Mom- why are you hiding cash all over the house? with She Summit’s Claudia Chan

Claudia Chan

Claudia Chan, author of How We Rise and founder of the She Summit shares her experiences growing up as the child of immigrants who would hide money in all kinds of unusual places- because they didn’t trust the banks. Plus her everyday money tip to help us save money shopping online. 

Claudia’s Money Story:

Claudia Chan:
Yeah. I grew up with a very cash, I guess, focused family. My parents had come to America, not with much. My dad was a bartender, and eventually made friends with folks on Wall Street in the fifties and opened up his first Chinese restaurant. They ended up having a few over the years, but, let's see, when I was a kid growing up ... because they didn't trust banks at the time. And so they would literally hide cash in all different places of the household, so whether it was pots and pans, and inside our pillowcases. So we would literally, even the standard sized pillowcase, my mom would take two standard sizes and stick them into the pillowcase and then put wads of cash between those pillows. I would literally sleep and find money underneath my pillows. But yeah, that was definitely a signature aspect of the family that I grew up in. And I'm sure lots of mom and pop shop, immigrant sisters and brothers out there could relate to that story.

Bobbi Rebell:
Did you ever talk to them about this?

Claudia Chan:
It was really my normal. Again, you are the environment you're in. Obviously, when I was a little bit older, I would say, mom, this is not safe. Are you sure this is safe? And she would just go into this whole lecture around you got to be careful with these big banks, these American banks.

Bobbi Rebell:
It sounds so unusual to many of us, but you're saying that was normal among your community.

Claudia Chan:
Yeah. Diversity, right, is such a big conversation today and has been for, I know, many years now. But when you think about America is such a melting pot of so many immigrants and so many immigrant families, and the diversity of people here are ... many of us are mutts, right? We have such different backgrounds and come from such different cultures. And I think that when you think about your local dry cleaning store, your local restaurant, your local deli, your local mom and pop shops, a lot of those were started by immigrant families that had different types of practices, right? So, it's very cultural, and I think we forget how diverse this country is. And I think today's cultural and political events are reminding us of that as well.

Bobbi Rebell:
And we do tend to make assumptions about how people approach money and their relationship with money. How did it impact you as you were growing up into becoming a financial grownup?

Claudia Chan:
Now, I'm not sure if I'm actually a financial grownup yet.

Bobbi Rebell:
You own a pretty big business, my friend.

Claudia Chan:
Well, just by actually giving you that response is a great segue into answering the question. So, to be invited to a podcast where we're going to talk about my relationship to money in 10 minutes is in and of itself a difficult task, because money has really been probably, I just turned 45 years old, the most invisible and yet profound aspect of my life. That I realized today at 45 into my older years that really has so impacted in many ways what's driven me into building the platform and making the impact I have in the world. But at the same time, also been a massive barrier or a massive just challenge in my life because I realized that my parents, for them, money was survival. Money was safety because they lost everything by fleeing from China to Taiwan and coming to the States for the American dream. And they didn't come with here with much.

Claudia Chan:
And so I was so raised with money is really at the center of success. And all the work that I've done building S.H.E. Summit and writing my How We Rise book, and all the leadership work that I've done to advance she, he equity, which is what S.H.E stands for, and creating a better humanity is really success is actually not money. Success is actually freedom, and it is wellbeing, it is peace of mind, it is joy. And I think that what happened to me and I think what happens and consumes so many individuals out there in the world is that we make money our center and the goal, where really money is just the tool to get the freedom, the tool to get the wellbeing.

Claudia Chan:
But the thing is, if you make chasing money your goal, then you're never really going to be happy. I would say that's the quick answer to that question, is really you got to check what your relationship is to money. And really get clear on yourself, whether you're 20, 30, 50, 70, however old you are listening to the story, because some of the most wealthy, financially wealthy people in the world are the least happy.

Claudia’s Money Lesson:

Claudia Chan:

I think that really finding the right team, whether or not it's a financial advisor, and whoever is going to teach you about money and help support you. There's so many aspects to managing your money, right? There's your investments. And there's, do you buy the house now? Or what kind of house do you buy? And they're just like private school or public school. There's just so many choices. And I just think that when we talk about financial organizations, I think it's choose individuals that you really, really trust and get you, that you have the right energy with. It's like a best friend, right? Or it's somebody that is a person that really is the right person for you to be that long-term partner. Because I think having the right people around us will give us the right ... and obviously doing the work as well, right, learning as much as you can. That will give you the wisdom and the tools and strategies you need over time to manage your money well. I can trust organizations if I trust the people.

Bobbi Rebell:
I love that. That's so important because organizations, I mean, I'm stating the obvious, but they are made up of people.

Claudia’s Money Tip:

Claudia Chan:

So obviously, I am less into shopping today, with a three and five year old, for myself as much as I used to be. I care less about material stuff than I did when I was in my twenties and thirties, now that I'm raising a family. And, again, back to the what matters the most in life question. But when I do shop, whether it's like J Crew, or I go to gilt.com a lot, or if there's a Alexis Bittar, a jewelry store that I love. But I always go to the filter section and I search low to high first to pull up to start at a place where it's the least expensive option. Because again, sometimes I feel like I just, for me, it's more about the transaction, the dopamine shot that you get, that you crave on wanting to make transactions, and wanting to acquire and wanting to buy something. Right?

Claudia Chan:
It's like, Oh, I need a massage. Oh, I want to buy something. And so it's just something that sometimes it's just buying something for the sake of making the transaction. So, that's just one tool that I've used, filter low to high just to keep it simple. And not waste money, because really at the end of the day, whether you need something new, go into your closet and chances are, you probably don't need that item.

Bobbi Rebell:
Yeah. And I think that's a great thing because it's so easy. And I bet, in most cases, if we start paying attention, they start high to low in many of them because they want you to buy the highest priced thing, so that makes so much sense.


Bobbi’s Financial Grownup Tips:

Financial Grownup Tip #1:

if your parents are making big financial mistakes, like hiding money in household goods around the house indefinitely, in large amounts, try to help them out. I get the mistrust of banks, but money needs to grow and be invested, or it will be worth less. Please, protect your parents' money.

Financial Grownup Tip #2:

I what to add to Claudia's everyday money tip about searching from low to high when you are buying things online. The sorting feature is so important. One thing I have started doing more of when I buy online, which so many of us are doing during the pandemic, is actually really taking the time to read reviews from verified buyers.

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Authors, Family + Relationships, Financial Grownup, Money, Personal Finance, Women Entrepreneurs, Women Role ModelsBobbi Rebell KaufmanClaudia Chan, SHE Summit, Author