For ordinary people, there are roughly these six methods: the best ways to make money in the stock market.

The first is to wait for a sharp drop and buy index funds.

Do nothing most of the time; go to work when you should, and live your life as usual.

Only use idle money. Wait for the market to experience a "crash-like" major decline, then buy broad-based ETFs.

You don't need to pick individual stocks; it's possible to earn 30%-40% from a single market cycle.

The second is to focus on one or two stocks and repeatedly trade swing positions.

Find one or two stocks that you truly believe are worth investing in, and always keep cash on hand.

Sell a bit when prices rise, buy a bit when they fall, and repeat this process with the goal of continuously lowering your cost basis, even driving it into negative territory.

The third is to accumulate shares for dividend income.

Buy state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or central SOEs with dividend yields around 5%. Buy them when they have fallen significantly, then hold on to collect dividends.

Just like a friend who bought highway stocks; originally intending to just take the 4% annual interest, but due to a market rally, the stock price doubled.

The fourth is to understand market cycles and position counter-cyclically.

Avoid sectors that are currently hyped to the sky; instead, look for those that are ignored and undervalued.

For example, in 2022, everyone was chasing photovoltaics, pharmaceuticals, and baijiu. A friend had positioned themselves in bank stocks that had been falling for years, and their market value has since doubled.

The fifth is value investing: waiting for good companies to go on sale.

In simple terms, it's "counting the moons, not the stars"—only buying industry leaders.

Wait until they are driven to extremely cheap valuations due to market sentiment, then buy heavily in batches. Your goal isn't to make a few percentage points, but to wait for value reversion and make two, three times, or even more.

The sixth is to profit from corporate growth.

This is relatively difficult,

which involves investing in companies with small market caps but excellent prospects that may multiply several times or even dozens of times in the future.

This requires a deep understanding of the industry,

much like "counting the stars," which tests your superlative stock-picking ability.

All six paths can lead to success,

The key isn't knowing about them,

But choosing one that suits you,

And sticking with it.