新年愿望：学会理财（双语）

 　　The turning of the calendar is both arbitrary and powerful. Each day is just another day, but when the year resets¹ we feel like the slate² is cleaned and we can begin anew.

　　日历牌的翻页既随意又意义重大。日子一天天地过去，但新的一年到来时，我们的感觉却是翻开了全新的一页，生活可以重新开始。

　　Here are five ideas to help you get a good start for 2012 -- not just for a new year, but also for the start of a new decade.

　　以下五点建议可以帮助你2012年有个良好的开端，不仅仅为了新的一年，而且是为了下一个新的十年。

　　1. Set up a savings³ plan.

　　制定攒钱计划Ever since the financial tsunami⁴ swept all before it in September 2008, many people have saved furiously. That's a good thing, but there's a temptation to lose that discipline once the storm clouds start to break.

　　自2008年9月金融海啸将一切席卷一空以来，很多人都在疯狂地攒钱。这是好事，不过一旦风暴的阴云开始消散，这样的自律就可能丧失。

　　While the economy remains⁵ fragile and many people are still out of work, signs of recovery are becoming more and more apparent. Among your New Year's resolutions include a savings goal that is a function of your regular income, even if it's not a large amount of money. Maintaining the discipline is crucial. The amount of savings can grow over time.

　　尽管经济依然脆弱，很多人仍待业家中，复苏的迹象却变得越来越清晰。在你的新年决心中，制定一个攒钱的目标，与你的固定收入挂钩，即使攒下的每笔钱并不很多。保持自律非常重要。攒下的钱能随着时间的推移而增长。

　　2. Build a rainy-day fund.

　　建立应急基金Advice on how to save for retirement⁶ or your kids' college is plentiful⁷. Less plentiful is guidance on what kind of rainy-day fund you should have.

　　有关如何为退休和孩子上大学攒钱有很多的建议，但说的较少的是应该建立哪种应急基金。

　　A rainy-day fund, which your savings plan can feed, should cover about six months of income. It's a form of personal insurance, valuable in these rapidly changing times.

　　应急基金的钱可以来自你的攒钱计划。它应该相当于约六个月的收入。这是个人保险的一种形式，在眼下这种迅速变化的时代非常重要。

　　This fund should be kept in safe and easy-to-tap assets. Laddering certificates of deposit out six months is one way.

　　这笔钱应该放在安全且容易变现的资产中。存入六个月的阶梯式定期存款是一种方法。

　　That means buying CDs of one month, two months, etc. to six months. As each CD matures you buy another six-month CD to keep the ladder in place.

　　也就是说存入一个月、两个月，直到六个月的定期存款。每笔定期存款到期的时候，你就再买一笔六个月的定期存款，以便保持阶梯式存款的延续。

　　3. Migrate to a debit⁸ card or to plastic that must be paid each month.

　　改用每个月必须还款的借记卡或其他银行卡。

　　Cutting up credit cards makes a lot of sense and eliminating all credit-card debt makes even more sense. The interest rates associated with credit-card debt can easily overwhelm the returns you can get elsewhere.

　　剪碎信用卡很有道理，消灭全部信用卡债务就更有道理了。信用卡利率能轻易地抹消你在其他地方获得的收益回报。

　　But the world is moving away from cash at a rapid clip. The notion of having no plastic is barely feasible. Try buying a plane ticket with cash and see what that sparks in the government computers.

　　不过，现在世界正在迅速摆脱使用现金的年代。不用信用卡的想法几乎是行不通的。试试用现金买机票，看看这会在政府的电脑里引起什么样的反应。

　　So what kind of card to have? A debit card acts just like cash, which makes it the best option. You can spend only what you have.

　　那么应该拥有什么样的信用卡呢？借记卡就像现金一样，因此是最佳之选。用借记卡，你就只能量入为出。

　　Second best are charge cards that require payment in full each month. Ever since I paid off my last credit-card debt in 1996, I have only used a charge card or a debit card. It gets tough, especially around big events such as Christmas. But it's nice to not have a tempting⁹ and expensive option in the wallet.

　　第二个最佳选择是每个月需要全额还款的签帐卡。从1996年我把最后一笔信用卡帐单付清之后，就只用签帐卡或借记卡了。虽然不容易，特别是在圣诞节这样的大日子前后。不过钱包里没有诱人而用价不菲的信用卡，也不错。

　　4. Rebalance your investments.

　　平衡投资Last year, rebalancing meant adding to stock exposure after a year of steep stock losses. That notion felt mildly crazy at the time, but it proved wise.

　　在去年，平衡投资就意味着在一年的股市投资巨亏之后增加股市敞口。当时这种想法感觉有些疯狂，不过事实证明是明智之举。

　　That's because stocks rallied from the March lows and put in a remarkably¹⁰ strong year. Now, most of us are probably too heavy on the stock side of the equation. Moving some of the money into bonds or even cash to regain¹¹ balance would be prudent¹².

　　这是因为股市从3月份低点大幅上涨，一年的涨势都非常强劲。如今，我们大部分人的投资或许都过于偏重股票。把投资股市的一部分钱用于债市甚至是持有现金，以恢复投资平衡，这会是一种谨慎的做法。

　　5. Plan to reward yourself.

　　奖励自己New Year's resolutions usually don't stick and a big reason is that it's all like eating sawdust. Go on a diet, save money, don't spend. We start the year like ascetic¹³ monks¹⁴ and by February we discover that the monastic life isn't for us.

　　新年决心常常无法坚持下去，一个主要原因是这个过程味如嚼。节食、攒钱、不花钱。我们以苦行僧的姿态开始了新的一年，而到2月份之前，却发现这种生活并不适合我们。

　　Therefore, it's important to have one resolution that is fun. A little sugar with the vinegar.

　　因此，制定一个有趣的新年决心很重要。要学会苦中作乐。

　　For myself, it means saving up money for a special family trip later this year. This saving is in addition to the savings plan established in the first resolution.

　　对我自己来说，这意味着为今年晚些时候的家人特别出游攒钱。这是在第一个决心中的攒钱计划之外的。

1 resets   

v.重新安放或安置( reset的第三人称单数 )；重拨（测量仪器指针）；为（考试、测试等）出一套新题；重新安置，将…恢复原位

参考例句：

• Regenerating the map resets the statistics in the Info screen. 重新生成地图时，信息窗口的统计数据会重置。 来自互联网
• This resets CSS values that browsers tend to set for you. 用于重置页面，对没有指定css属性的页面元素指定缺省值。 来自互联网

2 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

3 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

4 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

7 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

8 debit   

n.借方，借项，记人借方的款项

参考例句：

• To whom shall I debit this sum?此款应记入谁的账户的借方？
• We undercharge Mr.Smith and have to send him a debit note for the extra amount.我们少收了史密斯先生的钱，只得给他寄去一张借条所要欠款。

9 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

10 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

11 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

12 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

13 ascetic   

adj.禁欲的；严肃的

参考例句：

• The hermit followed an ascetic life-style.这个隐士过的是苦行生活。
• This is achieved by strict celibacy and ascetic practices.这要通过严厉的独身生活和禁欲修行而达到。

14 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》