Recently, a question has been asked very frequently: what should 100,000 yuan be invested in? I’ve found that many people underestimate the potential of this amount of money.

First, let’s face reality: the prices of eggs, lunch takeout, and rent are not going back down. Mortgage interest rates are staying steady at 2.2%, which means the purchasing power of every yuan is being slowly eaten away. For office workers, saving up to 1 million yuan may take several years, but 100,000 yuan is a threshold you can reach with some effort. Never underestimate these 100,000 yuan—it’s not just money, it’s a weapon to fight inflation.

I’ve been thinking lately: does investing really require a huge amount of principal? Actually, no. The key is three things: mindset, projects, and time. With these three, what 100,000 yuan can do is far more than you think.

First, you need to develop a habit of bookkeeping. You should treat yourself like a company—figure out your income and expenses, and squeeze out stable free cash flow. The first iron rule of investing is to use only idle money, meaning the spending of this capital won’t affect your lifestyle. If the price of your investment drops right when you need to use the money, then you’ll have no choice but to sell at a loss and cut your losses—this is very unfavorable for growing your assets.

Next, find a specific goal. Different people fit different strategies. If you’re an office worker, the best approach is to buy financial products on a regular schedule and with a fixed amount, so you don’t have to constantly watch the market and you can work with peace of mind. If you’re a retiree, a good investment is one that allows assets to generate steady cash flow. For smaller-capital investors, you can consider dividend-focused funds or high-yield ETFs, so you receive a little income every month.

I see that many funds’ dividend payouts can now reach 7% to 8%. That means if you invest 100,000 yuan, you could receive 7,000 to 8,000 yuan per year, and 600 to 700 yuan per month. This money is more than enough to pay your phone bill or other small expenses. But if what you want is big-ticket spending like a new phone or traveling abroad, you may need a return of 30% to 40%. That’s not something you can achieve with simply “set it and forget it” dividend investing—you’ll need a more aggressive strategy.

The advantage of small capital is flexibility. You can move like a nomad: invest wherever opportunities are available, and entering and exiting won’t affect the market. Many trading platforms now have very low capital requirements for U.S. stocks, indices, precious metals, and even virtual currencies, and you can also use leverage to amplify returns. As long as you choose the right direction and convert turnover into return, you can accumulate principal quickly. At the same time, put your work income into the strategy as new principal too. With compounding, your assets will grow bigger and bigger, like a snowball rolling downhill.

When it comes to specific assets, I believe that over the next 10 years there are several types worth paying attention to.

Defensive assets, such as gold. Gold itself pays no dividends; all returns come from price spreads. In long-term investing, gold can effectively hedge against inflation and currency depreciation. Large increases in the price of gold usually happen during times when the economy is unstable—such as the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. interest-rate cuts, and geopolitical conflicts.

Transition assets, such as Bitcoin. This is no longer just an early-stage pure speculative tool. Once it starts being included in ETFs, sovereign wealth funds, and even corporate balance sheets, its role is shifting into a digital reserve asset. Over the past 10 years, Bitcoin’s price has swung dramatically, but the long-term trend is definitely worth watching.

Growth assets refer to assets whose future revenue and profits have the potential to continue growing at a high speed. For example, NVIDIA, a leading company in AI computing: its GPUs and data center platforms are core infrastructure for large AI models. TSMC, as the leading semiconductor foundry, is the underlying support for the AI, metaverse, and automation industry chains—technologically leading and with steady orders. NextEra Energy is one of the largest green power companies in the United States. In the coming decade, demand for electricity for AI is expected to surge, making the logic for investing in power and grid infrastructure more stable than relying on solar energy alone.

Core (foundation) assets, such as 0056 and SPY. 0056 is Taiwan’s most well-known high-dividend ETF. Over the past 10 years, it has distributed 60% in dividends, and the stock price has risen 40%. If you save 100,000 yuan every year, then even if you spend all the dividends, after 13 years you will have 100,000 yuan in dividends for one year. SPY tracks the 500 strongest companies in the United States. Over the past 10 years, its stock price has risen from 201 to 434, for a return as high as 116%. Even though its dividend payouts are lower, its ability to grow capital gains is unbeatable.

I think the biggest investing misconception is believing that you need a lot of money to get started. Actually, you don’t. As long as you have a good investment mindset, these assets are all very valuable. What you need is simply enough patience to wait for compounding, or enough time to research and analyze the timing for entering and exiting. As long as the three are in place, even people with smaller means can gradually accumulate wealth and become “small millionaires” (or successful, well-off individuals).