WHILE we can study economics, finance and accounting, the reality of managing money is actually highly personal to each individual family. The prevalence of WeChat Wallet and Alipay brings an additional element of responsibility which parents will need to address when discussing financial responsibility with their children.

Inga Bela is a primary teacher at Western International School Shanghai and her daughter, Vicky Bela, is in 12th grade. Together, they share their views on money management as foreigners in China and also about their spending habits using online shopping platforms like Taobao. We asked Inga and Vicky similar questions to gain their perspective as parent and child.

Q: Inga, When did you start to allow Vicky to spend her own money? What were the general rules you had in place for her spending?

A: Vicky started earning her own money when she was seven years old, doing some advertisements, TV commercials and photo shoots. I was usually putting the money she earned aside and when she wanted to buy something we looked at how much she had in her “piggy bank” and how much more she needed in order to buy what she needed. Her first big purchase was an iPod. I never had an allowance for Vicky and now we have an arrangement that she asks for money when she needs it. She is quite responsible with money and rarely spends on things she doesn’t need.

Q: Vicky, When did you start to spend your own money? What rules were set in place for you?

A: I started spending my own money in primary school when I earned it from doing modeling jobs. Every time I did some modeling, I would save up the money to go to the store to buy the newest toy craze that every trendy child at my school had to have.

I didn’t have many rules for spending at the time, because it was the money I earned on my own, and I only got a portion of it anyway.

Then, as a teenager of around 13 years old I started buying things online on Taobao. The rules I had were that when I wanted to buy something I had to tell and show my mom what it was before I purchased it, and that it had to be something I either really wanted or needed, and was something that was not very expensive.

Q: Inga, what does Vicky mostly spend her money on?

A: Vicky mostly spends her money on clothes and electronics.

Q: Vicky, what do you mostly spend your money on?

A: Now I mostly spend my money on clothing and accessories, be they from Taobao or stores in Shanghai. I buy a lot of different types of jewelry like necklaces, bracelets and earrings online because I find all kinds of interesting things that suit my style. In recent years, I have also been buying electronics and electronic accessories like an e-reader, phone, laptop and phones cases, etc.

Q: Inga, do you use an e-wallet, like WeChat Wallet, Alipay, or Apple Pay? Has this changed the way you manage money in your home? How about for Vicky? Have there been any other issues regarding financial responsibility with the introduction these online payment platforms?

A: I started using Alipay about five years ago. Until last year, I used Alipay mostly to pay for my Taobao purchases. Now I use Alipay almost everywhere — to pay for my air tickets, to buy groceries in supermarkets, to pay for meals in restaurants. I definitely carry less cash in my actual wallet now compared to a couple of years ago.

On one hand using Alipay is very convenient and easy, on the another hand it is hard to keep track of what you spend. Vicky usually uses my Alipay and Taobao accounts so I can keep track of what she is buying and she usually confirms with me before purchasing anything. However, Taobao sent me an end-of-year message summarizing how much we spent in one year and I was shocked when I saw the total. I had no idea we spent so much for our online shopping.

Q: Vicky, has using WeChat or Alipay changed the way you spend money? Have you run into any issues using them which you were unsure of how to resolve or needed parental advice?

A: Alipay has made it so much easier for me to buy items online very quickly and without hassle. Before, it was almost impossible for me to buy items online without needing credit/bank card information every time, and trying to gather all that information just to buy a clothing item was undesirable. Because of Alipay, however, I do not need to reenter that type of information every time I buy something because it’s already set up. It makes life a lot easier when I need to buy things for myself or for school without going through a lot of trouble.

Alipay has given me trouble when it comes to changing aspects of the account or adding/removing bank cards and paying sources. It can be difficult to initially link things up to the account, especially when my Chinese is not perfect enough to understand very technical terms. I’ve had to ask my mother to fix things of the account when I couldn’t grasp the information that it needed from me.

Q: Inga, what advice would you give to parents regarding teaching their child about financial responsibility? Anything particular in regards to e-wallet money management?

A: I believe that discussions about “needs” and “wants” are really beneficial with younger as well as older children. It is very important for children to understand that we do not simply buy everything we want; we need to learn to prioritize and plan what we want to spend on. Without that understanding it could be challenging for the children to control their spending when they gain access to e-payment options such as Alipay or WeChat Wallet.

Q: Vicky, same question as above. Also, what advice would you give to other kids your age and younger about e-wallet money management?

A: I think the best lesson to learn in terms of being financially responsible is that when it is not your own bank card or money that you are using, you need to be smart about what you spend on.

I stick to buying items that I have either wanted for a long period of time, or that I actually need in my life. Especially when starting out with e-buying, I think that children need to inform their parents of their purchases instead of buying whenever they feel like it, and parents need to set boundaries for their children in terms of price ranges and what they are comfortable allowing their child to buy.