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1. Transitioning from Living Paycheck to Paycheck to Saving Ten Thousand a Month#

However, when it comes to saving, one should not learn from Xixi~ In the fourth lesson of Jianqi's introductory financial management course, it was mentioned that the saving methods taught in "The Dog Money Money's Dad Teaches You to Achieve Financial Freedom" include:

1. Saving 10% of your monthly income is a forced saving that won't affect your life, but it is your golden goose; the earlier you start nurturing it, the bigger and faster it will grow.

2. At the end of the year, you can save 50% and reward yourself with the other 50%.

3. When you get a raise, save 50% of the increase. For example, if your monthly salary was 4000 last year and you saved 400 each month, and this year your salary is 5000, then you should save 400 + 500 = 900 yuan each month. This will train your self-discipline by ensuring that your enjoyment of life increases at a slower pace than your income.

I inadvertently saw Jianqi's recommendation on Duokan and noticed so many inspiring kids; if you don't manage your finances, your finances won't manage you. So, this year, I must make myself grow. I'm not good at writing this kind of article; I always feel my thoughts are a bit chaotic, but let's encourage each other. My financial management philosophy is always about appropriate frugality and primarily increasing income. When you're young, you shouldn't suffer; should you wait until you're old to suffer?

I graduated in 2010 with zero savings, so all my accumulation started from working. I've been in Shanghai for almost eight years now.

During college, I only worked as a tutor and a typist, and I also helped my aunt watch the door. However, my mom was quite strict; when I told her how much I earned in a month, my living expenses for that month would be 800 yuan minus what I earned. Plus, I love to travel; even if I was so broke that I only had 200 yuan left for food in a month, I still wanted to go out and explore. This has been a dream I've accumulated since childhood.

I started my internship in May 2010 (in the Huaihai Zhonglu CBD), earning 100 yuan a day. At that time, I thought I had never had so much money. To save on meals, I specifically went home to learn cooking since my family runs a restaurant, so I learned a few signature dishes in just a few days. I could manage eight dishes and a soup without any problem, haha.

However, when you add up the rent and because I had to work, I wanted to buy more clothes. At that time, I was relatively thin, so I lost control. I even went to a beauty salon to get a card and particularly enjoyed getting my nails done, and I bought a bunch of cosmetics, which are now basically expired.

In my first year of work, I was broke and even in debt. In the second year, I saved about 20,000 yuan, and in the third year, I saved about 50,000 yuan. By the beginning of the third year, I started saving 10,000 yuan a month (except for large expenses). The rest isn't important; let me talk about my state each year.

In the first year, I was excited to start working, but I was also reckless. I wanted to travel and attend training sessions, earning over 4,000 a month, but I couldn't figure out where all the money went. The end result was that I owed my roommate 2,000 yuan, ending that miserable year. I even went to Japan and places like Wuyuan.

In the second year, I was a bit more restrained, but I still traveled to Yunnan (with my sister), Hong Kong, and Cambodia, not counting short trips, which added up. Plus, I had to pay for my sister's tuition and living expenses. By the time the New Year came around, I had saved 20,000 yuan. I started to restrain myself in the first half of the second year and became obsessed with learning Excel.

In the third year, I went to Yunnan again, rode around Qinghai Lake, and visited Xiamen. On weekends, I climbed mountains and rode around Qiandao Lake or camped by the sea. However, aside from the necessary expenses I felt I had to spend, my spending wasn't too high because I became obsessed with learning Excel in the second half of the second year, which reduced my expenses and increased my travel. I also wrote a book in the latter half of the year, and instead of exploding in silence, I perished in silence, and I exploded, having a lot of fun. After that, I felt I needed to get serious and started my fourth year journey.

P.S. My sister's tuition is 10,000 a year, living expenses are 1,200 a month, plus accommodation costs of 1,200, train tickets home every year, and money for new clothes each year. My mom made me pay this amount to prevent me from spending recklessly, and once my sister graduates, she will give me a lump sum of 100,000.

In the fourth year, when the third year ended and the fourth year began, I learned a bit and was lucky enough to take on some freelance work. My salary also increased a bit, and if I worked overtime, I could earn around 14,000 a month, so I saved 10,000. My sister's expenses were 1,200, my rent was 1,000, and then 1,800 was enough for living.

In the first half of the fourth year, I was preparing for an exam, and the exam and training fees totaled over 6,000. During that half-year, my other expenses were relatively low. For such an expensive exam, I worked very hard to prepare. Because of my hard work, I did gain a bit; the teachers at the training institution even took photos of us during class for promotion, and I made quite a few ambitious friends. Because besides the exam, I also had to work and do freelance work, I was extremely busy, busy to the point of having no time to go out. In the second half of 2013, I managed to fulfill a small dream of mine, cycling around Qinghai Lake, so whenever someone invited me to do something, I refused.

In the middle of the fourth year, my book was published, and in a month, it sold over 2,500 copies, and when it was settled, I received about 3,500.

Now, it's the last few months of the fourth year. This year, there have been several large expenses: one is learning to drive, which costs about 7,000, and then there's dental correction, which costs about 8,000. My skin isn't great, so I decided to make a complete change, so I went to a beauty salon and got a card for 4,500. At the beginning of the year, my sister came to Shanghai, and we bought new clothes for the New Year, which was a bit crazy. Fortunately, I got a double salary at the end of the year, so I managed to get through it, continuing to maintain a saving of 10,000 a month. In the second month, due to unexpected income, I managed to balance my income and expenses, but there was no surplus left, sigh~

In March, I went hiking and cycled around Chongming Island. Local trips are manageable, but for international travel, I can only rely on the company.

Learning about financial management: This year, I started paying attention to various financial management topics and found that I am also growing. At least, I am not a person who spends money recklessly by nature, and I also have a money-conscious mom. All my money is in my mom's hands, and I do business with friends, earning a small profit, and when it matures, I can directly renew it. My sister will graduate from university next year, and counting interest and my savings, plus the money my mom is preparing for my sister, it should be around 200,000.

In fact, my salary has been rising normally, and my performance in the company is quite high. As for my freelance income, it is a long-term accumulation, and this freelance work has lasted for seven or eight months. The royalties I earned were from my year of the zodiac, and I felt I had to do something, which was also a result of my previous year's accumulation that allowed me to seize this opportunity. Royalties are based on royalties, so as long as the book is still selling, I will basically have a steady income. However, the lifespan of this book should only be three to five years. (Hehe, I should write a new book next year.)

I have always wanted to manage my finances myself rather than being forced by my mom to save money. This month, I paid off my credit card and rent, so I consider it starting from zero.

I often have times when I spend recklessly, but as a Taurus, there is a bottom line to my reckless spending. For example, when I receive royalties, after I force myself to save 10,000, I can spend a little freely, and it's all okay.

Regarding annual travel, my consistent thought has been that I would rather travel than eat when I have no money. In fact, traveling can be quite economical. For instance, cycling around Qinghai Lake, I took five days off, and the total trip was nine days, including round-trip train tickets, costing about 1,900 in total. However, I fulfilled a small dream of mine. As for Hong Kong, I stayed at a friend's house, which saved me a lot of money. It was also nine days: four days in Hong Kong, one day in Macau, two days in Shenzhen, and two days in Guangzhou. I like this kind of travel, seeing different cities and different people, observing how they grow in different environments and how people live in another world. I love reading; there are many worlds in books, but if you don't place yourself in such a world, it's hard to experience that feeling. Maybe I really can't let go; it's impossible to drop everything and run to live in a city, but at least I can leave my footprints in these places and observe other people's worlds.

