Health is the mother of success

“The report shows 87 per cent of Vietnamese prioritising their bodies over their bank balances, somewhat surprising in the fast emerging consumer culture that we see around us every day,” said Cimigo managing director Joe Wheller.

The 'mother of success' depends upon a healthy body housing a healthy mind, and with that in mind, 78 per cent of Vietnamese surveyed prioritise education over wealth.

“If a conclusion can be drawn from these findings,” continued Joe. “It would be that Vietnamese prioritise health, education and love well ahead of wealth as important drivers of a happy life.”

Fiscal conservatism is widely seen as the route to this happy pecuniary life, with respondents proving themselves to be very financially aware, and careful savers of their personal incomes.

“Vietnamese remain very conservative when it comes to their finances, in spite of the spend, spend, spend tide of consumerism that we see rising around us here,” Joe continued. “Vietnamese save heavily, and indicate that any unexpected windfalls will largely be saved as well.”

The survey showed that over 56 per cent of income earners put 11 per cent or more of their income into some kind of savings systems, either at home, or in the banking sector.

Furthermore, Vietnamese prefer to save than borrow when it comes to major purchases, and in the event of an unexpected VND20 million ($1,000) windfall, 77 per cent of Vietnamese would save some or all of this money.

"While parents nationwide lament their children's wasteful spending patterns and refusal to save, in actuality the saving message has gotten through to the next generation, with no definitive difference between the generations in spending and saving patterns," said Joe.

"Another of the areas where conventional wisdom has been bucked lay in the geographic attitude distribution," Joe went on. "Stereotypically Hanoians are viewed as homebodies when compared to the out-and-about consumerist Saigonese, our research has indicated quite the opposite, with Ho Chi Minh City residents being bigger savers than their counterparts in the capital."

The survey of 2,000 individuals spanned all socio economic classes in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and contained deep and profound insights into the way people in Vietnam view their lives.