The Noon Newspaper under Shanghai Wenxin Group interviewed me! Online "accountants" are learning to budget their lives. Source: Noon Newspaper.
After the increasing popularity of "bloggers" and "sharers," the group known as "accountants" has recently become a new trend in Shanghai. It is understood that "accountants" refer to those who maintain online account books. Nowadays, posts about keeping accounts are constantly emerging on major websites. Yesterday, a website providing online accounting services revealed that since the end of last year, the accounting service has attracted 20,000 new registered members. In response, financial experts remind citizens not to forget to protect personal information security while managing finances.
Online Accounting Shows Results
"Shopping addicts" were shocked by their accounts
Transportation costs amounted to 145 yuan, with 63 yuan spent on taxis, 60 yuan on public transportation cards, and 22 yuan on buses; borrowed 300 yuan from friends and family; spent 127 yuan on groceries; and 1280 yuan on cosmetics... Yesterday, Ms. Wu, who works at a bank, showed her online account book to the reporter.
Ms. Wu used to be a typical "moonlighter." She would often buy beautiful accessories, clothes, and shoes whenever she saw them, and by the end of the month, she would have spent all her salary without remembering what she had bought. Recently, Ms. Wu became obsessed with online accounting, "Initially, I mainly hoped to understand my specific monthly expenses. As a result, I was shocked in the first month of keeping accounts." Ms. Wu said that after several months of recording her accounts, she not only developed the habit but also discovered the reason for her excessive spending: buying unnecessary things too often.
Like Ms. Wu, netizens "xl" and "Lili" have also become part of the "accountant" community who own online account books, almost recording every day when they get home. "Xl" even stated that he could no longer live without it, saying that the "accountant life" has taught him how to budget carefully.
Opening private online account books and displaying one's consumption online has become a popular new trend. Numerous accounting websites have emerged on the internet. The reporter found that dozens of websites such as Wallet.com, Mushroom.com, Calculate.com, China Accountant.com, Financial Guest Online, Big Account Book, and China Accountant.com have successively launched accounting-style financial management services.
Netizens help each other save money
The reporter found that these "accountants'" accounting differs from the traditional method of elderly people using pens to record. They not only record daily details but also categorize their expenses, such as essential living expenses: food, transportation, mobile phone fees, etc.; daily temporary expenses: buying clothes, magazines, changing phones, etc.; social expenses: treating guests, gatherings, gifts, etc. At the same time, online accounting offers statistical analysis functions such as monthly consumption ratios and total consumption curves, making it convenient for "accountants" to understand whether their expenses are reasonable.
Ms. Wu told the reporter that since she started online accounting, she found many unreasonable aspects in her usual consumption. Therefore, she has already created a "Monthly Consumption Plan" for herself. For example, based on regular travel, the cost of taxi rides should not exceed 10% of total expenses, and average monthly clothing expenses should not exceed 300 yuan. Additionally, Ms. Wu changed her shopping activities to visiting parks and climbing mountains instead. This way, she can save about 500 yuan per month.
The reporter learned that besides self-accounting, netizens also remind each other to save money. "I publish my expenses online, and some enthusiastic netizens will remind me if I spend too extravagantly in certain areas. Some netizens will tell me if I paid too much for something or where there are promotions. I like this exchange method very much, and reminders from strangers also serve as a form of supervision for me," Ms. Wu said.
Accounting Websites Have Many Followers
Significant Increase in Numbers Over the Past Two Years
The station manager of Caike Online, "Changxiao," told the reporter that the initial development of an online financial management project started from a very accidental reason. In December 2005, shortly after arriving in Shanghai, he lived in a small house in Zhangjiang. "At that time, my salary was not high, but my expenses were huge. Every month, I didn't know where thousands of yuan went, so I thought I should carefully record my expenses and figure out where the money went." At that time, there were already some financial management software available on the market, such as Cai Zhi Family Finance, but these softwares had a defect - they could only be installed on one machine, which was very inconvenient. He thought, if it could be used on a mobile phone, it would be great, allowing instant recording. Later, he thought, if it could be recorded on a mobile phone and viewed online, it would be even better. Thus, he decided to create an online accounting website.
