Making big money when young, how to make good use of it and how to avoid pitfalls.

Young people who encounter immense wealth often stray more easily than others. It's not about the money itself, but rather that the money comes too early, leaving your mindset, experience, relationships, and judgment unable to catch up.

The following eight points do not exaggerate or sensationalize, but simply clarify the reality.

1. First stabilize the cash flow, don't rush to upgrade your life.

When you get a large sum of money that can change your life, the easiest mistake to make is to immediately upgrade your lifestyle: live in a better place, eat better food, buy more expensive things, and do things you previously couldn't afford.

But you need to remember one fact: income can change, but living habits do not. Once your living standards are raised, it will be very painful to lower them again.

So the first step is not to spend money, but to turn your cash flow for the next few decades into a "steady state". This will ensure that you won't panic about money in any situation.

The real risk when you are young is not buying the wrong things, but rather growing up too fast to return to your former self.

2. Buying a house will weaken your future flexibility (especially noticeable the younger you are).

When you have a lot of money, buying a house seems very reasonable, but the real cost is the decrease in mobility. Renting allows you to change cities, environments, and lifestyles at any time. Your life, opportunities, social circles, and career can all move with you.

But once you buy a house and take on a mortgage, your life will become:
Many decisions depend on "what to do with the house"; people are hesitant to change industries or cities, and further education or changing directions are all influenced by mortgage payments, making living areas become fixed.

When the direction of your life is not yet determined, nailing yourself down in one place in advance incurs very high hidden costs.
When you are truly sure about where you want to stay long-term, have a stable career, and have a clear future direction, buying a house will be comfortable.

3. A car is a signal of "external credit" and "social status".

A car is not for show, but rather a part of how you "appear". In reality, most people won't carefully listen to your explanations of your abilities, projects, or experiences; they will only see where you show up and in what state.

The car here plays a role of "external credit": how stable you are, how reliable you are in getting things done, what circles you move in, whether your lifestyle is consistent or not. It's not about buying luxury cars, but about avoiding letting others misjudge you.

A stable and reliable vehicle ensures you won't lose points in various situations. However, you should never compromise cash flow for the sake of the vehicle, as that would be counterproductive.

A car is a tool, not a declaration. A good car is one that allows you to move smoothly.

4. Large assets must be managed in separate zones: safety, growth, and capacity enhancement.

Mixing large amounts of money together can easily make you lose direction. After dividing them into three categories, you will have a clearer understanding of what each amount of money is doing.

(1) Long-term safe assets (lifeline)
Function: Allows you to be unbothered even if you don't work for several years.
Examples: cash, gold. The function is "stability", not "growth".

(2) Long-term growth assets (thicker)
Function: Make you stronger ten years from now than you are today.
Examples: Bitcoin, gold, long-term index.
Not chasing short-term rewards, only pursuing time.

(3) Personal Ability Upgrade Budget (Upper Limit)
Function: Make you more valuable.
Examples: language training, physical training, skill learning, equipment tools, going abroad, upgrading social circles, external factors. This area is often misused but offers the highest long-term returns.

After dividing your money into different areas, you will be calmer, clearer, and less likely to spend recklessly.

5. The "opportunities" that others tell you about are basically not suitable for you.

When others know you are young and wealthy, you will suddenly receive a lot of "opportunities."

The reality is:
A truly good project will not suddenly favor you just because you happen to have money.
Especially the following types should be particularly vigilant:
"Guaranteed profit"
I know people internally.
"If you don't invest now, you won't have a chance later."
"Brothers, let’s all make money together"
"Guarantee to recoup principal and share dividends"

The young and wealthy often stumble not because of the investment itself, but because they are drawn into a situation that has nothing to do with them by someone else's words. Caution is a form of protection for one's own wealth.

6. Preventing "cognitive inflation" is the most important thing to keep big money safe.

The biggest problem that arises when you acquire life-changing wealth at a young age is not external risks, but rather that you start to "misjudge yourself."

may mistakenly think that:
You understand the market, you can manage the risks, and success comes from ability, not from cycles. It's impossible to go back to the past, but just because money has arrived early doesn't mean the mindset has matured early.

Those who can truly hold onto wealth rarely treat their first big sum of money as a "proof of their invincibility." Instead, they are more cautious because they know that:
Good luck doesn't come every time, but one mistake is enough.

7. Emotions are the place where big money is most likely to go wrong.

When you are young, free, and wealthy, there will be a huge information asymmetry in interpersonal relationships.
It's hard to judge: whether the other party is looking at you, or the lifestyle you provide, or the resources, sense of security, and opportunities behind you.

This is reality.
What really needs to be judged is:
What is the essence of this relationship?

If the other party is willing to walk through the low points with you, that's affection; if the other party only wants to appear during your highlights, that's a transaction; if you know it's a transaction but fantasize it as love, that's self-deception.

If you know it's an exchange and rationally understand that you are a tool, then you can choose to continue.

Money cannot buy true feelings, but it makes it harder for people to discern true feelings. The most dangerous thing when you are young is not being deceived, but mistaking an unequal relationship for fate.

If the emotional aspect is not well protected, what can be destroyed is not money, but judgment, as well as the entire trajectory of your life.

8. The most appropriate thing to buy with this money is options, not shackles.

To string it all together, it can actually be summed up in one sentence:

When you come into a huge fortune in your youth, the most worthwhile thing to buy is not things, but freedom. The essence of freedom is not what you can spend, but what you can:

Reject bad people, reject bad collaborations, reject unsuitable opportunities, choose the city you like, choose the things you want to do, stop to learn at any time, switch tracks at any time, and start a new life at any time.

You want to turn this money into space, flexibility, confidence, surplus, and future. Not into pressure, persona, fixed costs, and burden.