如何应对经济困境（一）

Jay Bazzinotti
What are top advices about how to manage money?
1) Avoid easy credit and use it as infrequently as possible. Have only ONE credit card and pay it off in full WITHOUT FAIL every single month no matter how much you have to sacrifice to do it. Credit card debt is insidious and one of the easiest things to get into and one of the hardest to get out of. Avoid it as much as possible.
2) Make a budget and know where your money goes every month. Make sure your income covers your bills. Your mortgage is your most important bill. It must be paid beffore everything else. Your house is your most important asset. Never risk your house.

关于如何理财，最好的建议是什么?
避免轻易使用信用卡，尽量少用。只有一张信用卡，无论你为此付出多少代价，每个月都要还清。信用卡债务是阴险的，是最容易陷入的事情之一，也是最难摆脱的事情之一，尽量避免。
做一个预算，知道每个月你的钱都花到哪里去了。确保你的收入能支付你的账单。你的抵押贷款是你最重要的账单，必须先还这笔钱。你的房子是你最重要的资产，永远不要拿你的房子冒险。

3) Put money into some kind of retirement investment every single month. The earlier you do this in life the more it will pay off when you retire. Learn and understand the "Rule of 72" which tells you how long it takes your money to double at a particular interest rate. You divide the interest rate into 72 and the result is typically the number of years it takes your money to double. At 10 percent it takes 7.2 yearss to double your money. 100 dollars saved when you are 20 becomes 700 dollars when you are 69.
4) Avoid gambling.
5) The stock market is gambling. There are almost never any sure things, hot tips, guarantees. Just because a stock falls doesn''t mean it can''t go lower, including all the way to zero. If you want to invest in the stock market use Vanguard S&P 500 Index funds. Nothing has beaten them over 20 years. Use dollar cost averaging and put the same amount in every month regardless of whether the stock market goes up or down. Do it every month . It''s the best way to invest in the stock market.

每个月都把部分钱投入到某种退休投资中。你在生活中越早这样做，你退休时，回报就越大。学习并理解“72法则”，它告诉你在特定利率下需要多长时间才能翻倍。用72除以利率利率，结果通常是你的钱翻倍所需的年数。在10%的情况下，你需要7.2年的时间才能把钱翻倍。20岁时存下的100美元在69岁时变成了700美元。
避免赌博。
股市就是赌博。几乎从来没有任何确定的事情，热点提示和保证都不可靠。仅仅因为一只股票下跌并不意味着它不能走低，包括一路跌至零。如果你想投资股市，可以投资Vanguard标准普尔500指数基金。20多年来，没有什么能打败它们。使用美元成本平均法，无论股市是涨是跌，每个月都要投入相同的金额。每个月都要做。这是投资股票市场的最佳方式。

6) If you can, purchase some real estate. No matter what, even if the value falls, you still have the property. The number one factor about land is that it is indestructible. That is one of the definitions of land. Do your research and if you can, buy a HOME, not an "INVESTMENT" that you plan on selling to make money. If it does appreciate, you''ve made out. If it doesn''t you still have a place to live. Remember when it comes to real estate, location is key -- a mediocre or even a rather poor house in a great neighborhood is almost always bettter than a great house in a bad neighborhood.
7) If you MUST take college loans take the absolute minimum you need and never, ever use the money frivolously -- a 20 dollar pizza ends up costing 80 dollars over 30 years.
8) Save money for a rainy day. Some experts say that you should have six months salary in cash (such as a money market) for emergencies. At a minimum have some cash on standby in a money market or easy to access and liquidate account for emergencies. An emergency WILL happen sooner or later -- it''s the nature of life.

