stimulate economic growth. This positive value has become a consensus.

"Empirical calculations show that after the introduction of consumer financial products, borrowers' consumption amount increases by 16%-30%, and cooperative merchant sales increase by approximately 40%, which can help release potential consumer demand and enhance the role of consumption in driving economic development." National Finance The person in charge of the relevant departments of the State Administration of Supervision

But on the other side of the coin, consumer credit may also exacerbate irrational excessive consumption—a group of young people are trying to return to rational

  consumption by closing consumer credit.

Anya, an Internet worker born in 1995, is one of them: "After Huabei closed last year, I saved 80,000 inConsumer credit, whose penetration rate continues to increase, has become a financial tool to  more than a year, and the goal is to save 300,000 in three years."

She feels that every dollar she earns now is finally hers. She no longer has to pay back Huabei as soon as it arrives, as she did in the past five years, as if she was "working" for Huabei.

The most difficult period was during the summer vacation of her junior year of college in 2018. After the 1,000 yuan for living expenses from her parents arrived, she had to cross out seven or eight hundred yuan before spending it. The only two hundred left was obviously not enough to eat, so Anya had to rely on hunger. Solve HE Tuber    . She only ate lunch every day and lost 10 pounds in a month. She stayed in this state for more than two months, and it was not until she resumed her part-time job after the holidays that she

  was able to make ends meet.

"That feeling of being so hungry that I can't sleep at night is something I never want to experience again." Anya sighed.

Anya is not the only one who is "distressed". On Douban and Xiaohongshu, many young people shared that they have closed Huabei, Baitiao, Weilidai, and credit cards, or plan to "close down" after paying off their debts. They call it " Come ashore".

Young people's "interest" in advanced consumption has declined, which can be seen from the number of credit card issuances. The "Overall Payment System Operation in the First Quarter of 2023" released by the Central Bank shows that as of the end of the first quarter of this year, the number of credit cards and debit cards issued in one nationwide The volume was 791 million, a month-on-month decrease of 0.84% ​​and a year-on-year decrease of 1.37%.

At the same time, as of the end of the first quarter of this year, the per capita number of credit cards and debit cards nationwide was 0.56, a decrease of 1.75% month-on-month and a year-on-year decrease of 1.75%.

In addition, according to statistics from some bank financial reports, in 2022, the credit card consumption of 6 banks including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Ping An Bank, China Construction Bank, and Minsheng Bank also declined year-on-year, with the declines of both ICBC and Ping An Bank exceeding 10%.

The consensus among young people is that advanced consumption tools such as Huabei, Baitiao, Weilidai, and credit cards make people lose the concept of money. It is like spending other people's money, and it is easy to "get high" until they are "heavy" in debt or in urgent need of large amounts. When money comes, it’s like waking up from a dream.

This "awakening" may be related to the economic situation. Public data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that in the first quarter of this year, the national average urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.5%.

Anya observed that it was hard to find a job nowadays, and her colleagues were all saving money. She also prepared a sum of "fuck you money" so that she could have the confidence to turn around and leave when necessary.

For people who are accustomed to spending ahead of schedule and lack self-control, saying goodbye to Huabei and credit cards may be a prerequisite for successful saving.

The monthly salary is 3,000 yuan, but the expenses are 4,000 to 5,000 yuan. This was the situation when Deng Sisi, a post-95 generation, first started working in the hospital three years ago.

She has become accustomed to using Huabei to pay for extra expenses, which also means that after receiving her monthly salary, she has to pay back one or two thousand Huabei, so that she feels that every month she is living tight.

However, she didn’t think there was any problem with it at that time. After all, she had been using Huabei since her freshman year in 2015, and so were her classmates.

According to the "Youth Consumer Life Report" released by Alipay in 2020, 65 million of China's nearly 170 million post-90s generation have opened Huabei, which means that nearly 4 out of every 10 post-90s generation are using Huabei for consumption. .

Sisi was used to it, and like Anya, when she was in college, she could get 1,000 yuan a month for living expenses, which was enough to eat and drink, but there were too many other fancy temptations - facial cleanser for 3 yuan, concealer for 9 yuan, There are also exquisite novel-type magazines that I like to read.

..

Cheap skin care products bought by Sisi

In one month, she would have to use Huabei to overdraw about 1,000 yuan, which was completely beyond her ability to afford at the time.

But the pleasure of shopping made her immersed in it. "When I used Huabei, I felt that the money was not my own. I could buy whatever I wanted. It was very exciting." This made her unable to break out of the vicious cycle of "owing money every month."

There are many people like Sisi who are in debt. According to data from the central bank, as of the end of last year, the number of people in debt nationwide reached 780 million, and the per capita debt reached 133,400 yuan.

In addition, the "Shiqu China Youth Life and Consumption Outlook Survey and Marketing Insight Report" released by Shiqu Research Institute in May this year showed that among the survey samples, only 35% of young people did not use overdrafts for consumption, and most credit consumption was concentrated on income. less than 20%.

This shows the allure of advanced consumption to young people. “It’s like something is always missing in life, and you have to keep buying to feel fulfilled and satisfied.” Anya explains this sense of loss of control.

But unlike Sisi who overdrafted due to lack of money, Anya's desire to shop was inspired by having "more" money.

In her sophomore year, Anya started working part-time and was able to earn a "huge sum" of about 500 yuan a month. She used it to experience various interests and hobbies, such as purchasing a complete set of tools such as handbooks and rubber stamps. However, each hobby is almost given to a superficial taste, and then a new hobby is developed. In this way, she has to pick up four or five express packages every week.

There is nothing wrong with paying for hobbies, and Anya is not an exception. The "Shiqu China Youth Life Consumption Outlook Survey and Marketing Insight Report" shows that young people aged 20 to 30 will spend about 10% of their income on hobbies.

  consumption.

But the problem lies in the cost. In a state of "unconscious" spending, Anya's living expenses + part-time income cannot satisfy Anya. She has to use an additional eight or nine hundred yuan of Huabei quota every month.

"After receiving new living expenses and income every month, it's like losing my mind and just want to buy everything in the shopping cart," Anya said.

Tang Yu, born in the 1990s, has also experienced this kind of "unconscious" state. Since he got a China Merchants Bank credit card five years ago, he doesn't feel bad about spending money. Although he doesn't buy luxury goods and mostly eats and drinks, when he looks at the bill every month, he always The overspending can reach eight or nine thousand, and "small numbers are afraid of long calculations."

Moreover, credit cards always have various "hooks" that make Tang Yu want to stop, such as half-price discounts for certain merchants on specific dates. "If I don't spend, I always feel itchy and I feel like I'm at a disadvantage," Tang Yu revealed.

Of course, the "tool" is not a crime, the key is how to use it. However, Anya believes that products such as Huabei and credit cards actually induce young people to overspend, because it feels like they are spending other people's money, which blurs the concept that they are not actually qualified to own this thing. "I think it is a trap."

Xu Ran, a post-95s publishing industry worker, has also fallen into this kind of "trap".

She just changed her job five years ago. The original intention of opening Huabei was to take advantage of Huabei's feature of "paying off the previous month's debt in the same month, and there will be no interest." She first transferred part of her salary to a financial account to earn a little extra interest. , but it was unexpected and out of control.

Because people around her grew grass, she had to use Huabei to pay two to three thousand yuan every month, which she spent on dining out, afternoon tea, and online shopping for clothes and skin care products that were twice the normal needs. Her salary at that time was only a few dollars. Thousand dollars.