P.S.: Last year, I also realized that Taobao is a bottomless pit. In fact, spending a little money to buy a bunch of things has lowered my quality of life. My favorite clothes are basically bought in malls, while many things bought on Taobao have been left untouched.

Supplement: I saw someone earlier asking how to get freelance work, and I felt particularly inspired. I didn't know before, but when you become strong in a certain field, it naturally becomes easier. Although I am still weaker compared to many people, I have made a lot of progress compared to my former self~~

I learned Excel for half a year, Word for a month, and then started teaching online for half a year. I just happened to help the site owner with something, and when the forum wanted to publish a book, they said I could join because I had helped a lot. However, publishing a book doesn't really earn much; most people lose money when publishing a book~

I hung around the forum for more than half a year, and by chance, I helped the site owner solve a moderator's departure issue. At that time, I was just playing in Xiamen, chatting with the site owner until three in the morning, and finally got both sides to agree!

I studied information security, and I have always been good at learning computer software, but I had never studied something so diligently before. I used to have a short attention span, so I never accomplished much, but this is something I have persevered in studying for two years, and I will continue to do so.

At that time, I was so obsessed that while others were watching movies and sleeping at noon, I was watching tutorials, doing homework, and solving problems. I can hardly imagine what state I was in back then. After going through such a small transformation, I feel that those motivational stories are indeed true; it's just that the level of effort and the platforms differ!

2. How Can Young Professionals Manage Their Finances?#

This is a very interesting question, and I believe most young people have such doubts. In our process of reading Jianqi's financial management, we are also constantly exploring what our first step in financial management should be... This is a very interesting question, and I believe most young people have such doubts. In our process of reading Jianqi's financial management, we are also constantly exploring what our first step in financial management should be...

This is a very interesting question, and I believe most young people have such doubts.

In our process of reading Jianqi's financial management, we are also constantly exploring how to take our first step in financial management. Below are some discussion results with everyone; you are welcome to try, and we also welcome you to share your insights after trying~

First, you need to have clear and quantifiable goals, as this will be your motivation to persist in the future. After the initial novelty wears off, we will find that financial management is a long-term, sometimes even a bit tedious task because in this process, you need to keep learning, practicing, and you will face some failures. You need to have the motivation to stand up, dust yourself off, and keep moving forward.

We see that the most frequently mentioned goals are: on a larger scale, it could be achieving xx yuan in investable assets by xx years old to reach financial freedom; starting a business in xx years and accumulating xx yuan in startup capital; on a smaller scale, a girl earning 3,000 yuan a month hopes to take her grandfather on a plane for a domestic trip within the next two years, costing around 8,000 to 10,000 yuan, or a young man with an annual salary of 100,000 yuan hopes to travel to Europe for half a year within five years, costing around 180,000 yuan.

So, first think clearly about what you hope to achieve by when, how much money you need to do this (of course, it should exceed what you can easily afford).

Second, clarify your financial situation, your current asset and liability situation, and your spending and saving situation. Just like a marathon, once you know where the goal is and how far away it is, you need to see how far you have already run and what your running speed is.

Your current asset and liability situation is equivalent to how far you have run in this marathon. Your spending and saving situation is your running speed.

One very important action here is keeping accounts. So many times, we say that keeping accounts is the first step in financial management. There are several popular accounting apps on the market; you can choose one based on your habits and then keep accounts continuously for at least three months to clarify the above issues.

Third, based on the self-check above, formulate your financial investment plan.

After self-checking, if you find the goal is too easy or too difficult to achieve, adjust the amount or completion time.

If you find that the goal cannot be achieved based on your current income and expenditure situation, but if you can optimize your income and expenditure, there is still hope for completion? Then calculate how much you need to increase your income and reduce your expenditure to achieve your goal. Then look for ways to achieve it.

Increasing income may come from salary increases or bonuses, either in the current position or through promotions, or even by changing jobs.

It may also be through adjusting financial investment strategies and combinations to achieve higher returns.

Speaking of this, I would like to share a core concept with everyone: for young people, the best investment is always investing in yourself!

In several previous questions, we mentioned that a 5% return on national bonds is not difficult, but a 10% annualized investment return is not an easy task. The time and energy required to achieve this, when your investable funds are below 1 million, the absolute return increase generated, for example, 50,000, may not be as good as the salary increase brought by investing time and energy in self-learning and business improvement.

We previously chatted with a senior executive of a listed company, and his advice was that for the vast majority of young people, within the first five years of starting work, the income growth brought by work is more important than the income growth brought by investment and financial management. Therefore, balancing investing in yourself and fiddling with that meager principal is a more suitable method.

In youth, focusing on self-improvement while accumulating principal is a more appropriate approach.

Fourth point: How to start practical financial management operations? In your question, you asked whether to hand it over to others (funds) or learn it yourself, and what aspects to learn if you choose to learn it yourself. This question itself is worth discussing.

Even if you plan to invest all your money in funds, do you not need to learn anything? Do you know the different types of funds? Do you know how to select funds? Do you know that in China, public fund companies make money through management fees (so scale is the most important), not through profitability (but this can affect long-term rankings and thus affect future scale)? Who is responsible for your investment results? In the end, it's only you! So, of course, you need to learn, whether you ultimately decide to hand your money over to funds for management or do it yourself.

If I were to directly answer your question about a financial management plan, you at least need to learn how to optimize daily consumption; knowledge about credit cards will be very helpful to you; you need to learn how to choose a suitable insurance plan, understand what social security you already have, and then improve your own and your family's commercial insurance; then learn which financial management methods are relatively safer and more convenient, that can yield returns exceeding the inflation rate without taking too much of your time and energy, allowing your assets to at least not depreciate. For example, national bonds, money market funds, bonds, bond funds, bank wealth management, etc. After learning all these, you can consider learning about higher-risk and higher-return varieties, conducting small-scale trials, and accumulating experience.

Finally, let me give a simplified example:

Assuming we have a friend who has always aimed for space travel as a five-year goal. From the information collected so far, a space trip costs about 600,000 yuan. He currently has savings of 100,000 yuan in a fixed deposit. His annual income is 300,000 yuan, and his annual expenditure is about 250,000 yuan, leaving him with only 50,000 yuan to save. If this is the case, he can save a maximum of 387,000 yuan in five years, still short by 223,000 yuan.

What to do?

Through accounting practices, he finds that he spends at least 20,000 yuan more each year (he should normally achieve a savings rate of 40% or more).

He expects to be promoted this year, estimating that his annual salary will increase by 30,000 yuan.

He plans to transfer the money in his fixed deposit to a bank wealth management product with a return of around 5%.

In this way, after five years, his expected savings can reach 680,000 yuan, achieving his grand goal without pressure, and leaving an 80,000 yuan buffer to solve urgent problems.

Is it Unreliable for Salary Workers to Invest and Get Rich?#

Is it unreliable for salary workers to invest and get rich? Let's discuss this topic. Recently, there has been a heated discussion about financial freedom in the snowball community. From what I see from the investment experts in my circle, if it's not through entrepreneurship, they generally do not support or agree with achieving financial freedom through investment... Let's discuss this topic. Recently, there has been a heated discussion about financial freedom in the snowball community. From what I see from the investment experts in my circle, if it's not through entrepreneurship, they generally do not support or agree with achieving financial freedom through investment...

