Earning own allowance as a teen showed Golding he could cut it in life

Experience gave him an early perspective on finances, helping to keep his feet on the ground

- Sue-Ann Tan

It is hard to see how Crazy Rich Asians actor Henry Golding could ever be broke, but if it does happen, he has a plan—he will use what little he has to buy a pair of scissors.

"Have scissors, will survive" is a throwback to his teenage hair-cutting days, which allowed him to stop receiving pocket money from his parents.

Those childhood days that shaped him and his views on finances were about taking just boiled eggs and salt on days out and shopping at cheaper supermarkets.

They represented the simple lifestyle and frugal mindset of an East Malaysian boy growing up in Britain, with one working parent and two siblings.

His father, who moved the family from Sarawak to Surrey, was a helicopter engineer in the British army, while his mother took care of the three children.

At age 14, Golding started working on Saturdays at a barber shop, earning £24 a day.

"I stopped receiving my pocket money, and I was like, 'I'm gonna look after myself. I was very independent. It was just one day a week, but it was still enough to give me an early perspective on finances,' he says.

After he left school at 16, he worked as a hairstylist, with the goal of eventually opening his own hairdressing business.

It is a far cry from his current Hollywood lifestyle, starring alongside big names like Charlize Theron and Uma Thurman in Netflix's The Old Guard 2, attending premieres in fancy suits and walking the Met Gala carpet for the third time in 2025.

It has been quite a ride since his success in the 2018 global hit Crazy Rich Asians.

But Golding says the lessons he learnt from his simple childhood have stayed with him, as he keeps his feet firmly on the ground, and looks for stability instead of thrills in growing his hard-earned funds.