In Shanghai, my wife and I have 4 apartments, with a total price of about 22 to 23 million. We have about 1 million in cash on hand, and per capita, we are also over 10 million. It's just that we bought the apartments relatively early, and the assets have appreciated: I bought my two apartments in 2009, and without counting the mortgage down payment, it cost me less than 1 million at that time. My salary was low, and after buying the two apartments, I haven't lived in them for a single day in the past 9 years; the rent has been used to pay off the mortgage. Later, my salary gradually increased, and I saved my first 1 million in life and paid off all the loans at once.

Now, my wife has an annual salary of about 120,000 in the public sector, while I work in a foreign enterprise, earning 300,000 a year. Out of the four apartments, two are rented out; one of them has a mortgage, and the rent just covers the mortgage, while the other apartment rents for 6,000 yuan a month, generating an annual income of 72,000. With the 1 million we have on hand, we bought low-risk financial products from the bank, with an annualized return of 3.5%. The total annual income is: 12 + 30 + 7.2 + 3.5, approximately 530,000. We are considering buying a joint venture brand car worth about 300,000, which we have already driven for 7 or 8 years, covering 60,000 kilometers, in good condition, and we plan to drive it for another 7 or 8 years before replacing it. The car was bought with a loan of 180,000, and at that time, we were very tight on cash, but we paid it off in three years. At that time, I felt quite constrained in my life, and I wanted to buy myself a nice car as a reward. Now looking back, that was also a result of vanity; it was actually unnecessary to buy such an expensive car.

In terms of expenses, my wife usually likes to buy clothes and small items, spending about 5,000 each month; I cook at home, spending about 1,000 on groceries each month; occasionally dining out or gathering with friends costs about 1,000 per month; utilities and property management are about 800 per month; the cost of maintaining the car is spread out to about 1,000 per month; my personal expenses are negligible, not exceeding 2,000 a year, which I will explain in detail later; and for other miscellaneous expenses, let's add another 20,000 to 30,000. Calculating all that, the total annual expenses are: (5000 + 1000 + 1000 + 800 + 1000) * 12 + 25000, let's say approximately 130,000.

So, we can save about 400,000 each year.

Now let me share my feelings: my wife and I are both highly educated. We both have PhDs, and while it is not impossible for us to find high-paying jobs, we have a mindset of being content with moderate wealth. We believe that our current wealth and income level can fully satisfy our desires, and we also don't want to be delayed in life by the 996 work culture and endless social obligations. Some may think we are not ambitious, and yes, you are right. Personally, when I just graduated from undergraduate studies, I first worked and bought.