华尔街日报致毕业生：给应届大学毕业生的理财建议

Congratulations, 2013 graduates. You did it! Now it's time to learn something really useful.
2013年的毕业生们，祝贺你们！你们毕业了！现在是时候学习一些真正有用的东西了。

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.
在顺利完成课业后，现在你们就要朝着掌握管理金钱的实用技能前进了。幸运的是，比起前几年，现在的经济状况要好很多了，大学毕业生的整体失业率是美国总人口的一半，是就业前景的好预兆。

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.
如果你学会管理薪水，量入为出，存一些钱以备将来之用，你就可以将所受教育学以致用了，无论你选择做什么工作。

Here's some advice to get you on the right path.
这里是让你走上正确道路的一些建议。

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，父母还可能给你买健康保险。如果你买的是学生险，保单很可能在8月中旬就会到期。如果到那时你还不能靠工作得到续保，那么就得马上开始着想其它计划。

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.
根据《平价医疗法案》的规定，年轻人可以享受父母缴纳的健康保险直到25岁，但如果他们已经参加了学生保险，那么他们需要重新注册。在你找到工作后，为参保出具资格证明需要3个月时间，因此随同父母参保或是短期健康投保是一种选择。

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.
无论你做什么工作，都不要省了参保。即使是这些年轻健康的人们也需要，因为一场车祸或是不可预见的疾病就会让你深陷财务困境。

2. Reduce debt.
减少债务

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.
据估计，现在三分之二的毕业生离校时都背负着助学贷款，平均负债额大约是27,000美元。债务是一笔负担，为了偿还一部分债务，节衣缩食几年是值得的，甚至是延迟毕业时间。这可以减少你在利息上的支出，为你以后二十多年偿还债务提供了很大的灵活性。

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.
试想一笔20000美元的贷款，为期10年，利率是6.8%。每月总共要支付230美元，那么在整个贷款期限里总利息会累积到7600美元左右。每月多支付20美元将会把偿还期限缩短到9年，在整个还贷期限里你节省900美元。每月支付400美元（可能是偿还汽车贷款的数目），在5年时间里就能还清，节省超过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.
你要如何平衡这些需求？你要精打细算，购买一辆便宜的二手车而不是新车。寻找伙伴合租，带午餐去上班。在要背负很多债务前，如果你不想搬回家的话，那么确保至少有1000美元的储蓄作为紧急备用，或是在银行预留了三个月的开销费用。如果雇主提供了一项退休计划的福利，出资争取至少一部分利益，这样白拿的钱可不要错过哦。3. Know your credit report.
了解你的信用报告

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.
比起你的在校成绩，雇主可能会更关心你的信用记录，因为信用记录表明了你管理债务的情况。因此在你求职或申请汽车贷款前，去AnnualCreditReport网站看看你的信用报告情况。三大信用机构的报告你都可以一年查询一次。

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!)
如果你在大学里没有你自己的信用卡，或没使用，你可能就没有那么多的信用记录。若是那样的话，没有你父母的签字保证，房东可能不会向你出租房屋（这是另一个要善待父母的理由！）。

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.
为了建立信用记录，你应该有一张到两张信用卡，至少每几个月使用一次表明你会为还款负责。准时偿还助学贷款同样可以帮你建立良好的信用记录。

4. Avoid unnecessary fees.
避开不必要的费用

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.
为了合理使用预算，到当地的信用社或是网上账户获得免费的账户。尽量不要去自动取款机取钱，因为会产生手续费，把你的储蓄账户绑定到查询账户上，这样你就永远不用支付因透支产生的费用了。准时还款避免滞纳金，全额支付账单，避开产生利息。

5. Use your social network.
发挥你的社交网络

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.
你的朋友们可以分享信息，所以要利用别人了解的信息。不要在网上晒你的银行收支单或工资单，这很无聊，但不要怕问最近毕业的同学们付了多少房租、汽车保险或是上网费。记住你在大学里学到的：跟那些做了功课的同学做朋友是对的。