西部落：理财有妙招（在线收听）

How good are you with money?

Finance expert Laura Rowley will give us tips on how to cope with the current tough economy. Meanwhile, Kathie Lee Gifford tests visitors on their financial savvy

Interview: We’re back with Today’s Money and today we’re gonna play a little game with you guys at home and with Ms. Kathie Lee Gifford who, by the way, is downstairs in our concourse by Starbucks. She’s down there, Hi, Ms. Gifford. (Hello) You look good. All right, what we’re gonna do is that I’m gonna talk to an expert and Kathie Lee is gonna talk to the people and see if we know the answers to some of these complex questions. Yahoo finance expert, Laura Rowley is here to help, hello.

Laura Rowley: Hi.

I: So, right now, we’re all in really tough financial times, clearly, we just talked about it earlier the price of eggs, meat, and all these different kinds of things. So, our money is so much more valuable and we are finding, I guess, the consumers are not buying things like TVs and what not, right?

L: That’s right. Yahoo commissioned a survey, we found that 75% people said they are cutting back, they are holding off their major expenses. They are not buying electronics or clothing, or even some people are cutting back on food.

I: And a lot of people, I will be honest, don’t know much about finance. I went to a lunch yesterday, a woman said, in high school, we take wood shop, we take a Car Auto shop and she asked how many people have changed the carburetor? How many people are willowing furniture? (L: Save money) but then she realized, but she was saying basically we don’t learn about finance. That’s important, isn’t it?

L: We don’t and the states generally don’t and I once talked with my brother in Illinois. He said his son can't graduate without passing consumer education that is a new program, so you do see a little bit more education there but we think the adults who are out here now are left sorta high and dry in terms of financial education.

I: OK. So now, we know a lot of people are getting a checking in the mail and we’re gonna throw down to Ms. Kathie Lee, because there are 600 bucks that people are getting, so the questions is what would they do with that money? Ms. Gifford?

Catherine Gifford: You know what, hold on, I’m gonna ask six people six questions. If they get it right, well, quit looking at my notes, Missy. I’m on to you. They get a hundred dollar American Express, a little card they can use. If they get it wrong, they’ll get one of my records. So, that’s the deal. All right? All right, so there’s an incentive to get this right, what’s your name, ma’am?

Q1: Susan.

C: Where are you from?

Q1: Virginia beach

C: V… oh, good, I love down there, that’s a lot of fun. Here’s your first question? OK? Assuming you’ll receive a rebate check, what’s the last thing you should do with the money? A Put it into a savings account; B Make a fun purchase. Which I can see in your eyes, you wanna do; C Pay off monthly bills; or D Pay off revolving debts.

Q1: The last thing you wanna do?

C: Ah ha, the last thing you should do with a rebate check.

Q1: Make a fun purchase.

C: OK.

Q1: Is that right or wrong?

C: No, it’s wrong. It’s C, “Pay off monthly bill”. Excuse me, here you go, enjoy!

I: Let me ask Laura. Why is that the wrong thing to do?

L: I know it sounds like very counter to an advancer, but if you need a one-time bonus to pay your monthly bill, then something is wrong. You need to make sure your in-go matches your out-flow and if it doesn’t, cut back, don’t use extra money to pay monthly bills.

I: Got it! All right, let’s go back downstairs with the finance.

C: All right. We found a very brave gentleman who is willing to talk to me. What’s your name, sir?

Q2: Raymond T

C: Where are you from?

Q2:Wyoming

C: All right, nice to have you, sir. You mean people are very serious into the point , right?

Q2: Yes.

C: You consider yourself a great financial expert?

Q2:No…just medium.

C: Medium? All right, let’s see! Here is question No.2: When planning for retirement, it’s best to invest your money in…A 401(K) or a individual retirement account; B Real estate; C Hot commodities like oil or gold; or D a Hedge fund.

Q2:I'd say A.

C: And you know what, Mr.? You’ll be right. Get that man. There you go, darling, don’t spend it in one place.

I: I think you should give him a CD, too. Why is that the right thing?

L: Because your money grows either tax free or tax deferred, and when you’re saving money of a long period of time 30 or 40 years, you don’t want the taxman take a little bit , bite out of it year after year after year.

I: OK. So, I think that's the worst, the thing we should not do?

L: Well, hedge fund is not for the average investor and hot commodities, you don’t want to be chasing hot commodities.

I: All right, let’s go back downstairs, Ms. Gifford.

C: I just found a hot man and I like him down here. What’s your name, sweetheart?

