新生報到：大學生必知的六條金錢法則

1. Spend less than you earn. OK, this is almost the only lesson you need, but it’s so important I’m going to break it down further. The biggest reason people get into financial problems is they spend money they don’t really have. Then you end up in the hole, and it’s hard to get out of the hole, and you work crazy hours to keep up with your spending, and you end up with a life that’s about nothing but trying to pay for all the spending on crap you don’t really need.
1. 花得要比賺的少。好吧，雖然這可能是你需要的唯一法則，但我很有必要深入解釋一下。人們陷入資金危機的最大原因是入不敷出。你給自己挖了個大的資金缺口，自己卻難以跳出這個坑來，然後你不得不拼命工作來維持收支平衡。最後你的人生就是在不斷支付你那並不需要的花銷中度過！

So spend less, work less, worry less, be happier.
所以少花一點，少工作一點，讓自己更快樂一點。

2. Don’t get into debt. If you spend less than you earn, you won’t be in debt, obviously. It’s easy, though, to get a student credit card and put things on there if you don’t have the money right now. You can pay for it next week when you get your check, right? That’s a slippery slope. Student loans are another tool for getting over your head in debt. They’re not the worst debt if you’re paying for a degree that’s going to earn a lot of money, but most of us English majors aren’t going to get an $80K per year job and shouldn’t take out $80K in student loans.
2. 不要陷入債務中。很顯然，如果你花得比賺的少，你就不會陷入債務中。雖然即使你現在沒錢也可以拿到一張學生信用卡，買到自己想要的東西，然後在下個星期賬單送到時支付對嗎？這其實是滑坡謬論。學生貸款是讓人暫時忘卻債務的另一種工具，如果你將這筆貸款用於將來能賺很多錢的學位上，那麼它們並不是最糟糕的債務。但英語專業的大部分學生將來不可能得到一份年薪8萬美金的工作，所以也沒必要高額貸款。

3. Savings is your first bill to pay. If you spend less than you earn, save the rest. Make the savings an automatic payment that happens every payday, and make it the first and most important bill you pay. Not optional. You’ll be glad as the savings grows, and especially when emergencies come up.
3. 節約是你要支付的第一份賬單。如果你花得比你賺的少，記得把剩下的存起來。讓儲蓄成爲每天的自動支付行爲，把它當做你要支付的第一筆，也是最重要的一筆賬單，而不是可有可無的。看着存款增加你一定會非常開心，特別是有什麼緊急狀況發生時。

4. If you don’t have the money, go without. This is a lesson most people (young or old) forget. You don’t actually need a car, so if you can’t afford to pay cash, don’t get a loan. You don’t need nice clothes, or a smart phone, or a fancy laptop or iPad or Kindle, you don’t need to go to nice restaurants or the movies or bars. If you don’t have the money, find free ways to have fun or get things done you need to get done.
4. 如果你沒那麼多錢，那就湊活着過吧。這是很多人（無論老少）經常忘記的一點。你並非真的需要一輛車，所以手上的現金不夠時別去貸款；你並不需要華貴服裝、智能手機、精巧筆記本、iPad或Kindle電子閱讀器，你不需要去高級飯店、電影院或酒吧。如果你沒那麼多錢，那就找一些不需要花錢的休閒方式吧，或者做一些自己應該做的事情。

5. Make a very very simple budget. It’s a scary thing for people who’ve never done a budget, but it’s not hard. List your income, then list your bills (and savings). If the bills add up to more than the income, eliminate some bills. Use a simple spreadsheet to do the adding for you. This helps you to know what’s coming in and going out. I like the envelope system for making sure I don’t spend too much on variable expenses.
5. 製作非常簡單的預算計劃。對於從沒有做過預算的人來說這似乎是一件非常恐怖的事情，但這其實並不難。列出你的收入，然後你的賬單（或者存款）。如果你的支出賬單超過了收入，那麼減少開支。用簡單的電子表格來幫助你。這會讓你弄清楚手中錢的出入情況。我喜歡用信封系統，它能讓我確定自己不會在一些亂七八糟的花銷上浪費錢。

6. Pay bills right away. If you have the money, pay the bill as soon as it comes in. You can usually do this online, but if not, it’s just a matter of writing a check, putting it in an envelope, and writing out an address — two minutes. Do this two-minute action immediately, so you don’t have to worry about it later. If you let the bill-paying get pushed back, it becomes a dreaded thing, and your bills start to become overdue, and then it’s much worse.
6. 賬單來了趕緊支付。如果你手上有錢，那麼賬單寄到時儘快支付。通常這些可以在線支付，如果不行，那也只是開張支票的問題，將支票塞進信封，然後寫上地址——只是兩分鐘的事情。儘快做完這“兩分鐘的事情”，以後你就不必爲此擔心了。如果賬單再次退回，那事情就會變得麻煩了，你手上的賬單過期未付，那事情會變得更糟糕。

That’s all you need to know. If you save when you’re in college, avoid debt (except perhaps a modest student loan), and pay bills on time, you’re golden.
這些就是你需要了解的。如果在大學裏你學會節約，避免欠債（除非可能是適度的學生貸款），及時付款，你就是最棒的。