"Come and judge for yourself whether and what you will like in Bulgaria, but do not be influenced by what you hear or read about our country" – this is the advice to foreigners of a Vietnamese man who grew up in Bulgaria and became a citizen of the world.

His name is Vu Nguyen. Born in Vietnam, he was only11 years old when he arrived in Bulgaria with his family. His childhood and adolescence were spent in Burgas and Sofia, and after graduating from high school he left for the United States. He studied business and computer science, but soon switched to painting and eventually graduated in journalism. He started working as a graphic editor for the New York Times, and later helped develop a new web platform for the American television channel, NBC. While studying in North Carolina, Vu met his future wife, the Bulgarian Ralitsa, a software developer at Microsoft. Both took the decision to return to Bulgaria spontaneously in 2013.

"Our life in America was full of work, we spent 12-13 hours a day in our offices. We built successful careers, but we did not have time to rejoice in our achievements," says Vu Nguyen today.

The slower-pace way of life in Bulgaria, the proximity to their families, as well as the delicious Bulgarian cuisine are the main motives that tipped the scales and the couple relocated permanently to Bulgaria.

The first business idea they developed here was related to an online platform for financial education. The reason - Vu Nguyen's observations on the consumer habits of Bulgarians and their lack of sufficient ability to save and reasonably estimate their costs.

"Of course, this does not apply only to Bulgarians, but to the entire Western world," the Vietnamese admits in an interview with Radio Bulgaria. “We have been living in peace and tranquility for many years, and people are used to the fact that someone somewhere will always be able to save them. Only about 4% of people's salaries are used for savings, according to a study in the United States. In China for example, this percentage reaches 40. From a young age I was brought up not to buy something that I will not use. We must always think about having a sum of money saved, which can help us out  in difficult and uncertain times.”

The present moment is clear proof of this. Almost a month has passed since the beginning of Russia's invasion in Ukraine. Its long-term effect on all spheres of the European economy and way of life is still unpredictable, but in Bulgaria it has already had a serious impact on the prices of a number of goods in the retail chain.

The hoarding of essential commodities caused by the fear that there will be shortages of basic products is not a good reaction at such a time, Vu Nguyen believes.

"I don't think we need to panic and stock up on a lot of things. It is normal for prices to go up in a crisis situation in which we find ourselves. However, in my opinion, now is the time that people do not resort to expenses that they do not need. It's important to shop for as much as a month”.

It is much better to invest the saved funds in fixed assets that bring some return, Vu continues.

"There are many opportunities to invest your savings. Of course, it is best not to be in bitcoin, as their market is not a place for everyone. However, there are many different funds, software or biotech companies, or insurance companies."

Vu Nguyen is obviously one of those people who likes to plan, but he is also eager to implement new ideas. So he has embarked on his second venture - his own restaurant, where for several years now he has been exploring his passion for cooking. Today, however, he is again interested in start-up companies and the IT sphere. The current project he is working on is again related to savings and rather to the possibility to use the rented office space in the most efficient way.

English version Rositsa Petkova