不同年齡和性別的美國人去年的收入

The Census Bureau's fourth-quarter earnings survey is out, and the news is generally good. The median American was taking home $41,392 at the end of last year, up 1.7% from last year and slightly outpacing inflation.

美國人口普查局的第四季度收入調查結果出來了，總體來說是好消息。去年美國人年收入的中位數是41392美元（譯者注：按3月2日匯率合259611元人民幣），比上一年漲1.7個百分點，並且略微跑贏了通脹。

But that headline number alone doesn't really tell the whole story. As you might expect, the data gets much more interesting when you start investigating certain variables, like one's age and sex.

但是這個中位數代表不了所有人。正如你想的那樣，當你開始按照一定的變量，比如分年齡和性別來統計，數據就變的更加有趣了。

To get a better idea of how you compare to your peers, check out the graph below, which breaks down earnings by specific age groups for both men and women.

爲了更好的讓你瞭解到相比同輩們你的收入到底如何，看下面這張表。按年齡段分析男性女性。

There are two huge and important takeaways from this data: younger workers earn less, and women earn less. Let's go over what each group can do to neutralize this comparative disadvantage and still achieve financial independence.

這個數據透露出兩個重量級的信息：越年輕的就業者賺的更少，女性就業者賺的更少。讓我們看看這兩個人羣該做些什麼來消除這種比較劣勢並獲得財務自由。

Younger workers still have one big advantage

年輕的就業者仍然有一大優勢

It's makes sense that the more experience you have in your field, the higher your salary will be. No one should be too surprised to see the typical 24-year-old earning about 45% less than her 55-year-old colleagues.

你在一個領域裏面經驗越多，你的薪資越高，這符合常理。沒人會對24歲的人比她/他55歲的同事賺的少45%而感到驚訝。

But there's a terrible irony to the situation in general: Money saved and invested when you're 24 will be worth a lot more upon your retirement than money put away when you're 55. That's because it will have three more decades to compound.

但是很具諷刺意味的是：你從24歲開始存錢和投資，到退休時，你的錢會比你從55歲開始，要多的多。因爲這樣你會多30年的積累。

To get an idea for what I'm talking about, let's consider two scenarios. In our first, we have Sarah -- a hard-working, 24-year-old who somehow manages to put away $200 per month, every month, until the age of 30. After that, she is no longer able to save, as the additional costs of raising a family and now only working part-time take a financial toll.

爲了讓你體會到我說的是什麼，我們設想兩個場景。第一個，莎拉，24歲，工作勤奮，每個月能存200美元，一直到30歲。在這之後，她存不了錢了，因爲家庭開支增加、並且只能做一些兼職工作（譯者注：潛臺詞是組建家庭養育小孩之類）造成的負面影響。

Our second subject is Tim, who didn't pay much attention to saving for retirement until he hit age 55. He has had above-average earnings his whole career, but usually spent all of that money in short order. Now that he's 55, he gets serious and starts putting away a whopping $1,500 per month -- far more than Sarah did, even after inflation.

第二個，蒂姆，一開始並不太注意爲了退休而儲蓄，直到他55歲。他的整個職業生涯收入都高於平均水平，但是賺的錢通常很快就花掉了。現在他55歲，開始認真起來開始每個月存1500美元——遠比Sarah高，甚至把通脹考慮進來也是如此。

Assuming both of them earn the S&P 500's historical return of about 9%, who will have more money when they hit 70? This leaves us with one hard and fast conclusion: Be extra mindful of your spending and saving during your early working years. Sarah only saved for seven years, but it ended up making a huge difference in the long run. If nothing else, make sure you do everything you can to get your maximum employer match in your 401(k) or 403(b) plan -- if it is offered to you.

這讓我們得出一個結論：要特別注意你的花銷，並且一旦工作要儘早開始儲蓄。莎拉只存了7年錢，但是結果卻贏了這場長跑。如果有可能，你應該儘量選擇金額最高的退休金計劃。

Females earn less, but save and invest more... most of the time.

女性賺的相對少，但是大多數情況下女性儲蓄和投資更多。

By the end of 2014, the median female worker was earning $37,596, while her male counterpart was pulling in $45,500. But there's a crazy irony here as well: Most working women have more in savings than men.

2014年底，女性就業者平均年收入是37596美元，而男性則有45500美元。但是，寒，大多數女性就業者比男性存款更多。

That's because women participate in workplace savings programs at higher rates than men and save more of their salaries than men. For instance, 79% of women earning between $50,000 and $75,000 per year participate in such programs -- versus 60% for men -- and sock away an average of 7.2% of their salary -- versus 6.7% for men. The same general pattern holds true across all income levels, according to Vanguard.

這是因爲女性比男性更多參加社保，並且把工資的更大部分用於儲蓄。例如，年收入在5萬美元至7.5萬美元之間的女性有79%參加社保，而男性只有60%——並且女性平均把收入的7.2%存起來，而男性只有6.7%。根據Vanguard報道，在所有的收入階層都是如此。

In fact, for all income levels except those over $100,000 per year, the median female has more saved than the median male. That's an impressive feat to say the least. And the most obvious explanation for the difference among the highest earners is that men rarely take time off of work to help raise families -- which means that they get the promotions that accompany such high salaries earlier in their careers. That gives their investments more time to compound.

事實上，除了年收入高於10萬美元的以外，在所有其他收入階層，女性的平均存款都高於男性，絕對令人刮目相看。至於最高收入階層之所以不同，對此最明顯的解釋是男性很少花時間來照顧家庭，這意味着他們更早獲得提升並獲得高收入。這使得他們的投資有更多的時間來積累回報。

What you save now matters

你現在能儲蓄什麼很關鍵

In the end, what you are able to save -- and invest -- right now will make a huge difference in how prepared you are for retirement.

歸根結底，你現在能存或者投資什麼，將會給你退休以後的生活帶來巨大不同。

If you are younger, save and invest whatever you have. You have a crucial advantage on your side: time.

如果你很年輕，儘可能的存錢和投資。你有一個至關重要的優勢：時間。

And if you are a woman, keep up the impressive saving and investing habits. If you're a high earner who wants to keep pace with your male counterparts, consider taking a more aggressive investing approach.

如果你是女性，保持你令人印象深刻的儲蓄和投資的習慣。如果你是一個高收入者，想和你的男性同行比肩，那就做一個進取型的投資者。

And if you're behind on your retirement savings -- man or woman, young or old -- we might have found just thing to help.

如果你欠繳養老金——不論男女老少——我們可能知道你該如何做。

The $60K Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook

大多數退休者完全忽視掉了的6萬美金社保津貼

If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could ensure a boost in your retirement income of as much as $60,000. In fact, one MarketWatch reporter argues that if more Americans used them, the government would have to shell out an extra $10 billion… every year! And once you learn how to take advantage of these loopholes, you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Simply click here to receive your free copy of our new report that details how you can take advantage of these strategies.

如果你與大多數美國人一樣，你可能欠繳幾年（甚至更多）退休金。但是一些少有人知的"社保祕密"會幫助你使你的退休金增加6萬美元。事實上，MarketWatch一名記者曾表明如果更多美國人都使用這條，政府將被迫多支出100億美元...每年！一旦你學到如何佔這些漏洞的便宜，你就能像我們一直追求的那樣心平氣和的自信退休。點擊這裏可以收到詳細資料......