Let's discuss this topic. Recently, there has been a heated discussion about financial freedom in the snowball community. From what I see from the investment experts in my circle, if it's not through entrepreneurship, they generally do not support or agree with achieving financial freedom through investment, believing the probability is low and the possibility is small. Instead, it seems easier to achieve by working hard, becoming a top performer, earning a salary of over a hundred thousand, and getting year-end bonuses of tens of thousands.

I can understand the good intentions of the experts in my circle. However, from my practical perspective, it is really not easy to climb the ladder through work, stepping on others to become a top performer, or navigating the complexities of interests to become a big player in the industry, enjoying high salaries and living in big houses. Even in high-cost, high-consumption Shenzhen, the proportion of the total population that can earn a salary of several hundred thousand is extremely small. This truly represents the elite class.

For ordinary people, the clean income achievable through hard work, adjusted for inflation, is now only about 200,000 to 300,000 a year. Correspondingly, this is the clear income of government officials at the county level—ordinary civil servants who work hard, have some luck, and can still do their jobs. Of course, many people cannot even reach this level.

From my observation, excluding those who have succeeded in entrepreneurship, most of the people I know with assets over ten million have achieved this through investment. Many ordinary salary workers only have a source for their living expenses due to their income, or they accepted original shares during task assignments, or they were introduced to the stock market and became shareholders, or they participated in some projects; or they bought houses when prices were low or were marketed into buying houses, and then improved their living conditions by buying larger houses, or bought school district houses for their children...

Shenzhen people have a relatively strong investment awareness, and there are some basic financial literacy. Wherever the returns are high, money flows there. The places where money is drawn in also align with the direction of social development. Work is not lost; buy a house when it's time to buy a house, invest when it's time to invest, and if you get caught in a trap, you just have to deal with it. Ultimately, this turns cash flow into assets, and assets generate cash flow, continuously rolling from small to large, from little to much...

Of course, the examples above do not imply that buying a house now is the right investment. In terms of investment philosophy, one should form their own basic investment perspective. At the very least, it should be expressed as an understanding that now is not a good time to invest in buying houses. Currently, among the working population around me, young, middle-aged, and older individuals all have their own preferences for financial products. For example, in the stock market, it is often found that there are stocks worth several tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions. Of course, there are many "investors" who are trapped, but they are determined not to sell until they see profits. Being trapped is just part of a bear market, isn't it?

The advantage of ordinary salary workers sticking to investing is that they can continue to work and earn their salaries, eat and drink as they please. The money is in their control, and their time is also their own. The invested assets will yield some dividends, rent, dividends, or other returns every year. If it drops or gets trapped? They can afford to wait. If they have spare money, they might even add more.

You don't manage your finances, and your finances won't manage you. This saying still holds some truth. From what I've seen, the asset appreciation process of many ordinary salary workers in Shenzhen is actually based on a basic cost-benefit ratio concept, but just like this, by persisting in investing, exploring in practice, and participating in investment, or sharing in the dividends of the entire social reform and development.

With assets of over ten million, the cash flow generated by the assets is enough to sustain a living. This may also be basic financial freedom. Of course, those with millions in assets still go to work, those who are just passing time still pass time, and those who enjoy life still enjoy life. If they rely solely on their salaries, let alone themselves, even their leaders, or even their leaders' leaders' salaries, accumulated over decades of work, would not be enough to reach this number.

Indeed, this is an opportunity given by the development of the times. This era is so wonderful; why miss it? In Shenzhen, many ordinary salary workers dare to invest and try, and then, in their 40s, they have achieved or realized what is called "financial freedom" in terms of asset standards.

Society is advancing, and in a great era, there are great opportunities. Is the feast of the capital market really unsuitable for salary workers?!

Continuing to share in the morning. Last night I said some observations, so I will continue to share feelings or insights. I haven't organized it, so I'll use a "white cloud style," writing down whatever comes to mind. Please forgive any logical inconsistencies.

1. In a great era, there are great opportunities. Investing is a good way to participate in and share the overall development results of the economy and society. We don't need to be self-restricted, missing out on the capital feast as mere spectators.

2. Overall, this is the era of capital. The Chinese are generally very diligent and have a strong saving consciousness. But looking at Hong Kong, one can feel that becoming a top performer or an elite in the workplace is still a very small number. However, among the working population, those with investment awareness and planning and those without this awareness and planning will have a significant difference in living standards after one or two decades, especially during retirement. Hong Kong has a high average income, and the social security system is very complete, but even those who have worked their whole lives may only have limited pensions to fight against inflation, leading to a relatively poor life. "Christmas bell, buy HSBC," ordinary Hong Kong people who dare to participate in the capital market, after experiencing the baptism of capital, also generally have a basic investment perspective, where value rules become dominant, and high-quality blue chips are long favored. In such an environment, those who persist over the long term generally have a certain capital accumulation. Thus, many elderly women who have never made big money in their lives have considerable wealth and can enjoy their old age peacefully, which is the result of long-term investment accumulation.

3. Having investment awareness and not having investment awareness makes a big difference. Therefore, appropriate participation is necessary. Moreover, starting early is really not a big deal. There is no need to exclude investment opportunities outside of work. In a developed market economy, following the returns, the flow of money often aligns with the trends of social development.

4. Whether working or investing, it is not either-or; there is no need to absolutely separate the two. Both have different paths to realization, but both aim for a better life, for oneself and one's family to be happier and to enjoy dignity and respect.

5. Of course, salary workers participating in investments must recognize their characteristics as salary workers or small investors. Life comes first, work and repair, do not gamble, do not risk your life, do not bet your life, and have the necessary risk awareness; investments should still use surplus funds for investment, thus also possessing long-term, safety, and stability; in terms of returns pursued, focus on relative certainty, steady income, and long-term persistence can yield considerable results.

6. Ordinary investors can also do well in investing; the key is to form a relatively correct value perspective and an investment system that can adapt to the market. Then, persist, adjust, evolve, and improve appropriately. — To reiterate, salary workers should grit their teeth and do what they should do when the tide rises (group following is not about chasing high prices at the top), and they will always be able to share in the glory when the tide rises.

7. Salary workers do not seek to gamble on something for a chance at overnight wealth. Over a longer period, there are always many investment opportunities. It is not limited to any one type in the housing market or stock market. Each has its own path, and each has its own practice.

8. Ordinary salary workers, regardless of which type of investment they participate in, must be clear that investment is still about buying assets, and there is a high probability of relatively certain returns with a suitable cost-benefit ratio. Of course, it is also necessary to understand that work is still the basic guarantee of life, and a continuous cash flow is really too important for investment.

9. Do not be particularly afraid of making mistakes. Many people in Shenzhen who invested in real estate in the late 90s suffered from heavy losses in real estate, and some even bought at high prices and were trapped for ten years. Of course, from an investment strategy perspective, there are places worth reflecting on. But there is a group of grassroots investors who got trapped but persisted. Even if the house is trapped, there is still rental income. Then, just leave it there. At worst, you can write off the loss. As long as you continue to invest your spare money, there will always be a place where you can turn your fortunes around. A few years later, they hit the bottom of the housing market, and then there was more than a decade of a real estate bull market. While young, learning some lessons is good; this is also experience and wealth for moving forward. Of course, whether one can turn lessons into wealth also depends on individual practice.

10. The advantage of salary workers investing lies in their leisure, freedom, flexibility, and long-term nature. There is no need to risk their entire fortune, no need to fight for their lives, and they can also avoid competing with others. For the market or the big players, or other so-called main forces, they should persist in arming themselves with investment concepts, adhere to their values, and earn money they understand. No matter how strong or crazy others are, they should continue to invest, participate, and share in the development dividends. The wheel of fortune turns, and it will eventually come to my house. Then, just do what you should do. Isn't that good?!