如果可以的话，买一些房产。不管怎样，即使价值下跌，你仍然拥有房产。土地的首要因素是它坚不可摧。这就是土地的定义之一。做研究如果可以的话，买一个家，而不是一个计划出售赚钱的“投资”。如果它真的升值了，那你就成功了。如果没有升值，你还有地方住。记住，当谈到房地产时，位置是关键——在一个好的社区里，一栋平庸甚至相当糟糕的房子几乎总是比在一个糟糕的社区里的一栋好房子更好。
如果你必须借大学贷款，那么就借你需要的最低限度的贷款，永远不要轻率地使用这笔钱——一个原本20美元的披萨在30年内最终要付出80美元的代价。
存钱以备不时之需。一些专家说，你应该存下六个月的工资现金（比如货币市场）以备不时之需。至少在货币市场上有一些现金备用，或者在紧急情况下可以方便地提取和清算的账户。紧急情况迟早会遇到——这是生活的本质。

9) Start a college fund for your child as soon as he is born. Encourage cash contributions from relatives instead of gifts that will go unused or forgotten. Contribute to it even in small amounts at least once a month.
10) Break bad and expensive habits and put the money into savings. A pack a day cigarette habit costs you over 3500 in a year. In an S&P Index fund that 3500 dollars could be worth over 100,000 dollars by the time you retire. The same goes for booze.
11) Avoid any investment scheme you don''t understand or can''t be made to understand easily. Anyone who tries to sell you an "investment vehicle" and can''t explain how it works to a fifth grader is conning you.

孩子一出生，就为他设立一笔大学基金。鼓励亲属给现金，而不是那些会被闲置或遗忘的礼物。即使是小额现金，每月至少存一次。
改掉坏的和花钱的习惯，把钱存起来。一天一包烟的习惯一年要花掉你3500多元。在标准普尔指数基金中，到你退休时，3500美元的价值可能超过10万美元，酒也是如此。
避免任何你不理解或不容易理解的投资计划。任何试图向你推销一种“投资工具”的人，却不能向一个五年级学生解释它是如何运作的，那他就是在欺骗你。

12) Never buy a new car. Always buy a used car. New cars are almost never worth the money. All vehicles are depreciating assets including boats, campers, cars, trucks, motorcyles and so on. It takes a great deal of investment and work to even break even on a "classic" or "antique" automobile.
13) The older you get after the age of 35 you should be investing more money in US bond funds. They NEVER lose value. It''s easy to invest online using I bonds from U.S. Department of the Treasury. Open and account and put the minimum in. Some experts say that you should increase the percentage of money you save in bonds one percentage point every year until you retire. Many older people were destroyed when their 401Ks crashed in 2008. That didn''t happen to bonds.
14) Many people will talk about the chipping away of earnings through taxes and inflation. You can minimize this by using a good and trusted accountant. Shop around, talk to them and pick the right guy. He can help you minimize your tax burden far more than HR Block or doing it yourself with tax software, especially if your tax situation becomes more complex as you mature. This is not always true but it is often true.

千万不要买新车，总是买一辆二手车。新车几乎不保值。所有的车辆都是在贬值的资产，包括船、露营车、汽车、卡车、摩托车等等。要想在一辆“经典”或“古董”汽车上实现收支平衡，需要大量的投资和工作。
35岁以后年龄越大，你应该把更多的钱投资于美国债券基金。它们永远不会失去价值。在线投资美国财政部的I类债券很容易，开立账户存入最低金额就行。一些专家说，在退休之前，你应该每年将存在债券上的钱的百分比提高一个百分点。许多老年人的401k计划在2008年崩溃时被毁，债券没有发生过这种情况。
许多人会谈论税收和通货膨胀导致的收入减少的问题。你可以通过聘请一位优秀且值得信赖的会计师来最大限度地减少这种情况。货比三家，和他们谈谈，选对人。他可以帮助你减少你的税务负担，远远超过HR Block或自己用税务软件，特别是如果你的税务情况随着你的成熟而变得更加复杂。这并不总是正确的，但通常是正确的。

