The Experience of Owning a Massive Debt and the Importance of Side Hustles

The Experience of Being in Debt of Millions

In a group chat, I saw a forwarded conversation where someone said they were in debt of over 10 million.

Being in debt of 100,000, 1 million, or 10 million is totally different. The more you owe, it shows you have stronger capabilities. At least, people are willing to lend you that much money.

Those who are in debt like this usually have certain personal abilities, resources, connections, and good credit. Most likely, they got into debt after starting a business or making investments.

So, what does it feel like to be in such a huge debt? I don't know. But for ordinary people, it's unlikely to happen.

However, it's also terrible for ordinary people to be in debt. Usually, it happens in the following situations:

1. Buying a house, a car, or getting married.
2. Raising kids and paying for their education.
3. Medical expenses (for parents or themselves) and providing for old age.
4. Gambling, overspending, or taking out credit card loans and online loans.
5. Starting a business or making financial investments.

For example, some of my classmates bought cars with installment - plan loans, and some got married and had kids.

Back in my hometown, there are people who live paycheck to paycheck and take out loans. Some were even cheated out of money or got involved with loan sharks, ending up in debt of hundreds of thousands.

Many people who bought houses lost 30 - 40% of their money. Some even had to borrow money after selling everything they had for their weddings.

These are the debt traps for ordinary people. Once you fall into them, it'll be hard for you in the next few decades because you don't have enough money. It's almost impossible to turn things around just by working a regular job.

And starting a business is a risky path. It's easier to get stuck in more debt.

Is there a solution? Not really.

All we can say is to try not to borrow money. Do things according to how much money you have and save more.

If you're just living for yourself, eating and living well, you don't need to spend that much.

One person's expenses are low. When there are two people, the expenses increase. With three people, they skyrocket. Because a lot of so - called social activities and emotional exchanges cost money.

When you're alone, you don't care what you eat. But when there are two people, you'll probably start to choose. These expenses are hidden. They're in those small amounts, like tens or hundreds of dollars, and slowly add up.

That's why many young people choose to just lie flat and do nothing.

I'm really lucky. I graduated earlier and have a decent job. I've always had the habit of saving money.

Compared to many young people who start side hustles or do self - media in college, I started late. I didn't start until 2 - 3 years after graduation. But compared to most office workers, I started early.

Many office workers have the idea of starting a side hustle or doing self - media. But they just watch and read articles or watch videos about it. They don't take action.

Some even pay for courses and join communities but still don't do anything.

Even if they start, they only last for a short time. They give up after one or three months without getting any results, let alone making the side hustle successful.

If I hadn't explored side hustles early, didn't know there was such a path, and didn't see so many successful cases around me, I probably wouldn't have much hope or expectations for the future and would be very confused.

So, it's really lucky. Where you are, who you meet, and what your friends are doing can really affect your perception, ideas, outlook, and view of the world.

Others may think it's impossible, but you think it's possible and firmly believe so. It's not because you're over - confident. It's because you've seen successful examples.

Since you've seen them, you're more likely to believe it can happen to you. You know how they succeeded, so you can believe you might succeed too.

This kind of thinking makes you more persistent than others. While others may only last for a month or three months, you can keep going for half a year or a year.

That's the difference.

People don't really have strong independent thinking abilities. We're all influenced by our surroundings. But we can choose what kind of information to accept, who to meet, and what kind of person we want to be.

There's a good saying: Hang out with excellent people and work with them.

Daily Reading & Writing by Xiaolu 2025.05.19 [Day 623]