the shout-out, Mr. Groovy! I wonder what I’ve done this week to get so lucky and be featured in one of your posts! 10/20/2017 is an important day (for me)!
I appreciate all the kind words you mentioned about a minority group in the US that’s often overlooked in research studies (i.e. no data presentation for Asian Americans just because the group’s too small or is an outlier for the analysis).
I always admire and want to learn from those who have overcome challenges and difficulties in their lives to be successful. It’s not someone’s fault that they’re born with privilege. But when the privilege is not there, and they work hard against all odds, it is truly inspirational as you mentioned about Lily and other Asian PF bloggers. 🙂
Amen, Ms. FAF. I couldn’t agree more. I believe Asian Americans now make up close to 6% of our population. That’s close to 20 million people. And I too am perplexed when they are not included in various studies and reports. I mean, c’mon. Many Asian Americans are doing very well and their stories shouldn’t be ignored. Talk about a teachable moment! Thanks for stopping by, Ms. FAF. I really admire you and the work you’re doing with your blog. Cheers.
Great post! I agree completely agree and I admire the hard work of these bloggers and Asians in the USA. There truly is nothing more inspiring than watching someone work hard and ignore distractions.
Agreed. I’m so sick of excuses. So I really admire people who just plow ahead and do something remarkable with their lives. Thanks for stopping by, Handy Millennial. I really appreciate it.