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Continuation 2: I'm back, continuing to share.

The topic of financial freedom is indeed very easy to spark heated discussions. Also, discussing this topic is not to refute or prove anything, but to illustrate that ordinary salary workers can follow the trend of the times, make good investment plans, cherish wealth opportunities, and dare to participate, and they can also shine.

For example, in the teachings of @DAVID Freedom Road, many low-risk investment methods suitable for salary workers are shared. Such opportunities have relatively good certainty, lower risks, and also decent returns. As long as you pay attention, there are still opportunities.

Let me specifically talk about what I have seen and felt. The core of this section may be the "participation and sharing" of ordinary salary workers, but it has not been logically sorted out in detail, so I ask for your understanding.

1. Ordinary salary workers, for various reasons, are not many who can start businesses, and even fewer succeed in entrepreneurship. From the perspective of the great era, investment is participation, sharing the dividends of the era's development. From a personal perspective, investment is also a form of entrepreneurship, where we put our own money into supporting specific people, companies, or units, sharing risks to a certain extent, and sharing returns to a certain extent.

2. Investing in good companies, good management, and good prices can be understood from another angle as investing in the right people or following the right people at a suitable price or one with a safety margin. This is also a relatively suitable way for ordinary salary workers to participate.

3. This society is so open; why should we be self-restricted? The trend of social class solidification is very obvious. A clear overall feeling in society is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to move up. Even in Western societies, structural issues are also very evident. However, investment can allow us ordinary salary workers to participate in social interactions and development.

4. Having dreams means having a future. Work and investment are not contradictory; they can even promote each other. Based on work, we can better understand the opportunities around us, and based on investment, we can have a more stable mindset to do our jobs. Moreover, we can notice that many salary workers with investment awareness tend to have a more positive attitude towards life, have more thoughts about future life, and have expectations and hopes. They also plan well and have good self-control.

5. It is even more interesting that becoming an industry elite is indeed not easy, but it can allow the best companies in your industry to create value for you, thus sharing the opportunities of industry development. Take Ping An Insurance as an example; it is so excellent that it has also long-term invested in its competitor, China Life, sharing the large market cake of the entire insurance industry.

6. In the field of public investment, whether in the housing market or the stock market, it is a relatively equal place. It may be more suitable for ordinary people to achieve asset evolution. For example, in the stock market, there are always a large number of investment opportunities, which are open and public, and there are certain logic or rules. It just depends on whether one can seize and hold onto them. Of course, aside from luck, this requires a relatively complete system, methods that adapt to the market, and a certain willpower.

7. Furthermore, investment does not necessarily have to rely on gambling; it is not necessarily zero-sum, nor must it be a life-and-death struggle. Each has its own path, and there are many successful cases of coexisting and sharing. Buffett's neighbors in his small town may not understand advanced stock investment techniques or basic knowledge of corporate analysis, but by supporting Buffett and investing in him, they have also achieved wealth evolution. — For ordinary people like us, although we may not become elites in the social class, through investment, standing in the right position and following the right people,

8. The stock market is not necessarily a place where smart people battle against foolish ones. Each profession has its specialization, but the overall intelligence and responsiveness of fund managers are generally higher than that of the average group, yet their investment returns overall are still not as good as index investment. Just as @DAVID Freedom Road has taught, this market still has many investment opportunities with strong certainty and stable returns, and there are also many low-risk investment methods suitable for salary workers. If you don't manage your finances, your finances won't manage you—ask yourself, have you participated?

9. The Hong Kong stock market is a highly developed international professional market. Has this market eliminated ordinary investors who insist on long-term investment? "Christmas bell, buy HSBC," refers to many elderly amateur investors who insist on value investing and long-term investment, each with their own path, and they are also thriving. On the contrary, many speculative professional institutions and professional investors have been eliminated by the market. Therefore, now, themes and concepts in the Hong Kong market are not easy to hype because they cannot fool the followers.

10. Finally, what I want to say is that money can provide financial security for a dignified and decent life; however, a happy life is not necessarily guaranteed by money.

Continuation 3: Concise Version

The above three sections are densely packed with text, repetitive and verbose, and I guess many people find it tiring to read (perhaps the original, authentic version has its own significance). It does not conform to the modern fast-reading characteristics, so finally, I will send a concise version.

In a great era, there are great opportunities. Investing, from a macro perspective, is a good way to participate in and share the overall development results of the economy and society. We should understand, accept, and participate with an open mind; from a personal perspective, investing with our own input is also participating in social entrepreneurship, supporting development, and sharing the dividends brought by the growth of enterprises, achieving the preservation and appreciation of personal assets in this process. Participation and sharing are one of the driving rules of economic and social development.

Financial management is also a kind of planning and self-control for life. If you don't manage your finances, your finances won't manage you. For ordinary people, having a life plan and not having one will make a significant difference as time goes on. In this process, financial freedom is just a goal; what is important is that we can participate with an open attitude, follow the trend of the times, either improve ourselves or stand in the right position with the right people, achieving asset appreciation while providing relatively good financial security for improving our own and our family's lives, thus avoiding the pressure of having to bear for money.

Let's strive for financial freedom, even if it is just a goal. But a life with dreams is always full of hope. Recognize yourself, prioritize life, work, invest, and repair, do not gamble, do not risk your entire fortune, do not bet your life, persist in investing with surplus funds, focus on certainty, focus on cost-benefit ratios, and maintain long-term, safety, and stability. Steady income, reinvested dividends, and long-term persistence can yield considerable results. Even we salary workers can achieve this. Let's work hard for freedom, just like the experience of the pioneer Yang: there are still more wonderful worlds and lives waiting for us to appreciate and experience.

A Simple and Understandable Guide to the Five Insurances and One Fund#

I once heard a friend from Shanghai say that after giving birth, the subsidies and social security amounted to several tens of thousands, which made me look at the benefits of social security with new eyes.
So, take 3 minutes to understand what kind of protection you should enjoy, and then read the recommended extended reading articles to fully understand and utilize the existing social security system. This is also a good way to live a better life while being frugal~

Author: Jianqi's financial reading partner, Misu

Hello everyone, we are the family of the five insurances and one fund. In the eyes of many people, we are "mysterious beauty," seemingly useful, but not quite clear on how to use them.

The state has done us this favor, so everyone should pay attention to their own interests. Let's introduce ourselves.

According to legal regulations, companies should pay for our five insurances and one fund.

1. What are the five insurances and one fund? When can they come to your bowl?

(1) Big Brother: Pension Insurance

As the name suggests, when you retire and enter old age, I will come to your bowl. However, many articles from Jianqi's financial reading have told you not to overestimate my ability. Generally speaking, after N years of inflation, relying solely on the retirement salary I provide to maintain your living standards is not feasible.

In addition, everyone must pay attention to accumulating pension insurance for at least 15 years before retirement; otherwise, you can only receive the portion you paid, losing the opportunity to share a piece of the national pension fund.

(2) Second Brother: Medical Insurance

You can find me for daily medical visits and medication. In addition, if your medical expenses exceed a certain amount while hospitalized within the specified range, you can also enjoy medical insurance reimbursement.

Moreover, everyone must pay attention to:

1. Medical insurance will no longer enjoy reimbursement benefits three months after payments stop. After resuming payments, you need to pay continuously for six months to enjoy hospitalization reimbursement and other medical insurance benefits again. Therefore, those who do not pay medical insurance for a long time are advised to pay for social security personally or purchase a commercial health insurance policy.