Q3: Gerrier Harf from North Cakalaki

C: North Cakalaki

Q3:That’s right.

C: All right, with that kind of attitude, would you rather have, the money or my record?

Q3: I'd rather have another hug, to be honest with you.

C: We were doing a little hug before…OK, here is No.3, all right? Let’s see. What’s? oh, hello, my eyes. You’re in debt and have to pay off tons of bills…which one is the most important to pay off? A Credit card bills; C Mortgage, B, I mean, sorry! You make me nervous; three…C Loans, or I’m going to take my time with this question and D Medical bills.

Q3: I’m going to say especially since credit card interest rates are pretty high, you know, get a tax reduction , I’m gonna say credit cards.

C: You’ll be wrong, darling. You got to go home with my pop record. It’s B, mortgage.

I: And why is that the right thing?

L: Because if you don’t pay your mortgage, you’re going to lose your house. That’s your NO.1 payment and the next thing, NO.2 is credit cards.

I: All right, Laura, thank you so much. Ms. Gifford, thanks and thanks the fun crap downstairs , that was great.

C: I’m gonna, I guess, I’m gonna be giving away money and records down here, right? OK.

理财专家Laura Rowley将针对目前艰难的经济形势给我们提出建议。同时Kathie Lee Gifford tests将测试观众的理财能力。

记者：欢迎回到Today’s Money节目，今天我们将和大家同Kathie Lee Gifford女士做一个小游戏，她现在就在楼下的星巴克里和观众在一起。她就在那里，Gifford女士，你好。你看上去很好。那么，我们要做的就是，我和专家谈话，Kathie Lee和观众谈话，看一些我们是否知道这些复杂的问题的答案。雅虎的理财专家Laura Rowley来到这里帮忙，你好。

Laura Rowley：你好。

记者：那么，现在，我们都处于非常艰难的经济时期，很明显，之前，我们曾经谈过鸡蛋，肉类和各种各样商品的价格。这样我们的钱就更加有价值，我们会发现，我猜，顾客们现在都不会买电视机这样的奢侈消费品了，对吗？

Laura Rowley：对。雅虎做了一项调查，我们发现75%的人在节约开支，他们暂缓了主要的消费项目。他们不再购买电子产品或者服装，甚至有些人在吃的方面也在节俭。

记者：坦白的说，许多人不知道怎样理财。我昨天去吃午餐的时候，一个高中的女生说，学校里有木制品商店，有汽车用品店。她问，有多少人更改了内燃机汽化器？多少人在清理家具？虽然她意识到了，但是她说的问题的根本就是我们没有学会理财。这很重要，不是吗？

Laura Rowley：我们没有学会，政府也没有学会，我曾经跟我在伊利诺斯州的兄弟谈过。他说，他的儿子如果不通过消费教育测试就不能毕业，这是一个新的项目。教育方面确实采取了更多的举措，但是我们这些成年人在理财教育方面却是一片空白。

记者：好的。现在，这里有一个装有支票的信封。让我们交给Kathie Lee女士。因为人们得到600美元，问题是他们将怎样花这些钱？Gifford女士？

Catherine Gifford：你知道，我将问六个人六个问题。如果他们答对了，不用理我的建议，小姐，我支持你。他们将得到一张含有100美元的运通卡。如果他们答错了，将记录一次。就是这样。还是有动力让你们答对的。你叫什么名字呢？

Q1: Susan。

Catherine Gifford：你来自哪里？

Q1：佛吉尼亚海滩。

Catherine Gifford：非常好，我喜欢那里，非常好玩。这是你的第一个问题，准备好了吗？假设你收到一张折扣支票，你最不会考虑要做的一件事是什么？A，存入个人储蓄帐号；B，购物，从你的眼睛里看出来你想这样做。C，用来支付每月账单。D，用来还债。

Q1：最后考虑的？

Catherine Gifford：对，用这笔钱你最后考虑要做的事。

Q1：用来购物。

Catherine Gifford：好。

Q1：对还是错？

Catherine Gifford：不对。应该是C，付帐单。

记者：让我问一下Laura，为什么不应该用来付帐单呢？

Laura：我知道，这与很多人想的相反。但是如果你想要一笔一次性的奖金来付帐单的话，情况不对。你必须确保收支相抵，如果入不敷出，你必须节约开支，不要用额外的钱来支付账单。

记者：好的，那让我们回到楼下继续进行测试。

Catherine Gifford：好的。我发现了一名非常勇敢的男士想要回答我的问题。你的名字，先生？

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