高航（Gao Hang，音译）是"月光族"俱乐部的一员，这是一个非正式的中国年轻职业女性群体，她们花光每月薪水（甚至透支）来享受生活（这让零售商和信用卡发行商十分高兴）。
当中国政府表示希望促进国内私人消费时，他们心目中的消费者可能不是这些"月光族"。
但就像上世纪80年代日本"职业女性"一样，大多从事初级职位的年轻白领女性已经在为促进中国的消费贡献力量。
位于上海的中国市场研究集团(China Market Research)的小山(Shaun Rein)表示："女性已经成为中国经济增长的主要驱动力。32岁以下的消费者实际储蓄率为零。"小山预计今年中国零售销售将增长16%至18%，主要是由女性和三四线城市的消费者推动的。
中国市场研究集团最近的调查发现，在22岁至32岁的中国女性中，80%未来6个月的计划支出高于去年同期（那时她们也算不上节俭）。尽管与其经济规模相比，中国的消费可能并不旺盛，但许多年轻都市职业人士的消费却十分旺盛。
月光族迄今已发生了严重的财务危机。小山表示："她们表现出了在西方闻所未闻的乐观态度。她们只是认为自己的生活会比父母更好。我知道所有人都这样认为。"
大多数年轻的单身白领是独生子女，出生于中国经济发展最为迅速的时代，他们根本不会考虑财务问题。
就像美国婴儿潮一代(baby boomers)的年轻人一样，她们认为到处都在涨工资。在钱包越来越鼓的时候，凭什么要储蓄？
在上海等富裕的中心城市，信用卡数量激增也推动了这一相对精英的消费阶层的购物习惯。中国央行数据显示，截止去年9月，中国在用信用卡为1.752亿张，同比增长33%，是2003年的7倍。大多数中国人仍在使用借记卡。
即使信用卡数量增长如此迅猛，但与西方相比，中国拥有信用卡的人仍然是少数。根据一家欧洲消费者金融公司Cofidis的数据，中国人均拥有0.13张信用卡，而英国人均0.99张，美国是2.06张。
今年28岁的高航是上海的一名研究助理，她表示，自己每月至少要花掉70%至80%的薪水——但随着年底临近，她会花光全部薪水或透支消费。"通常女孩在年底都会持续地疯狂购物。冲动似乎占了上风。"她拥有3张信用卡，自从其中一张信用卡大幅减少展期付款手续费后，最近她开始增加信用卡消费。
高航将自己的消费习惯视为某种治疗："它是一种释放压力和提升自我价值的好办法。我认为它比喝酒好。"她指出，去年上半年，她在网上拍卖网站淘宝网上购买了1.6万元人民币（合2340美元）的化妆品和衣服。她也卖出了自己的一些商品——但只卖了700元人民币。
高航表示，她能够为一些特殊情况攒钱，但她会把钱寄给父母保管。她不好意思地说："如果放在银行卡里，我就会花掉它。"高航表示，与大多数月光族一样，她也对自己乱花钱的行为感到愧疚。
大多数月光族住在家里，由父母或祖父母承担房租、医疗和其它必要费用。他们的薪水可能很低——每月可能有4000到1万元人民币——但如果全都是可支配收入，也会很有帮助。
27岁的伊娃(Eva)就职于一家保险公司。她每月在化妆品上的花销令人吃惊地达到了2万元人民币。她表示，她父母（都是商人）没有对她的消费方式感到不安，她同时称，自己记不住每月买了些什么或花了多少钱。
28岁的贝莉(Beili)在一家公关公司工作。她谈到花钱时颇有诗意。她表示，自己的钱每个月都会花光，说不上买了什么，因为"钱就像流水一样不见了"。
贝莉引用中国相声演员周立波的话称："人们需要花钱，花了才是你的，否则就不是你的，而是中国银行(BoC)的。"
广告公司智威汤逊(JWT)大中华区首席执行官唐锐涛(Tom Doctoroff)为月光族的消费模式进行了辩解。他表示，她们与日本的年轻职业女性不同。
唐锐涛表示："投资品牌就是投资未来。"他指出，购买高档化妆品、鞋、手包和服装"有望是打开一扇通往更高薪水的大门"。许多月光族表达了同样的观点：她们乐于为了职业发展而背负短期债务。
译者/君悦
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001030923
Gao Hang belongs to the "nothing left at the end of the month" club, an unofficial sorority of Chinese office girls who spend all their monthly salary – and then some – on the good things in life (to the delight of retailers and credit card providers).