(The information pushed on WeChat that medical insurance will no longer enjoy benefits after the 15th of the next month after stopping payments is incorrect.)

2. Currently, many places require that a certain number of years (e.g., 20 years) of medical insurance must be accumulated before retirement to enjoy medical insurance benefits. In some regions, to enjoy social security, you must also accumulate a certain period of medical insurance in that area. For example, in Shenzhen, you must meet the conditions of accumulating medical insurance for 25 years and paying social security in Shenzhen for 15 years before you can enjoy medical insurance benefits after retirement.

(3) Third Sister: Maternity Insurance

When you give birth (for females) or when your wife gives birth (for males, yes, males also have maternity insurance and maternity leave), I will come to your bowl. You can enjoy maternity medical expenses, maternity allowances, and maternity leave benefits.

Everyone must have paid maternity insurance for at least one year at their workplace to enjoy these benefits. In addition, if you are wealthy and give birth in a private hospital, you cannot enjoy maternity insurance.

(4) Fourth Brother: Unemployment Insurance

As the name suggests, you can find me when you are unemployed. Of course, I know you don't want to find me. The conditions for receiving unemployment insurance are not easy:

1. Like maternity insurance, you and your unit must have paid unemployment insurance for at least one year before unemployment;

2. You must be unemployed for reasons beyond your control, so voluntarily resigning does not qualify for benefits;

3. You must register for unemployment within 60 days after losing your job.

Even if you remain unemployed, you cannot receive unemployment insurance indefinitely; there is a time limit, and you can receive it for a maximum of two years. You will also be required to participate in re-employment training continuously. Finally, the unemployment benefits you receive each month are also quite meager, so everyone should work hard and be self-reliant.

(5) Fifth Brother: Work Injury Insurance

Although you may not like me, as a member of the social security family, I still want to introduce myself. When a worker suffers an accidental injury or contracts an occupational disease during work, temporarily or permanently losing their ability to work, or even unfortunately dies, they can come to me. I will provide material compensation to the worker, and the dependents of the worker who died due to work will also receive compensation from unemployment insurance.

A peculiar point is that for work-related deaths, the worker must die within 48 hours after being treated to be covered by work injury insurance...

(6) Little Sister: Housing Provident Fund

I am the little sister in the family of five insurances and one fund—the Housing Provident Fund, a popular darling. You can take me home when buying a house, renovating, renting, or even when leaving a job or retiring. In addition, paying into the Housing Provident Fund can also apply for housing provident fund loans at very favorable interest rates, which is great.

2. How are the five insurances and one fund paid? Who pockets the money?

The specific amounts for social security contributions vary by region, but the overall approach is similar, roughly as follows:

(1) Pension Insurance:

How to pay:

1. Individuals pay 8% of the local average wage of employees from the previous year. If your salary is higher than this average, it is calculated based on your average salary, all of which goes into your personal account (you start receiving it upon retirement);

2. The unit pays 20%, which goes into the pooled account, meaning that the more the unit pays does not necessarily mean you will receive more in the future.

How much to receive:

For those who started working after 1997, the monthly pension after retirement is calculated by adding two parts:

1. Basic pension: determined based on the average wage of employees in the locality at the time of retirement and your years of contribution (from the pooled account);

2. Personal pension: determined based on your personal contribution amount and your retirement age (from your personal account).

(2) Medical Insurance

How to pay: Individuals pay about 2% + a small amount (generally a few yuan per month) for major illness insurance, while the unit pays about 8%—10%.

How much to receive:

1. All the medical insurance paid by individuals and the part paid by the unit (for example, in some places, it is 30%) is returned to the individual's medical insurance card each year, which can be used to buy medicine and see a doctor.

2. Medical expenses that meet certain conditions can be reimbursed from the pooled fund.

(3) Maternity Insurance

How to pay: Fully paid by the enterprise, with the enterprise's contribution generally around 0.5%—1%.

How much to receive: Maternity-related examination fees, delivery fees, surgical fees, hospitalization fees, and medication can be reimbursed by maternity insurance. However, medical service fees and medication fees that exceed the stipulated amount cannot be reimbursed. In addition, medical expenses incurred due to diseases arising from childbirth can also be reimbursed by maternity insurance.

Reference:

(4) Unemployment Insurance

How to pay: Individuals pay 0.2—1%, while units pay around 2%, with different regulations in different regions.

How much to receive: Unemployment insurance is generally set according to the local minimum living guarantee level, and the duration of benefits varies based on work and the years of unemployment insurance paid.

(5) Work Injury Insurance

How to pay: Fully paid by the unit, with the contribution rate varying based on the level of danger in the industry, generally between 0.5%—2%.

How much to receive: Different reimbursement and compensation ratios based on the severity of the work injury.

(6) Provident Fund

How to pay: Both individuals and units contribute 12% (12% + 12%).

How much to receive: All contributions from individuals and units go into the personal account, which is all ours, which is great. However, if the provident fund remains dormant in the account for a long time, the interest loss can be quite frustrating.

3. Other Information

4. Local social security bureau phone numbers: area code + 12333

It is strongly recommended that everyone ask their unit's human resources department and the local social security bureau for any social security-related questions. Because the situation of the five insurances and one fund varies greatly by region, calling for inquiries is convenient and accurate.

How to Achieve Financial Freedom#

Let's talk about financial freedom again! Recently, I've been chatting with a few friends and have seen too many people have overly high expectations of getting rich in the stock market, treating it as the only path to financial freedom. Although a large part of our family's wealth... Recently, I've been chatting with a few friends and have seen too many people have overly high expectations of getting rich in the stock market, treating it as the only path to financial freedom. Although a large part of our family's wealth...

Recently, I've been chatting with a few friends and have seen too many people have overly high expectations of getting rich in the stock market, treating it as the only path to financial freedom. Although a large part of our family's wealth comes from the stock market, and we have achieved basic financial freedom relying on the stock market, I still want to talk about new views on financial freedom. Everyone has a dream of financial freedom, hoping to have the ability to retire early before the age of 35 or 40 and live the life they want. Of course, in any country, very few people can achieve this. To achieve this goal, there are roughly the following methods.

1. Entrepreneurship
   I believe this is the fastest way to achieve financial freedom—entrepreneurship. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates was worth 2.5 billion dollars at 35, Google CEO Larry Page was worth 16.6 billion dollars at 35, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was worth nearly 30 billion dollars at 30. They achieved financial freedom at rocket speed, and even the best investors cannot compare. Even Warren Buffett only approached such a level of wealth after 60.

The same goes for China; Tencent's Ma Huateng, Shanda's Chen Tianqiao, and JD.com's Liu Qiangdong all achieved financial freedom before the age of 35. Jumei Youpin's Chen Ou was worth over 1 billion dollars at 30.
Of course, the people mentioned above are top entrepreneurs, and there are many ordinary entrepreneurs who may not go public but are acquired by a listed company, instantly becoming worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions.

2. Join a big brother's startup
   Even if you are not the entrepreneur, if you are among the top 100 employees of these companies, you can also achieve financial freedom before the age of 35.

3. Investment

Assuming financial freedom requires 5 million, a student graduating at 22 saves 500,000 after three years of work, and then invests for 10 years to achieve a tenfold return, then by 35, he will have 5 million. If the initial capital is only 100,000, then he must achieve a fiftyfold return in 10 years.

Comparatively, achieving the dream of financial freedom through the stock market is the most difficult, especially for young people who choose to invest professionally too early.

