Adam Pillsbury and Michelle Tsai

Beijing families take on the financial crisis

As economies around the globe have slowed or fallen into recession, families in Beijing are reevaluating their budgets to prepare for potentially tough times ahead. Find out how different families make decisions about spending and saving money, whether they feel the effects of the financial crisis, and what their strategies are for making it through the downturn in one piece – or even ahead.

THE NEWCOMERS

Tina Beeck’s expenses in Beijing have gone way up since leaving the rural life in La Grande, Oregon to move to China six months ago. “Maybe I’m doing something wrong because everyone says China is so cheap,” Beeck says, “but I’ve found we spend much more here than we did back in Oregon.” Her husband works as an environmental consultant at Valmont Industries, and the employer pays for the family’s four-bedroom apartment (RMB 23,000 a month) near Chaoyang Park, as well as tuition for their three children at Yew Chung International School (RMB 410,000 in total each year).

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