|
|
RUSSIAN ATTITUDES TOWARD MONEY
Lynn Visson's "Wedded Strangers" explains:’
“For Russians, the ultimate sin is being stingy. Americans are viewed as being tight fisted.”
Russians and Americans have vastly different views of money. This is
understandable considering that Russians were raised under the Soviet
system and Americans were raised under a capitalist system.
Under the Soviet system, Russians had money in their pocket, but no
place to spend it. Jobs, medical care, apartments, pensions – the basic
necessities that one needed for life – were provided by the state.
The problem was that the State decided what to produce. Choice in goods
was unavailable. That was if the product was even available. Goods were
scarce. You couldn’t comparison shop even if you wanted to.
You didn’t have to worry about spending too much money because there weren’t too many goods to spend money on.
There are stories to illustrate life during the Soviet times. When you
walked down the street and you saw a line of people, you got in line,
even though you didn’t know why the line was forming and what you were
waiting for.
Whatever it was, it was scarce and people wanted it, so it was better to get in line before you missed out.
Conversely, Americans have more money, but they have a thousand choices
on how to spend that money. The whole American consumption system is
designed to get you to spend money on whatever product is advertised.
They supplement the myriad choices with easy credit.
The trick in the American system is to figure out what it is that is
really important to you. It becomes important to make wise choices
because there are so many choices available. Shopping for bargains and
good value becomes imperative to survive American capitalism. Your
choices are virtually unlimited. You could spend hundreds of thousands
times your income in America without giving it a second thought.
The problem is that you would soon find yourself wallowing in consumer debt.
Americans value their ability to negotiate a good deal and to find a
bargain. They brag about the great deals they get. They are proud of
their ability to get the most for their money. To live at the highest
standard of living possible is the goal of America’s consumer society.
For that same reason, American men are proud of their success and the
assets they have accumulated. They think that they can attract a
Russian woman by telling her about their ability to provide for her.
They brag about their income and their wealth to impress her and then
they turn around and tell her about what a good negotiator they are in
exacting the best price for things.
These traits are valuable in American society. But all that talk about
money makes them sound like Ebenezer Scrooge to the Russian woman they
are trying to impress.
To a Russian, who earns one dollar for every fifty dollars an American
earns, an American sounds incredibly cheap when they talk about what a
hard bargain they have driven to buy something.
You sound more like a miser to them.
When you talk about how you got a great price on the airline tickets to
see her, it takes the romance right out of the picture, as far as she
is concerned. Your meeting takes on the air of a commercial transaction
rather than a romantic interlude.
To a Russian, you either have the money or you don’t. You can either
afford something or you can’t. You don’t brag about how you whittled
someone down in price. You don’t talk about money. It’s considered bad
taste.
“First, they brag about how much money they have and then they complain
about the prices,” the Russian women say. “How they count their money!”
America is a merchant society. Talking about money is normal to them.
Russians know that Americans make much more money than them. But they
don’t understand anything about the types of expenses that the typical
American has.
Russians have monthly expenses of rent, food, telephone, hot water, and
heat in the winter. These expenses maybe cost them fifty to one hundred
dollars per month.
When you tell them you make three thousand dollars per month, for
example, they mentally subtract one hundred dollars for expenses, and
they think they have twenty nine hundred dollars to spend money on the
things they want.
Russians have no idea about the types of payments that Americans make
every month. They don’t understand that recurring payments like
mortgages, car payments, insurance, cable, telephone, and other
expenses add up to a large portion of their monthly check.
The average American family has a standard of living, which is accessible to only the top income class in Russia.
Russians don’t pay personal income taxes and they don’t realize that
you must pay as much as twenty five to thirty five percent of your
income for income tax, plus property taxes, sales tax, and other excise
taxes.
A Russian woman is definitely interested in your financial situation.
She want to know that you have a stable job and are able to take care
of her and any children you may have. Tell her that you own your own
home. Tell her that you can take good care of her and her children.
Tell her about the shopping and cultural amenities where you live. Tell
her about the restaurants and cafes. Tell her about the weather and the
local recreational facilities. Tell her about television, movies, and
other lifestyle considerations.
Tell her about the schools. Tell her what you like about your job, your
family, your home, and the community where you live. Tell her why she
will like it too.
Just don’t go into a lot of financial details. No matter how much you
try to explain, she just won’t understand. Don’t talk about money
unless you have to.
by John Kunkle
John has been married to a Russian women for over five years. He has travelled the path from finding her, to traveling to Russia, to bring his wife to America, and adjusting to married life. He will show you step by step how to do this yourself.
FULL
ARTICLES LIST
|