From my own experience, I started working in 2002, and after graduation, my spouse and I had relatively high salaries. Even so, it took nearly ten years to reach financial freedom. To be honest, I am not a successful person; when I was young, I didn't work very hard and always thought I could rely on investment for financial freedom. It wasn't until 2010 that I realized I couldn't neglect my career, and I worked hard, which indeed had an effect. In the following two years, my salary doubled, but it was a bit late. Due to neglecting investment during that time, I suffered significant losses in 2011, losing several times my annual salary. It was precisely because my asset scale was large enough that I decided to live freely afterward. On one hand, I relied on low-risk investments to ensure that my family could live without worry even without a cash flow from work. On the other hand, I liberated myself to engage in some high-risk industries. The high-risk I refer to means giving up a stable job with a salary of 300,000 to engage in uncertain future endeavors that may yield no returns, such as spending time writing a book titled "The Path to Low-Risk Investment."

I do have some talent in stock market investment, achieving a twelvefold return over ten years, but even so, those mid-level employees in entrepreneurial companies who received stock options still surpass me. This is not a comparison I want to make; it is simply a factual statement. Therefore, for young graduates, even if you want financial freedom, there is no need to take this path.

Why do I advocate low-risk investments? Because low-risk investments can best balance investment and real business. If I had always engaged in high-risk investments, my family's assets would have been on a roller coaster. I can assure you that I would have lost interest in working. It is precisely because I have engaged in low-risk investments that although I have not excelled in my career over 11 years, I have not fallen behind others.

So, I genuinely advise young people to focus their energy on their careers and invest in low-risk options; this way, it is easier to achieve financial freedom. Of course, if you feel particularly talented, you can also become a professional investor. However, I believe that excellent professional investors should engage in private equity, increasing their wealth through helping others make money, which is similar to entrepreneurs seeking angel investments.

If you have little capital and still think you can achieve financial freedom solely by rolling your own money into a snowball, it's time to wake up. In 2007, I saw many stock gods; some turned 20,000 yuan into 600,000 yuan, achieving a 30-fold return in a year. Impressive, right? But so what? That's just someone else's annual bonus.

===============================================
Below are some of my thoughts on financial freedom from two years ago, for your reference.
I am a professional investor web link

Talking about financial freedom [web link](http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4dd330190100y7y9.html "http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4dd330190100y7y9.html”)

The Secrets of Installment Payments You Might Not Know!#

Interest rate traps? The secrets of installment payments you might not know! Ring ring ring~~ “Hello, Jianqi, this is Lele! Long time no see!” The last time we met to talk about financial management was several months ago. After the Spring Festival, my friends have all gained weight and are ready to plan another foodie journey! Arriving at the legendary X cuisine, Jianqi and Lele chose the sea bream in the pool, sitting on a big boat, enjoying fresh sashimi while chatting.

Jianqi's financial reading
(WeChat ID: jane7ducai)
Original and straightforward!

“Jianqi, I have a rich friend who is very interested in the recently praised Tesla, which costs 704,000 yuan in China, and he is preparing to buy it! So cool!”

While eating, Jianqi sighed, “Indeed, he is a rich man! However, Tesla is really generous, allowing Chinese and American tycoons to enjoy the same price, only increasing transportation and tax costs~”

“Hmm, but his friends suggested he take a loan from XX company, with a 5% interest rate for three years. You see, now XX Treasure has over 6% returns; wouldn’t it be great to keep the money for investment!” Lele gestured with his fingers, waiting for Jianqi's response.

“Don't rush; there’s definitely no company that gives you benefits for free. Tell me the details of the loan.”

The loan company requires:

Loan principal of 734,000 yuan, annual interest rate of 5%, to be paid off in three years.

The monthly repayment amount is (734,000 + 734,000 × 5% × 3) ÷ 36

= 23,447 yuan

Haha, do you think this is a loan with an actual annual interest rate of 5%? Too naive!

Do you remember the sixth lesson of Jianqi's free public course: various rates of return (everyone can search for "Jianqi" on the course platform)? We taught a formula called IRR (internal rate of return), which can conveniently yield the internal rate of return that makes a series of cash flows' net present value zero in Excel. If you want to know the specific calculation principles and formulas, you can search for it online!

Now, suppose you are the lending company giving money to the rich friend. You initially pay 734,000 yuan (input -734,000 in cell A1), and then you will receive 23,447 yuan for 36 periods. Input this series of numbers into the spreadsheet, and in another cell, input =irr(A1), press Enter, and you will find that the monthly actual yield of the loan company is 0.78%! Converted to annualized yield, it is 0.78% * 12 = 9.31%!

The yield of the loan company is actually the cost of capital for the rich friend, which is not 5%, but 9.31%! XX Treasure does not have such high returns!

“Ah?!” Lele's eyes widened, and his mouth couldn't close. “Why is that?”

“Actually, this is similar to the difference between equal principal and equal installment repayment. Equal principal means that each repayment reduces the principal amount on which interest is calculated, while equal installment means that the interest is simply calculated based on the total principal throughout the term. Therefore, equal principal is a repayment method with lower interest!”

“Now I understand; it seems I need to pay attention to what repayment method is more cost-effective when I take out a loan!”

“Yes,” Jianqi continued to patiently explain to Lele, “especially since many people like to use the installment payment function of credit cards, thinking that a 0.66% handling fee is trivial, which multiplied by 12 is only 7.92%, slightly higher than the returns from money market funds. This kind of thinking is completely wrong!

According to our previous calculations, if you choose to pay 10,000 yuan in 12 installments to the bank, what is the actual annualized interest rate?

Loan principal: 10,000 yuan

Each installment payment is 10,000/12 + 10,000 × 0.66%

= 899.33 yuan

According to the official website of China Merchants Bank:

Our bank provides cardholders with various installment options, with a handling fee rate of 0.66% for 12 installments.

Each installment handling fee = total installment amount × handling fee rate per installment.

Using the formula, the actual monthly interest rate is 1.19%, and the annual interest rate is 14.31%!”

Friends, seeing this, will you still easily choose to pay your credit card bill in installments?

Insurance Anti-Deception Manual#

Insurance Anti-Deception "Script" Manual Original link: web link Insurance complaints are endless, largely stemming from the "deceptive" behavior of insurance salespeople during the sales process. During the training process within insurance companies, a set of "scripts" is often provided, telling salespeople how to guide clients' inquiries in a way that benefits the insurance company. After such training, agents can easily mislead clients, and insurance consumers are naturally easy to fall victim to "deception."

Therefore, policyholders should return the favor with their own tactics.

How to make agents think you are knowledgeable about insurance without knowing too much about it, and thus not easily deceived, requires a set of "scripts." This "anti-deception" script manual aims to help policyholders create a professional image in the battle of wits with insurance salespeople, letting them know that their sales target is not so easy to "deceive."

Script 1: Ask for the Sales Certificate Number

When a stranger insurance salesperson approaches you to sell insurance products, you might as well first ask for their sales certificate number and say, “I need to check your integrity record before making a decision.”

The so-called sales certificate is the "insurance salesperson's business certificate," which is a necessary certificate for insurance salespeople, containing basic information about the individual and the company they belong to. So when encountering an insurance salesperson, it is advisable to first request them to present the original sales certificate to ensure they are genuinely qualified to sell insurance; after confirming this, you can also ask for their business card and ensure it has the sales certificate number printed on it for future reference.

Once you have the sales certificate number, you can visit web link to check their integrity record and see if they have any bad records.