15) If your company offers an ESPP you would be foolish NOT to take advantage of it. I am always amazed by people who do not invest in ESPP. It''s almost always a free 15 - 20 percent earnings on your money every year and it''s like a getting a bonus if you cash out right away. If your company is a blue chip you might consider letting the money accrue; if not, cash in the stock and invest it in Index Funds. One of the best things a VP ever told me was "Sometimes you have to make it real." Stocks are NOT real money. They are the HOPE of money. You only get real money when you sell them. NEVER FORGET THAT. I had friends building million dollars homes on their stock portfolios who ended up living in their cars when the tech bubble burst in the early 2000s. Sometimes you have to make it real. On the other hand, I once paid cash for a house I bought with my accrued Cisco ESPP stock.
16) All advice, even this, should be viewed with caution. No advice applies to everyone or every situation. You have to take into account your own personal situation. You need to set goals and determine how you will achieve them, especially at retirement time. You cannot count on Social Security, at most you will get the equivalent of about 25,000 dollars a year in the US

如果你的公司提供员工股票购买计划（ESPP），你不利用它是愚蠢的。我总是对那些不投资ESPP的人感到惊讶。每年你的钱几乎总是有15% - 20%的免费收益，如果你马上兑现，就像得到了一笔奖金。如果你的公司是一只蓝筹股，你可以考虑让钱积累起来；如果不是，就把股票变现，投资于指数基金。一位副总裁告诉我的最好的事情之一是“有时候你必须把它变成现金。”股票不是真正的钱。它们是金钱的希望。只有当你卖掉它们时，你才能得到真正的钱，永远不要忘记这一点。我有一些朋友凭借他们的股票投资组合建造了价值数百万美元的房子，当21世纪初科技泡沫破灭时，他们最终住进了车里，有时你必须把它变成现金。另一方面，我曾经把我累积的思科公司ESPP股票变现后买了一栋房子。
所有的建议（包括这些建议），都应该谨慎看待。没有任何建议适用于所有人或每种情况。你必须考虑到你自己的个人情况。你需要设定目标，并决定如何实现这些目标，尤其是在退休时。你不能指望社会保障，在美国，你每年最多能得到相当于2.5万美元的收入。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

Thomas B Walsh
Why do plumbers earn so much?
A couple months ago I had a major plumbing problem in my kitchen. (I’m describing the problem as “major” because the final bill was $1480.)
I called my plumber—who makes $100,000 annually. He said it wasn’t something he was interested in doing and gave me the phone numbers for a couple other plumbers who might be willing to help.
It took me a week and a dozen phone calls to get the job done properly. It turned out to be four manhours of work. The parts couldn’t have cost $20.
The trades are alive and well. Baby Boomers are retiring in droves and leaving their high paying jobs unfilled. I had a good chat with the plumber who finished the job for me. According to him 70% of all master plumbers will be retired by 2022, and they can’t find anybody to hire.

为什么水管工能挣这么多钱?
几个月前，我厨房的水管出了严重问题。（我把这个问题描述为“重大”问题，因为最终账单是1480美元。）
我打电话给我的水管工，他年收入10万美元。他说他不太喜欢做这些工作，并给了我其他几个可能愿意帮忙的水管工的电话号码。
我花了一个星期，打了十几个电话才解决好问题。结果是四个小时就处理完了。这些零件可能不值20美元。
这些行业的需求很大。婴儿潮一代正在成群结队地退休，留下了高薪职位空缺。我和帮我完成工作的水管工聊得很开心。据他说，到2022年，70%的水管工将退休，届时会雇佣不到人的。

Vijaya Lakshmi
What is one thing you will never do in your life?
Uttering a certain idiom in Telugu, which is an insult to womanhood.
When we were children, whenever somebody uttered a lie, all children would shout “Abadham chepite aada pillalu pudataru”
Meaning of the above idiom is “if you tell a lie, girl children will be born to you”.
This idiom implied that since lying is a bad thing, the consequence will be a bad thing (a girl child being born).
Without thinking much about the meaning, I too used to frequently use this idiom.
When I grew up into a teen, I realized that the idiom was an insult to myself.
I never uttered it again.
I will never utter it again, the rest of my life.