When Beijing says it wants to boost private domestic consumption, the yue guang zu or spend-all-your-salary clan, may not have been the consumers they had in mind.
But like the Japanese "office ladies" of the 1980s, China's young white-collar females, most of them in entry-level jobs, are already doing their bit to power Chinese consumption.
"Women have become a major driving force behind China's economic growth. Consumers under 32 have an effective savings rate of zero," says Shaun Rein of China Market Research Group in Shanghai, who expects Chinese retail sales to grow by 16 to 18 per cent this year, driven largely by Chinese women, and by consumers in third and fourth tier Chinese cities.
A survey conducted by his group recently found that 80 per cent of Chinese women aged 22 to 32 plan to spend more in the next six months than they did in the last half year (when they were anything but miserly). While China as a nation might not be consuming much relative to the size of its economy, many young urban professionals are.
So far, the yue guang zuare having a great financial crisis. "They display a level of optimism unheard of in the west," says Mr Rein, "it's simply assumed that your life will be better than your parents'. I don't know anyone who doesn't think that."
Born as only children in an era of ever-expanding growth in China, most young, single white-collar Chinese simply cannot contemplate financial adversity.
Like American baby boomers in their youth, they assume a pay rise is around every corner. Why save, when pay packets just get fatter and fatter?
The proliferation of credit cards in prosperous urban centres such as Shanghai is also driving the shopping habits of this relatively elite class of consumers. China had 175.2m credit cards in use as of September last year, a 33 per cent increase on the year before, according to central bank figures, and seven times as many as in 2003. Most Chinese still use debit cards.
Even with this rapid growth, few Chinese have credit cards comparable with the west. China has 0.13 credit cards per head of population, compared with 0.99 in the UK and 2.06 in the US, according to Cofidis, a European consumer finance company.
Ms Gao, 28, who works as a research assistant in Shanghai, says she spends at least 70 to 80 per cent of her salary every month – but toward the end of the year, it creeps up to 100 per cent or more. "Usually girls at year end engage in an unstoppable shopping spree. Impulse seems to have the upper hand." She has three credit cards, and has recently started spending more on credit, since one of her providers sharply reduced the fees for rollover credit.
Ms Gao sees her consumption habits as somewhat therapeutic: "It's a good way to vent pressure and boost self-worth. I prefer it to alcohol," she says, noting that she spent Rmb16,000 ($2,340, €1,630, £1,441) in the first six months of last year on cosmetics and clothes purchased on Taobao, the online auction site. She sold back some of her purchases to make money – but only netted Rmb700.
Ms Gao says she is capable of saving money for special occasions but to do so she sends the money to her parents for safekeeping. "If I left it on my bank card, I would spend it," she says sheepishly, noting that, like most yue guang zu, she feels guilty about her spendthrift ways.
Most of the yue guang zulive at home, where parents or grandparents cover rent, healthcare and other essentials. Their salaries may be low – perhaps Rmb4-10,000 per month – but it goes a long way if it is 100 per cent disposable income.
Eva, 27, works at an insurance company, and spends the astounding sum of Rmb20,000 per month – on cosmetics. She says her parents (who are businesspeople) are not bothered by her spending patterns – and says she cannot remember what she buys or how much she spends each month.
Beili, 28, who works at a public relations agency, waxes poetic on the subject of money. She says she runs out of it every month, without accounting for it, because "it just runs off like the floating water".
She quotes Zhou Libo, a Chinese comedian: "Money needs to be spent, that makes it yours, otherwise it is not yours but the Bank of China's".
Tom Doctoroff, greater China CEO of JWT, the advertising agency, defends the yue guang zu spending patterns. They are not like Japan's office girls, he says.
"Investing in brands is an investment in the future," he says, noting that purchases of expensive cosmetics, shoes, handbags and clothes "are expected to open doors" to a better salary. Many yue guang zu say the same: they are happy to accumulate short-term debt, in the service of their career.
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001030923/en
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