Although the sales certificate is a necessary document for every insurance salesperson, most policyholders are unaware of its existence. Therefore, when you ask for this number, you can take the initiative and let the other party know that you are not an insurance outsider, and the request to check the integrity record will further let them know that you are not completely ignorant of the agent's supervision and complaint mechanism.

In fact, reporters have received calls from insurance salespeople trying to sell over the phone, and just by asking, “What is your sales certificate number?” the other party immediately knew they had hit a wall and hurriedly hung up, showing that this question has considerable power.

Script 2: Indicate You Want to Record the Entire Conversation

Whether encountering bank insurance salespeople or door-to-door individual insurance salespeople, after asking for the sales certificate number, you might as well express that you have a poor memory and would like to record the process of the other party introducing the product for future reference.

In this manual, this point is undoubtedly a "big killer." Even if you do not use other scripts, just using this one may be enough to handle the situation.

Most agents who are good at "deception" rely on verbal misdirection to create illusions about insurance products for policyholders. After all, words are not backed by evidence; even if they exaggerate the return rates or favorable redemption conditions during the sales pitch, once the policy is signed and effective, the policyholder has no proof to complain about such "deception."

However, once the policyholder records the entire conversation, it means that even if they are still deceived, they will have evidence for future complaints. In such a case, the salesperson will have to weigh their words carefully, as they may not dare to mislead so recklessly. Of course, truly honest and reliable salespeople will not fear being recorded, while those who resist this are likely to have something to hide—such agents should naturally be avoided.

Script 3: Request Product Information

Salespeople rely on their mouths to sell, but that mouth is also the least reliable. In actual business, many agents prefer to verbally introduce certain insurance products to you, at most writing a few numbers on a blank sheet of paper to help you understand. Little do they know, this process leaves room for deception. Words alone are not reliable, and a few numbers on paper cannot serve as proof either, because the key details that affect the quality of insurance products are often not written down by agents skilled in deception.

Therefore, it is essential to request official promotional materials issued by the insurance company from the agent, and you might also check the printing quality and design style of the materials to determine whether they are "knockoff" materials printed by the agent themselves. Official promotional materials issued by insurance companies are supervised by regulatory authorities, and the information is generally reliable, while "knockoff" materials printed by agents often only highlight the positives and avoid any sensitive information that would be unfavorable for sales.

Thus, when being sold insurance products, it is crucial to request official promotional materials for careful study. Without reliable written descriptions, do not trust the verbal expressions of the salespeople.

Script 4: Emphasize the Right to a Cooling-Off Period

During conversations with insurance agents, policyholders might emphasize their right to a "cooling-off period." For example, you could say, “Please explain this insurance clearly; if I buy it and find it is not the product I need, I would have to return it during the cooling-off period, which would be a hassle for you.”

The so-called cooling-off period refers to the right of the policyholder or insured to unconditionally request a refund from the insurance company within ten days of receiving the policy for any reason. Life insurance products with a term of more than one year grant the policyholder the right to a "cooling-off period." For any "cooling-off period" returns, the insurance company only charges a handling fee. This right is something that insurance salespeople should inform policyholders about, but in reality, many policyholders are unaware of it. Therefore, by proactively emphasizing this right to the agent, you are subtly indicating that you are knowledgeable about insurance, making it clear that you are not easily "deceived."

Of course, the right to a cooling-off period is not just a verbal statement. Even after purchasing insurance, if you have any doubts about the terms or products, you should exercise your right to the cooling-off period and return the policy—if you later find that it is indeed a good product, you can simply reapply, and the loss will only be a small handling fee. If the agent emphasizes that this is a limited-time offer that will soon be discontinued, there is no need to take it seriously. Indeed, some products may have sales deadlines, but that does not mean it is truly a once-in-a-lifetime good product; it is more likely just a marketing tactic. The number of truly regretful insurance products on the market is very limited; from the reporter's observations, there have only been three or four such products in the past five years.

Script 5: Inquire About the Worst-Case Scenario for Cancellation

In recent years, dividend insurance has been a hotspot for complaints, and it is also a heavy area for complaints. The reason lies in the fact that dividend insurance often involves large premium amounts, and its product structure dictates that if it is a premium payment product, canceling the policy within one or two years often results in a loss of 20% to 50% of all premiums, which is understandably unacceptable for many policyholders.

When promoting dividend insurance, agents often only report the positive aspects, such as how attractive the returns are, without mentioning the potential losses that may occur if the policy is canceled.

Therefore, when dealing with agents promoting dividend insurance, it is essential to ask how much premium can be recovered if the policy is canceled within one or two years—generally, the official promotional materials from the insurance company will include relevant information in the return demonstration table, so it is advisable to compare this with the agent's statements.

Script 6: Inquire About Guaranteed Returns

Still talking about dividend insurance, agents often paint a rosy picture of dividend insurance, claiming it is the best alternative to bank deposits. For such "deception," policyholders should respond with a consistent approach: remember that the guaranteed return portion of dividend insurance is generally just over 1%, and it is almost impossible to exceed 2%.

When agents promote dividend insurance, it is advisable to ask how much the guaranteed annual return of this product can be.

If any agent tells you that this dividend insurance guarantees an annual return of 4% or even 5%, then either they are misleading you using some clause's illusion, or they themselves do not understand this product. Regardless of which situation it is, it is clear that this is not a suitable agent for selling such complex products as dividend insurance, and policyholders should avoid purchasing dividend insurance from them.

Script 7: Emphasize Free Products

Currently, telephone marketing for insurance is becoming increasingly popular, and there are also many "traps." A common tactic is to first offer a free short-term insurance policy to existing customers, then also recommend a more expensive insurance policy. Since it is a phone sale, there are no written records, and over time, the person on the receiving end often becomes confused. When the telemarketer asks if you need this insurance, they are asking about the paid insurance, but many people mistakenly think they are asking about the free insurance and agree.

Therefore, when encountering such telephone sales, it is advisable to request that they send you the product information by mail, allowing you to study it carefully before making a decision. Of course, if the salesperson continues to chatter on about the sale, you can simply say, “I want the free insurance you are offering; I do not want any paid insurance,” which can easily defuse the insurance company's tactic of offering free insurance while promoting paid insurance.

P.S.: This article is recommended to be read together with my previous article "Cherish Money, Stay Away from Premium Payment Dividend Insurance" (web link), as it will enhance the anti-deception effect.

15. Six Details to Assess the Reliability of P2P Platforms#

With nearly a thousand P2P online lending platforms, the enticing high-interest rates and dazzling security promises make today's investors excited yet hesitant—how to balance risk and return? How to select "reliable" projects for investment? The risks we mention include platform fraud and running away, as well as borrower fraud and credit risks.

By comparing major P2P platforms, we find that the devil of online lending still hides in the details. In fact, for a seemingly standard P2P website, as long as we pay attention to a few detail-oriented questions, we can eliminate many non-compliant platforms through subtle clues.

1. Background of the Platform's Founders and Executives

The background of the platform's founders is crucial, especially for internet financial companies, as their products and risks are still fundamentally financial, but they also rely on internet-style marketing and operations. In their long-term main loan business, banks have accumulated rich risk management experience, so it is essential that the senior management of the platform includes individuals with over five years of experience in commercial bank credit management. If no one has such experience, they may not have a proper respect for liquidity and credit risks in loan business, and they may not grasp the essence of relevant national policies, treating the platform as a regular internet company, which undoubtedly increases the risk of crossing red lines.

