Website owner: James Miller
The simple, frugal life
The Chinese have a reputation for living simple, frugal lives and saving money. I have long been a strong believer in simple, frugal living and the importance of saving money so I would say I have an outlook very similar to the Chinese in many ways. On my first job after college I lived in a room in a rooming house paying a rent of $9.00 a week in order to save enough money to pay my father back the money I had borrowed from him for my college education. After I got married my wife and I lived frugally and saved our money and had saved enough after six years to pay cash ($45,000) for a house. I recently saw the following YouTube video and it strikes me as a good example of typical Chinese frugality. The lady works in a shoe factory and her husband is a truck driver and they live very frugally and save most of their income. I think this type mentality and personal discipline would be very helpful to most Americans.
50yo Low Income Worker | $1 a Day Life in Rural China
I note that the lady wears heavy clothing inside the house. I am guessing it is winter and, as is common in rural China, they don’t heat the house.
Just from this video do you form any idea of this lady’s character? Could you list personality traits that you think she has? What traits might you infer?
Consider the following list of traits: Personality traits
How about energetic, hardworking, humble, moral, kind, polite, honest, dependable, responsible, prudent, serious, self-disciplined, and practical, to name a few. Do you think these are good traits? Is this a compliment to the lady? What is your opinion of this lady?
See Personality traits tend to appear in groups.
Do some societies produce better people, on average, than other societies? Why? Do wealthy countries produce better people than poor countries? Or worse people?
Consider the lady in the following video — consider her character:
Behind Guilin’s Beauty: A Farmer’s Real Life
I like this lady. She really impresses me. Why? Her honesty, integrity, character. I think this lady really has character. Compare this lady with all of the single mothers you find in the USA living off our welfare system.
Let me ask you this: Do you think you are better than other people because of the amount of money you have, or the amount of education you have, or the kind of job you have? What is important to you in a person? What is the measure of a person? What qualities in a person impress you? Is it honesty and integrity? Or the amount of money they have, the amount of education they have, or their social status?
I am becoming quite interested in China. When I compare China with the USA I am seeing a great deal in China that I like. And I have long seen a whole lot in the USA that I don’t like. How many drug addicts do you think you will find on the streets of China? I doubt that you will find many. Homelessness doesn’t seem to be a big problem in China. And it is a gigantic problem in the United States. Chinese YouTubers talk of renting a room for $30.00 a month in China. How little can you rent a room for in the USA? Pornography is banned in China and not available on their internet. Compare that with the West where drug addiction is a really big problem everywhere, pornography is a main staple of western diet, and the child illegitimacy rate averages from 30% to 70% in most countries. See
What are the most moral countries of the world?
Which countries of the world are the most sexually promiscuous?
Where does China rank on these lists? Where does America rank?
See the following:
24 Mar 2026
Jesus Christ and His Teachings
Way of enlightenment, wisdom, and understanding
America, a corrupt, depraved, shameless country
On integrity and the lack of it
The test of a person's Christianity is what he is
Ninety five percent of the problems that most people have come from personal foolishness
Liberalism, socialism and the modern welfare state
The desire to harm, a motivation for conduct
On Self-sufficient Country Living, Homesteading
Topically Arranged Proverbs, Precepts, Quotations. Common Sayings. Poor Richard's Almanac.
Theory on the Formation of Character
People are like radio tuners --- they pick out and listen to one wavelength and ignore the rest
Cause of Character Traits --- According to Aristotle
We are what we eat --- living under the discipline of a diet
Avoiding problems and trouble in life
Role of habit in formation of character
Personal attributes of the true Christian
What determines a person's character?
Love of God and love of virtue are closely united
Intellectual disparities among people and the power in good habits
Tools of Satan. Tactics and Tricks used by the Devil.
The Natural Way -- The Unnatural Way
Wisdom, Reason and Virtue are closely related
Knowledge is one thing, wisdom is another
My views on Christianity in America
The most important thing in life is understanding
We are all examples --- for good or for bad
Television --- spiritual poison
The Prime Mover that decides "What We Are"
Where do our outlooks, attitudes and values come from?
Sin is serious business. The punishment for it is real. Hell is real.
Self-imposed discipline and regimentation
Achieving happiness in life --- a matter of the right strategies
Self-control, self-restraint, self-discipline basic to so much in life