Bear markets teach financial management.

Please take good care of your first 1 million, as it can determine whether you can truly achieve financial freedom in your life.

When you first hold that million in cash, will you turn it into the first gold brick of your wealth empire, or will you step on the gas and trade it for a luxury car that depreciates faster than your heartbeat?

I know what you are thinking: 1 million? I don't even have 100,000 in savings. But hear me out, this first pot of gold can be 500,000, it can be 300,000, or even your first 100,000. It represents your first true mastery of capital as a weapon, and how you treat it decides whether you are the master of money or a slave to it throughout your life.

I have seen too many stories like this: 29-year-old programmer Xiao Zhang, with an annual salary of 600,000, saved up 1 million in three years. Last year, while his colleagues all traded in their BMWs, he drove that second-hand BYD. Some laughed at him for being stingy, and he said, "Every year I drive this broken car, my account gains an additional 200,000 in returns." He divided the 1 million into three parts: index funds, dividend stocks, and NASDAQ. This year, with the market correction, he is down 8%, but he is not panicking; instead, he's buying more. Why? He calculated that with an annualized return of 7%, this 1 million will turn into 7.6 million in 30 years. Meanwhile, that colleague who bought a BMW now has 320,000 left on the car loan, and the car dealer quotes 180,000. This is the ticket to compound interest; if you tear it up, you'll never be able to enter this wealth game again.

But the most terrifying enemy is not poverty; it's the consumption trap. It's those exquisite lifestyles that make you look rich, those instant gratifications that give you pleasure. They are like gentle killers, handing you a one-way ticket to financial abyss. You earn 30,000 a month and rent a 6,000 house, which isn't excessive, but you need to equip yourself with the latest Apple products, claiming that good tools are necessary for efficient money-making. You spend 20,000 on a gym membership and personal trainer, justifying that investing in health is investing in the future. You check in at Michelin restaurants and trendy afternoon teas every weekend, reasoning that life needs quality. At the end of the year, what do you have in your account? A few bags, several trendy clothing items, a bunch of electronic products. Meanwhile, that colleague you mocked for being stingy stuffed that 200,000 bonus into stocks and funds. The hard-earned first pot of gold evaporated in the lies of consumption upgrading. $BTC $ETH #巨鲸动向