華爾街日報致畢業生：給應屆大學畢業生的理財建議

Congratulations, 2013 graduates. You did it! Now it's time to learn something really useful.
2013年的畢業生們，祝賀你們！你們畢業了！現在是時候學習一些真正有用的東西了。

Having conquered all those classes, now you can move on to mastering the practical skill of managing money. Luckily, the economy is in better shape than it was a couple of years ago, and the overall unemployment rate for college grads is roughly half that of the total U.S. population, boding well for your job prospects.
在順利完成課業後，現在你們就要朝着掌握管理金錢的實用技能前進了。幸運的是，比起前幾年，現在的經濟狀況要好很多了，大學畢業生的整體失業率是美國總人口的一半，是就業前景的好預兆。

If you learn to manage a paycheck, spend less than you earn and stash away some money for later, you can put that education to good use, no matter what you choose to do.
如果你學會管理薪水，量入爲出，存一些錢以備將來之用，你就可以將所受教育學以致用了，無論你選擇做什麼工作。

Here's some advice to get you on the right path.
這裏是讓你走上正確道路的一些建議。

1. Be nice to your parents.
要善待父母

In addition to giving you a place to stay until you find a job, they might pay for your health insurance. If you have insurance under a student plan, it probably will end in mid-August. If you're not going to get coverage through a job by then, start working on other plans right away.
除了在你找到工作前供你住以外，父母還可能給你買健康保險。如果你買的是學生險，保單很可能在8月中旬就會到期。如果到那時你還不能靠工作得到續保，那麼就得馬上開始着想其它計劃。

Under the Affordable Care Act, young people can stay on a parent's health-insurance plan through age 25, but they need to re-enroll if they've been on a student plan. After you're hired for a job, it could take three months to qualify for insurance, so a parent's plan or a short-term health plan can be an option.
根據《平價醫療法案》的規定，年輕人可以享受父母繳納的健康保險直到25歲，但如果他們已經參加了學生保險，那麼他們需要重新註冊。在你找到工作後，爲參保出具資格證明需要3個月時間，因此隨同父母參保或是短期健康投保是一種選擇。

Whatever you do, don't skip getting insurance. Even those who are young and healthy need it, since a car accident or unforeseen illness can put you in a giant financial hole.
無論你做什麼工作，都不要省了參保。即使是這些年輕健康的人們也需要，因爲一場車禍或是不可預見的疾病就會讓你深陷財務困境。

2. Reduce debt.
減少債務

An estimated two-thirds of today's graduates will leave with student loans, and the average borrower balance is almost $27,000. Debt is such a burden that it's worth scrimping for a few years, and even delaying graduate school, to pay off at least some of the debt. That will save you in interest costs and give you far more flexibility in your later twenties and beyond.
據估計，現在三分之二的畢業生離校時都揹負着助學貸款，平均負債額大約是27,000美元。債務是一筆負擔，爲了償還一部分債務，節衣縮食幾年是值得的，甚至是延遲畢業時間。這可以減少你在利息上的支出，爲你以後二十多年償還債務提供了很大的靈活性。

Consider $20,000 in 10-year federal loans at 6.8% interest. The total monthly payments would be $230, and total interest would add up to about $7,600 over the loans' life. Paying just $20 a month extra will shorten the repayment period to nine years and save you $900 in interest over the life of the loans. Paying a total of $400 a month—what a car payment might be—will pay off the loans in five years and save more than $4,000 in interest.
試想一筆20000美元的貸款，爲期10年，利率是6.8%。每月總共要支付230美元，那麼在整個貸款期限裏總利息會累積到7600美元左右。每月多支付20美元將會把償還期限縮短到9年，在整個還貸期限裏你節省900美元。每月支付400美元（可能是償還汽車貸款的數目），在5年時間裏就能還清，節省超過4000美元的利息。

How do you balance all these needs? Stretch your dollars by buying a cheap used car instead of new one. Get a roommate and take your lunch to work. Before committing too much to debt payments, be sure to have at least $1,000 in savings for emergencies—or three months of expenses in the bank if you never want to move home again. If your employer offers a match for a retirement-plan contribution, contribute enough to get at least some of that so you don't pass up free money.
你要如何平衡這些需求？你要精打細算，購買一輛便宜的二手車而不是新車。尋找夥伴合租，帶午餐去上班。在要揹負很多債務前，如果你不想搬回家的話，那麼確保至少有1000美元的儲蓄作爲緊急備用，或是在銀行預留了三個月的開銷費用。如果僱主提供了一項退休計劃的福利，出資爭取至少一部分利益，這樣白拿的錢可不要錯過哦。3. Know your credit report.
瞭解你的信用報告

Employers might care less about your grades than your credit record, which shows how well you manage your obligations. So before you apply for a job or a car loan, go to and see what your credit report looks like. You can check each of the three big credit bureaus' reports for free once a year.
比起你的在校成績，僱主可能會更關心你的信用記錄，因爲信用記錄表明了你管理債務的情況。因此在你求職或申請汽車貸款前，去AnnualCreditReport網站看看你的信用報告情況。三大信用機構的報告你都可以一年查詢一次。

If you didn't have your own credit card in college or didn't use it, you may not have much of a credit record at all. In that case, a landlord might not lease you an apartment without your parents cosigning. (That's another reason to be nice to them!)
如果你在大學裏沒有你自己的信用卡，或沒使用，你可能就沒有那麼多的信用記錄。若是那樣的話，沒有你父母的簽字保證，房東可能不會向你出租房屋（這是另一個要善待父母的理由！）。

To build a credit record, you should have one or two credit cards and use them at least every couple of months to show you can pay your bills responsibly. Paying student loans on time also will help build a good credit history.
爲了建立信用記錄，你應該有一張到兩張信用卡，至少每幾個月使用一次表明你會爲還款負責。準時償還助學貸款同樣可以幫你建立良好的信用記錄。

4. Avoid unnecessary fees.
避開不必要的費用

To make your budget work, look for free checking accounts at a local credit union or an online account. Avoid automated-teller-machine fees and link your savings account to your checking account so that you'll never pay an overdraft fee. Pay your bills on time to avoid late fees and in full to avoid interest.
爲了合理使用預算，到當地的信用社或是網上賬戶獲得免費的賬戶。儘量不要去自動取款機取錢，因爲會產生手續費，把你的儲蓄賬戶綁定到查詢賬戶上，這樣你就永遠不用支付因透支產生的費用了。準時還款避免滯納金，全額支付賬單，避開產生利息。

5. Use your social network.
發揮你的社交網絡

Your friends are used to sharing information, so take advantage of each other's knowledge. Don't post your bank balance or salary online—that's tacky—but don't be shy about asking other recent grads what they pay for rent, car insurance or Internet service. Remember what you learned in college: It's good to be friends with someone who did the homework.
你的朋友們可以分享信息，所以要利用別人瞭解的信息。不要在網上曬你的銀行收支單或工資單，這很無聊，但不要怕問最近畢業的同學們付了多少房租、汽車保險或是上網費。記住你在大學裏學到的：跟那些做了功課的同學做朋友是對的。