什么是你一生中永远不会做的事？
在泰卢固语中使用某个成语，这是对女性的侮辱。
当我们还是孩子的时候，每当有人撒谎，所有的孩子都会大喊“Abadham chepite aada pillalu pudataru”
上面这个成语的意思是“如果你说谎，你就会生女孩”。
这个成语的意思是，既然撒谎是坏事，那么结果就是坏事（生女孩）。
我过去常常使用这个成语，但没有多想它的意思。
当我十几岁的时候，我意识到这个成语是对自己的侮辱。
我就再也没有说过。
我这辈子都不会再说了。

Hana
What is something that you have to do to become a good singer?
Like sports, practice is key to singing. The vocal cords are muscles that require training to be used properly. Of course, anyone can belt out a song in the car at full blast, but not everyone can do it in tune.
To become a good singer, you should definitely invest in hiring a vocal coach. In addition, breathing exercises are essential to singing. Knowing how to use different parts of your diaphragm and lungs to acquire air will assist you from singing purely from your throat (You can hurt yourself that way!)
I hope this helps!

要成为一名好歌手，你必须做些什么？
和运动一样，练习是唱歌的关键。声带是需要训练才能正确使用的肌肉。当然，任何人都可以在车里开足马力大声唱歌，但并不是每个人都能做到音准。
要想成为一名好歌手，你绝对应该花钱请一位声乐教练。此外，呼吸练习对唱歌是必不可少的。知道如何使用横膈膜和肺部的不同部位来获取空气，将有助于你避免纯粹用喉咙唱歌（那样你会伤害自己！）
我希望这能有所帮助！

Timothy Christian Liu
Can anyone become a good singer?
Yes, anybody can, depending on the amount of dedication and practice that he or she is willing to commit to. However, your goals must be gradual and realistic. If you expect yourself to become a good singer overnight, it is not going to happen. Improve yourself gradually and the results will come in no time.
First and foremost, you must constantly train your ears since 80 percent of your intonation is governed by your hearing. This is a very important aspect of musicianship, since you can have a good tone of voice and still sound bad if your hearing is not sensitive enough. When I first started singing, I trained my pitch recognition by playing an instrument (guitar in this case), and when I joined a community choir, my vocal coach kept engraining in me every week solfeggio as one of the useful tools (in non-technical terms, solfeggio is basically your do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do) to train relative pitch. With these two tools, I can deal with more difficult songs with chromatics and weird interval changes.

任何人都能成为一名好歌手吗?
是的，任何人都可以，这取决于他或她投入的程度和练习的次数。然而，你的目标必须是渐进的和现实的。如果你期望自己一夜之间成为一名好歌手，那是不可能的。逐步提高自己，结果很快就会到来。
首先，你必须不断训练你的耳朵，因为你语调的80%是由你的听觉控制的。这是音乐才能的一个非常重要的方面，因为如果你的听力不够灵敏，你的语调可能很好，但听起来仍然很糟糕。当我刚开始唱歌的时候，我通过演奏一种乐器（在这种情况下是吉他）来训练我的音调识别技能，当我加入社区合唱团时，我的声乐教练每周都会把视唱练耳作为训练相对音高的有用工具之一（在非技术术语中，视唱练耳基本上就是你的do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do）。有了这两个工具，我可以应付更难的歌曲（音阶和音程会存在一些奇怪的变化)。

Secondly, my vocal coach always told (and I am still learning this too) that you must ensure that you do not sing from the throat but rather from diaphragm support. Ensure that your tone is strained as less as possible, since too much unnecessary tension can create a poor tone quality as well as reduce your chances of staying in pitch throughout the whole song. Good support also provides a well-balanced, resonant tone quality and your sound will effortlessly project through the whole room without any unnecessary wear and tear.
Last but not the least, constant practice is needed. I was stressed by my vocal coach to warm up and sing at least half an hour everyday (done correctly of course). Accordingly, my vocals improved rapidly in the next few months. The best way to practice, in my opinion, is to record yourself since your voice often sounds different in your ears when compared to others. Through the recording, you can spot your flaws and improve on them.
I wish you all the best and keep singing because it is a fun activity! :)

