Rather than spending money on a less liquid property in your hometown, invest in yourself because the latter creates value while the former doesn’t.

Switch in a white guy to one of our cities—say, Beijing, Shanghai, or Shenzhen. If he makes 10,000 RMB a month, he’ll shell out 5,000 RMB to rent an apartment.

He’ll go for a place in a prime location, something with a bit of quality, even if it’s small.

Then he’ll spend the other 5,000 RMB entirely—on home furnishings like plants, a fish tank, a home theater setup; on riding bikes, hitting up gyms, checking out nice restaurants, reading, listening to music, going to operas, curating his Instagram feed to impress women.

He won’t save a single cent.

He’ll find every way possible to spend his money on upgrading his lifestyle and taste, rather than saying, “I make 10,000, I’ll save 8,000, live in a basement, and eat dirt to get by on 2,000 a month.” That’s just not how they operate. The reason? Good taste is what attracts women.

Women are moved by your current lifestyle, your conversation, your emotional value—not whether you own a condo in your hometown county.

When you’re broke, splurging on a woman is out of the question. So just spend it on yourself instead.