An Ordinary Person's Timeline
That year, you were 23. It was your first time visiting your girlfriend's home to meet her parents.
Actually, you had met them before, but only on video calls. This time was different; it was a warm invitation from your girlfriend's parents.
Sitting before a table laden with food, the formality of the occasion made you feel a bit uneasy.
Halfway through the meal, as expected, your girlfriend's father began asking questions. He started with trivial topics before shifting the conversation:
"When do you plan to buy a house?"
Beside him, your girlfriend's mother casually remarked, "Old Liu's future son-in-law next door just bought a three-bedroom apartment."
You didn't know what to say. Your mind was filled with thoughts of your monthly salary card, which held just 4000 yuan.
Then, the atmosphere turned cold. You finished your meal quickly, made an excuse about having work to do, and returned home that same day.
A week later, you asked your girlfriend to meet and calmly broke up with her.
Her tears flowed like a breached dam, but you still walked away calmly.
It wasn't that you were calm; it was that you began to understand that love without financial stability is destined not to last.
Part 2
You are 26 now and have finally saved up some money.
Over these three years, you moved to a new city and changed jobs. You once drank desperately with clients and worked overtime until dawn.
Your salary doubled. At one point, you even felt a surge of strength throughout your body. You decided to buy a house.
The sales consultant, wearing a professional smile, took you to see the model apartment.
But after asking the total price, you fell silent. Housing prices were rising too fast.
You knew that if you didn't act now, you might never catch up with the prices.
You steeled yourself, called your parents, and took their 100,000 yuan retirement savings. You called all your relatives, putting on a smiling face to borrow money from them.
Three days later, having gathered enough for the down payment, you went to sign the purchase contract.
The moment you pressed your fingerprint, your eyes stung.
How wonderful it is to have money.
You began to understand that with money comes a home, a sense of solid security.
Part 3
Four months before turning 28, you lost your job.
You started looking for a new job, traveling from the south to the north of the city.
You suddenly realized that after 30, finding a job was becoming increasingly difficult.
Either the salary was too low, or the requirements were too high. Crowds of fresh graduates waited outside the interview rooms, ready to outcompete you.
After paying three months of your mortgage, you suddenly noticed only 1000 yuan left in your card.
Fortunately, you managed to find a new job just before turning 28.
Although the company was a bit far from where you lived, everything seemed hopeful.
Part 4
In the blink of an eye, you turned 32, becoming what others saw as middle-class.
Life was uneventful, everything was on track, and your child was already 3, ready for kindergarten.
You had two choices: the bilingual kindergarten downstairs, or sending them to the private early education center in the neighboring resettlement community.
The former cost 4000 yuan per month and had foreign teachers. The latter was only 1800 yuan, with middle-aged aunties as teachers.
You spent the night on your computer reading news about child abuse. The next morning at breakfast, you told your wife:
"Let's go with the 4000-yuan quality kindergarten."
You didn't tell your wife that the company was undergoing position adjustments during this time.
You planned to apply for a transfer from your comfortable office job to a frontline department. Although it would be more tiring, the income would increase significantly.
Upon learning about the transfer, your wife complained, saying you were overestimating yourself.
You didn't argue; instead, you smiled inwardly.
Part 5
Another three years passed.
Everything was improving; you even had ambitious plans to bring your parents to live nearby once they retired.
But early one morning, your mother called: your father had suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage during his morning exercise, and the county hospital was helpless.
You believed that with quality medical resources and top doctors here, everything would return to normal.
However, the daily expenses of thousands of yuan quickly made you feel the pressure. Your father's medical insurance card was practically useless here.
Two months later, your father insisted on being discharged. You refused, but he told you in a stubborn, slurred voice that the rest was just rehabilitation training, which could be done back home—it was all the same.
You drove them home. The usual three-hour journey took you six hours.
Because you couldn't help but want to lean on the steering wheel and cry.
Your parents were aging much faster than you had imagined.
You began to understand that money can sometimes be an expression of filial piety. If you had enough money, you wouldn't feel powerless toward your parents.
Part 6
If you haven't experienced buying a house, you won't know how important money is;
If you haven't experienced a family member falling ill, you won't know how indispensable money can be;
If you haven't lived on a monthly salary of three thousand, you won't know what you're earning money for.
Similarly, why should you strive to earn money when you're young?
It's not to become wealthy, nor is it for enjoyment.
It's so that one day, you can confidently say, "I can live a better life";
You can also confidently say to your loved ones, "Don't worry, dear, I've got everything under control."
Oscar Wilde said:
"When I was young, I thought money was the most important thing in life. Now that I am old, I know it is."
Never pretend not to care about money when you're young. You should strive harder.
We work hard to earn money so that we won't be powerless toward our loved ones, so that we can say "no" to the world.
Why should you earn more money when you're young? This is the best answer I've ever heard.