其次，我的声乐教练总是告诉我（我也一直在学习），你必须确保你不是用喉咙唱歌，而是用横膈膜控制气息。确保你的音调尽可能地不紧张，因为过多不必要的紧张会造成音质不佳，也会降低你在整首歌中保持正确音高的机会。良好的气息控制能力还提供了平衡、共振的音质，你的声音将毫不费力地投射到整个房间，而不会有任何不必要的损耗。
最后但并非最不重要的是，需要不断的练习。我的声乐教练给我施加了压力，要求我每天至少热身半小时（当然是正确的）。因此，在接下来的几个月里，我的声音进步很快。在我看来，最好的练习方法是记录自己的过程，因为与其他人相比，你的声音在你的耳朵里听起来往往不同。通过录音，你可以发现自己的缺点并加以改进。
我祝你一切顺利，继续唱歌，因为这是一项有趣的活动！

Maryam Qureshi
My brother (Danyal Qureshi) and I have been working on starting a business. At first, I didn't like it at all.
Because we’re starting an online business, we did a lot of coding. Danyal, for some weird reason, loved it. I had to force myself to code. After a while, my dad realised I wasn’t really enjoying it. He also decided that coding is just one skill you need for an online business - there are still many others.
So now, I learning sales and marketing. I like talking to people, and I’m learning new things. Marketing incorporates lots of designing, which I like doing. I’m also playing to my strengths a lot more.
We both like what we’re doing and contribute to the business in our own way. I’m also working a lot better because I don’t have to force myself to do it anymore.
My dad says passion has a lot to do with ego. And it seems to make sense - I’m making a lot of progress in sales and marketing, which is why I love it, and Danyal’s good at coding, which is probably why he loves it.

我和哥哥（丹雅尔·库雷希）一直在努力创业。一开始，我一点也不喜欢。
因为我们要开始在线业务，所以我们写了很多代码。出于某种奇怪的原因，我哥哥很喜欢这项工作。我不得不强迫自己编码。过了一段时间，我爸爸意识到我并不是很喜欢它。他还认为编码只是在线业务所需的一项技能，还需要很多其他技能。
现在，我学习销售和市场营销。我喜欢与人交谈，我正在学习新事物。市场营销包含了很多设计，我喜欢做这方面工作。我也在发挥我的优势。
我们都喜欢自己正在做的事情，并以自己的方式为公司做出贡献。我的工作也有效率多了，因为我再也不用强迫自己去做了。
我爸爸说激情和自我有很大关系。这似乎是有道理的——我在销售和营销方面取得了很大进步，这就是我喜欢它的原因，而我哥哥擅长编码，这可能也是他喜欢它的理由。

Henry Haile
Is 13 too late to start dancing and singing?
Nope. I'm not a dancer, but I'm 13 and learning to sing. It's a bit of a battle, but it's better to start now before you get older. It's really fun too! I'd suggest hiring a voice coach and joining chorus in school (if yours has one) and/or a choir at your local church or other place of worship if you're religious.

13岁开始跳舞和唱歌太晚了吗？
不会，我不是舞者，但我13岁了，正在学习唱歌。这有点像一场战斗，但最好在你变老之前就开始，这也很有趣！我建议雇佣一名声乐教练，在学校加入合唱团（如果你的学校有的话），如果你信奉宗教，在当地教堂或其他礼拜场所加入合唱团。

