Many of us would like to have money in savings. Fankly speaking, a dollar spent now seems to provide a lot more pleasure than a dollar saved, how can you make sure you’re motivated enough to put money aside on a regular basis?
有积蓄是许多人的梦想。坦率地讲,花一块钱比存一块钱要爽多了,那么怎样才能保证自己有足够的意志力把钱按期存起来呢?
Here are five things that could work for you...
下面是你可以考虑的五个办法……
1. Save Little And Often 存小钱,常存钱
Do you tell yourself that it’s not worth saving if you don’t have at least 100 (or 500, or 1000) to put into a savings account? This is a bit like telling yourself that it’s not worth getting some exercise unless you have a whole day clear to jog.
你是不是告诉自己,至少有100(500或1000)块钱才值得存入银行?这就有点像对自己说,只有拥有一整天的时间才值得去锻炼。
How about saving just a dollar or two each day? Most of us can cut a couple of dollars of unnecessary spending every day (how about skipping that latte, carpooling, ditching your daily newspaper..?) It’s a tiny amount that you’ll barely notice on a daily basis, but over the course of a year, you’ll have saved several hundred dollars.
何不试试每天只存一两块钱呢?大多数人每天都能剩出几块钱来,(例如不喝咖啡,和别人合伙坐出租车,少买点报纸)你可能很容易就忽略这些小钱,但一年后,你就可以节省数百元钱。
2. Read Personal Finance Blogs 阅读个人理财博客
I find that I get encouraged to save--and to adopt good financial habits in general--by reading about others’tips and success. One of my must-read blogs for this is The Simple Dollar; Trent writes very well, and covers topics in-depth without making them too complicated. He also has an upbeat and motivating attitude towards savings and finances (some personal finance blogs can make for rather dour reading).
我是通过阅读别人分享的小技巧和成功经验才学会了存钱和理财。我必读的一个理财博客是 The Simple Dollar,里面的文章深入浅出,对储蓄和理财的态度让人变得乐观而振奋(一些个人的理财博客则让人昏昏欲睡)。
Other good blogs on personal finance are Get Rich Slowly and Wise Bread.
其他好的个人理财博客还有Get Rich Slowly 和 Wise Bread。
3. Keep a Savings Log 建立一个储蓄日志
Something that’s often recommended for those sorting out their finances is to keep a spending log--to write down what you spend, so that you have a clear picture of where all the money is going. I’ve done this in the past, and it’s always revealing (and occasionally a bit horrifying!)
管钱的一个好办法是建立一个花钱日志,写下你的花费,让自己清楚地知道所有的钱都花到哪里去了。我已经做到了这一点,而且我发现它的好处明显(只是偶尔觉得结果有点可怕!)
A twist on this, though, is to keep a savings log. Each time you make a deposit into your savings account (or each time you shove a few dollars into the jam jar hidden under your bed), write down the date and how much you saved. This can be a great way to motivate yourself to save more. You could also use your calendar or diary for this.