After more than two months of development, Caike Online took its initial shape. Initially called "Financial Management Ala," the domain name was activated in February 2006, making it the third online accounting website in China. Mr. Tian, the operation director of Caike Online, said that when it was first activated, the number of users wasn't significant, but with the rise in prices in 2007 and 2008, more and more people joined the accounting ranks. New registered users quickly increased from dozens per day to around 300, and the numbers continue to grow.
Female White-Collar Workers Become the Main Force in Accounting
Mr. Tian told the reporter that after a year, many fashionable urban white-collar workers, especially female white-collar workers, joined the "accountant" community. According to the current registration data statistics, about 60% are women and 40% are men, and most women are not housewives but company white-collar workers with higher incomes and educational levels. That is to say, accounting is no longer the exclusive right of traditional housewives, and more and more urban white-collar workers are joining in.
The reporter found that many white-collar workers with homes or currently paying off mortgages post their daily and monthly expenses on websites, satisfying their sense of accomplishment while allowing other accountants to learn from their experiences and lessons, as the accountants put it, "watch others spend money, help yourself manage finances." Regular accountant Ms. Shen told the reporter that now, with online accounting websites, entering data not only allows for relevant data statistics but also generates charts for specific income and expenditure items, making it clear and quite convenient. The classification of accounting websites is comprehensive, with just consumption divided into about 30 categories including diet, transportation, social gatherings, clothing and grooming, fitness and beauty, cultural entertainment, etc., and income includes salary, bonuses, financial securities investment, real estate investment, part-time work, gifts, selling goods, etc., thus making it easy to understand whether one's expenditure situation is reasonable.
[Expert Talk]
The Prevalence of "Accountants" Reflects Living Pressure
Financial experts stated that behind the phenomenon of "accountants," there is a certain amount of living pressure. Kerui Career Advisor recently conducted a workplace survey in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, showing that Shanghai white-collar workers face the greatest living pressure. Data indicates that 78% of Shanghai white-collar workers feel significant pressure, compared to 53% in Beijing and 47% in Guangzhou. Analysts believe that Shanghai is a "high-pressure hub" of elites, and the consumption, employment environment, and other factors in Shanghai bring obvious material pressures to people.
The reporter found that the majority of "accountants" are wage earners born in the 1970s to 1980s, and most of them are "moonlighters." Since "accountants" are relatively young, enjoy novel things, and are accustomed to an online lifestyle, the features of online account books, such as location independence and convenient data statistics, have become the main reasons attracting them to use them.
Because they are "moonlighters," they try to change their income and expenditure status quo through accounting. Financial experts stated that although accounting does not equate to financial management, it can lay a good foundation for financial management. Fully understanding one's asset allocation helps investors choose suitable financial products, and accounting can suppress impulsive consumption, fitting the theme of "increasing revenue and cutting expenses" in financial management.
Online Accounting Safety Is Most Important
Most financial experts hold a positive attitude towards this online accounting model. Some experts believe that adopting a "cutting expenses" scientific financial management approach is very practical under stable fixed income, and it conforms to the principle of overall personal financial planning. The popularity of accounting, especially online accounting platforms, provides a good opportunity for individual financial behavior to become a mass behavior needed by a harmonious society.
At the same time, financial experts expressed that individuals choosing to keep accounts online should primarily consider safety. "It is completely necessary for individual users to make their own income and expenditure record tables for daily financial management. It helps users grasp their income and expenditure situations, understand the proportion of expenditure to income, and then realize which expenditures are unnecessary, making it convenient for users to reasonably plan their financial income and expenditure." Financial experts suggest that users prioritize safety when keeping accounts online, "Protecting oneself allows for more effective financial management."
The reporter learned that for those who want to keep accounts online but do not wish to display their account books, they can choose platforms with "user privacy protection functions" according to their own circumstances, better protecting personal privacy.
Experts also reminded that investment suggestions on forums can be referenced but should not be blindly trusted. For accounting services, if users need to provide bank account numbers, ID numbers, etc., citizens should remain vigilant. Additionally, if users want to manage their finances more scientifically, they can find relevant banks and communicate with bank customer managers, which would be safer.