Ava Amaya
Why can't I ever stay consistent to my goals and routine?
I have had the same problem for many years and have finally started overcoming it. For me the solution including using the concept of "mini-habits", having someone in my life I could share my progress with DAILY, and having easy access to the materials that I needed to accomplish my task.
For example, I decided I wanted exercise to become a daily part of my life. In the past I'd go to the gym for an hour every day for about a week and then quit. I would repeat the cycle periodically. I stumbled upon a book (I think it's called mini-habits) and it said to require yourself to do a ridiculously small amount of whatever it is you want to incorporate in your life and do that small amount of activity every day. I decided to try it because obviously going to the gym for an hour was not working for me. My small commitment to myself was to walk one mile every day. I have done this consistently for three months without missing a day. I just don't have an excuse not to do it. The great thing is often times I walk more than a mile! But I ALWAYS walk a mile. Today I walked four miles because I went to a state park with a friend. I text my friend, she acknowledges my feat and I feel happy. I also have a treadmill in my living room. If you put some thought into it, I'm sure you could find a way to incorporate whatever it is you want to do this way. Start small, be consistent.

为什么我总是不能坚持我的目标和惯例?
多年来，我一直遇到同样的问题，并最终开始克服它。对我来说，解决方案包括使用“微习惯”的概念，在我的生活中有一个人，我可以每天分享我的进步，并且可以很容易地获得完成任务所需的材料。
例如，我决定让锻炼成为我日常生活的一部分。在过去，我会每天去健身房锻炼一个小时，坚持一周左右，然后就放弃了。我会定期重复这个循环。我偶然发现了一本书(我想它叫《微习惯》)，书中说，无论你想在生活中融入什么，都要要求自己每天做很少的事情，每天做很少的活动。我决定尝试一下，因为去健身房一个小时显然是我坚持不下去的。我对自己的小小要求是每天走一英里。三个月来，我一直在做这件事，没有错过任何一天。我完全没有理由不去做。最棒的是我经常走一英里以上！但我总是会至少走一英里。今天我走了四英里，因为我和一个朋友去了一个州立公园。我给我的朋友发短信，她承认我的成就，我感到很高兴。我的客厅里还有一台跑步机。如果你仔细想想，我相信你可以找到一种方法，把你想做的事情融入其中，从小处着手，始终如一。

Edward Staunton
Can anyone learn how to sing or do you have to have a good voice?
Yes, anyone can learn how to sing.
Some start worse at singing than others, some start better. In general everyone can get to the same level eventually, and with enough practise.
The voice in controlled by muscles so it can be trained. Thinking of learning to singing as somewhere between a sport, a language. Of course the performance and singing part is more like an art form, an emotional expression.
I've taught beginners who have progressed quicker than full-time professionals. And some beginners now sing better than the professionals. Pop music is a funny thing.

每个人都能学会唱歌吗?还是说你必须有一副好嗓子?
是的，任何人都可以学会唱歌。
有些人开始唱歌比其他人差，有些人开始唱得更好。总的来说，只要经过足够的练习，每个人最终都能达到相同的水平。
声音由肌肉控制，因此可以进行训练。把学习唱歌看作是一项运动，一种语言。当然，表演和演唱更像是一种艺术形式，一种情感表达。
我教过那些比全职专业人士进步更快的初学者。一些初学者现在比专业人士唱得更好。流行音乐是一件有趣的事情。

Sandeep Ravidutt Sharma
In my view singing is a natural talent. Learning means improvising your singing skills, knowing more about music. First approach some guru, find more info about how to take forward. Visualise yourself learning and singing, the Universe or the Lord will arrange everything for you. If you are good in singing even now, you can start a Youtube channel, make efforts to reach wide audience through Social media. You can start earning.
You don't need too much of money to learn and practice singing. Street singers carrying EkTara is the best example which shows that you hardly need money for singing.

在我看来，唱歌是一种天赋。学习意味着即兴发挥你的歌唱技巧，更多地了解音乐。首先联系一些专家，找到更多关于如何进步的信息。想象自己在学习和唱歌，宇宙或上帝会为你安排一切。如果你现在就唱得很好，你可以创建油管频道，努力通过社交媒体接触广泛的观众，之后就可以开始赚钱了。
你学习和练习唱歌不需要太多的钱。背着拉弦鼓的街头歌手就是最好的例子，这表明你唱歌几乎不需要花钱。