Of course, even worse, if there is no introduction of any management team members on the platform, only a few photos of team-building activities or busy customer service staff, and even the page looks very similar to other brand websites; such a makeshift team raises concerns about the platform's technical level and moral standards. In short, platforms that do not provide CEO/CRO (Chief Risk Officer) personal information are all risk points.

2. Recognition in the Investment Community

As non-professional investors, it is not easy to fully grasp the operational level and development trends of the platform. However, professional venture capitalists (VCs) have the opportunity to understand detailed situations in the platform's operation process, so platforms that have received independent VC investments generally have lower operational risks. Currently, there are seven online platforms in China that have received VC investments.

It should be noted that very few platforms can operate without VC investment for various reasons.

At the same time, some independent third-party websites (such as Wangdai Home) regularly rank the top 100 platforms based on collected data such as launch time, popularity, and yield, which can serve as a reference.

3. Reasonableness of Interest Rates

In China, most enterprises that need to finance through P2P platforms are not high-profit ones—the financial industry's ROE (return on equity) is at most around 20%. Therefore, if the comprehensive cost of loans for small and micro enterprises exceeds 20%, it is hard to sustain. This critical interest rate translates to about a 15% return for investors.

Recently, it was reported that a certain offline-focused P2P company charged financing clients up to 50% in comprehensive fees. If true, this would lead to significant "adverse selection," meaning only low-credit enterprises or individuals would choose to finance through this platform, increasing the platform's loan risks. This not only deviates from the proclaimed "inclusive" finance but also constitutes usury, which cannot receive 100% support from the courts for debt claims.

Some platforms focus on personal small loans, offering even higher returns for investors. In a situation where bank credit card thresholds are already low, with revolving rates at 18% (or even lower through installment payments), these financing personal clients will undoubtedly carry much higher risks than bank credit cards. Data from the central bank indicates that the 90-day overdue rate for some bank credit cards has already exceeded 3%.

4. Transparency of Projects

Whether the funds of investors are reasonably disclosed is actually a powerful tool for assessing platform risks. From the perspective of previously collapsed platforms, many funds were directed towards projects that investors were unaware of, such as self-financing projects, related projects, or even fake projects. Transparent and verifiable projects not only eliminate fake listings but also provide investors with a clearer understanding of repayment sources and risks.

Conversely, a certain offline financial company that has been under scrutiny, when forced to "clarify" its situation, was unable (or unwilling) to disclose specific investment projects, making its explanations less convincing. We believe that investments that do not disclose borrower information or project introductions are suspicious and may hide devils.

From a regulatory perspective, P2P's contribution to the economy is precisely to match those with excess money with those in need of financing, especially to help small and micro enterprises that cannot obtain bank loans. "Point-to-point matching" currently seems to be the method recognized by regulators, so compliant projects should be transparent.

5. Capital Pool

If you ask whether the platform has its own capital pool, most will deny it—because regulations clearly state that this is not allowed. However, actions speak louder than words: if a platform can provide a "financial plan" of 20 million, but you do not know who the borrowers or financing enterprises are, this is essentially a "capital pool"; if a platform can "intelligently bid" to spare you the trouble of selecting listings, it undoubtedly means the platform can control the capital pool.

Why is the capital pool a red line? Strictly speaking, only funds controlled and managed by the platform are at risk. Its formation was initially to solve the problem of mismatched terms, under the assumption that projects would continuously come in and financing sources would always be found, allowing the capital pool to better match the needs of both sides.

However, the risk lies in that if there is a misstep, for example, if the self-owned funds have already been lent out but no subsequent investors are found, the platform will immediately fall into a huge crisis. At the same time, once the platform controls the capital pool, it becomes easier to abscond with the funds.

In short, platforms that allow you to invest money at any time to "earn interest" are all operating capital pools.

6. Guarantees and Safety Measures

Guarantee companies are still an indispensable protective factor for platforms in China, but ordinary investors do not understand that the strength of guarantee companies varies greatly, and they face significant risks when compensating, so platforms that say "guarantee means lending" carry considerable risks. Platforms that cooperate with dozens of guarantee companies will also be affected by their shortcomings. Some P2P companies have very strong group backgrounds; however, upon closer inspection, you may find that the guarantor for the platform's tens of billions in loans is a financing guarantee company with a registered capital of only 100 million.

Recently, some state-owned provincial guarantee companies have joined the ranks of P2P guarantees, and most of these guarantee companies have been rated AA to AA+ by five major rating agencies. Their emergence provides investors with safer protection.

To give investors a "bank-like" sense of security, a very small number of platforms have taken a different approach, simply calling themselves XX BANK, which I never expected would attract investments.

Although non-compliant P2P platforms have gradually begun to be cleaned up, thousands of P2P platforms will not disappear overnight; they will only become more hidden. I hope that through the above methods, investors can quickly eliminate many "unreliable" online lending companies and better protect their wallets.

Professionals Teach You How to Do Good Insurance Planning#

This article is a transcript of the interview with the snowball friend "Zhang Yizhen."

Q: What kind of insurance should young couples who have just married buy? Accident insurance combined with critical illness insurance? By the way, is it better to buy from domestic insurance companies or foreign ones? Do you have any good recommendations?
A: Accident insurance, then life insurance, then critical illness insurance. I mainly use Taikang.

Q: I am 28 years old, married, and have an 8-month-old child. The insurance situation for both spouses is a Ping An universal insurance policy, with annual premiums of over 4,000 each. The child has an insurance card that includes critical illness, accident, disability, and life insurance. Is this configuration reasonable?
A: Using universal insurance to add critical illness and life insurance? This is a good idea; just check if the coverage is sufficient. I suggest adding a 500,000 accident insurance policy, which costs less than 300 yuan a year, such as from Taikang or Guotai.

Q: More than a decade ago, a friend of my parents introduced me to buy an accident death insurance policy, with an annual premium of about 1,200 yuan and a coverage of 100,000 yuan, which needs to be paid for 20 years. I always feel like the money paid is gone, unlike some insurances that return the principal plus a small amount of interest after a few years. If I had known, I would have bought the latter, which provides both protection and returns. I don't know if my understanding is correct.
A: If you choose a return policy, the premium will be several times higher. Essentially, the extra money you pay is used to cover the interest earned on your premium.

Q: I have two critical illness insurance policies, one with an annual premium of 10,000 and another with a monthly premium of 1,400. Should I get rid of one? Is it necessary to have two? I bought them after being pushed by an insurance salesperson.
A: The key is how much coverage you have. Many return-type policies, while having high annual premiums, do not necessarily provide high coverage. Personally, I think around 300,000 coverage is generally sufficient.

Q: Should I buy insurance for my child or invest the money in financial products? Which is more cost-effective?
A: You should first buy sufficient insurance for your parents, especially life insurance. If something happens to your parents, the loss of income to care for the child is a significant damage. As for the child, life insurance is not necessarily needed; to put it bluntly, the accidental death of a child does not affect the family's income. Moreover, the insurance regulatory commission has a limit on the amount that can be insured for children, which is only about 100,000 in big cities. However, critical illness insurance for children can be purchased. As for whether to choose insurance or financial products, one is for protection and the other is for investment, so they cannot be compared!

Q: I am also confused about insurance. Why do I feel that after looking at many financial products and calculating, managing my finances seems more cost-effective?
A: Insurance should be purely for protection; either high-yield universal insurance sold online. Those dividend or return-type insurances are indeed not worth it for investors with a certain level of knowledge—either the implicit yield is too low or the actual operation probability is not high.

Q: What insurance should a family of three buy? What is good for a couple in their 50s?
A: For a couple in their 50s, I think they