During the pandemic, Kathy Zhuo and her husband were forced to take a 50% pay cut. It was a huge blow because she also had to take care of her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer five years ago. "We barely had money left each year. I felt insecure but didn't know what to do," says the 36-year-old mother of two, who lives in Fujian, a province in southern China.
The shock to her family's finances prompted Ms Zhuo to join the trend of young Chinese people seeking partners - or da zi - with similar interests online. But instead of traveling or exercising together, she has teamed up with people who want to save money.The hashtag "saving da zi" first emerged on Xiaohongshu, China's version of Instagram, in February 2023. It has attracted 1.7 million views so far, according to data analysis firm Newsrank. On Weibo, topics about so-called saving partners have been viewed millions of times.
In February this year, Ms. Zhuo joined several online saving groups, with most members being women aged between 20 and 40. Every day, they log their budget and expenses. They also help to stop each other from making impulse purchases.
Ms. Zhuo says that one member was tempted to buy a luxury bag that cost 5,000 yuan ($690; £560) but after talking to other women in the group settled for a much cheaper, second-hand bag. She is surprised so many others are doing the same, and says she feels a sense of camaraderie with her saving partners. Just a month after teaming up with a partner, she says her spending was down by 40%. She now aims to save 100,000 yuan this year.
Ms. Chen, a 32-year-old who runs a beauty parlor in the central province of Henan, and did not wish to reveal her first name, says she withdraws most of her income from the bank every month and puts it in a box. Once it reaches 50,000 yuan, she plans to return it to the bank as a fixed deposit. "In the past, I didn't have any saving plan but still had some money left. Now, it has become more challenging to save," she said.
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