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【Ready to Save Like There's No Tomorrow?】
TEXT:This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
這里是美國之音慢速英語經濟報道。
Are you a saver or a spender?
你是節儉者，還是揮霍者？
"A penny saved is a penny earned." This old saying calls attention to the wisdom of saving money. "Putting money away for a rainy day" is another way to talk about saving for the future.
“省錢就是賺錢”，這句老話讓人重視省錢的藝術。“未雨綢繆”是為將來打算的另一種說法。
People who hate to spend money are known as "tightwads," while those who like to get the most value for their money are called "thrifty." A thrifty person is different from a "spendthrift." A spendthrift is someone who spends wastefully. People like that are often said to spend money "like a drunken sailor" or "like there's no tomorrow."
不舍得花錢的人被稱作“吝嗇鬼”，使金錢實現價值最大化的人就是“節儉”。節儉者和揮霍者可不一樣，揮霍者是很敗家的人，通常稱這種人花起錢來“像喝醉的水手”或“好像沒有明天”。
In the United States, people who want to start a savings account have different choices of where to put their money. These include banks and credit unions. Credit unions are cooperatives for people who have some kind of connection. For example, the members might work for a university or a government agency. Most credit unions are nonprofit organizations.
在美國，人們想開儲蓄賬戶就多種選擇，包括銀行和信用機構。信用機構是為有某些關系的人服務的合作社，比如，成員可能就職于大學或政府機構。大多數信用機構都是非營利性的。
Credit unions, banks and other financial institutions pay interest on savings accounts. But the interest rates are low. Certificates of deposit pay higher returns. With a certificate of deposit, or CD, a person agrees not to withdraw the money for a certain period of time. This term could be anywhere from a few months to several years. Longer terms, and larger amounts, pay higher interest. People can withdraw their money early but they have to pay a penalty.
信用機構、銀行等其他金融機構都對儲戶支付利息，但利率很低。存款證的回報要高些，使用存款證的人承諾一定時間內不取錢，期限可以是幾個月或幾年。期限越長，金額越大，支付的利息就越高。可以提前提取存款，但要支付違約金。
Another way to save is through a money market fund. This is a kind of mutual fund. Mutual funds invest money from many people. The money is sometimes placed in short-term government securities. Money market funds, however, may not be federally guaranteed like other kinds of savings. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation guarantees savings up to two hundred fifty thousand dollars.
另一種存錢方式是貨幣基金，這是一種共同基金。共同基金用許多人的錢去投資。有時投資于短期政府債券。然而，貨幣市場基金不像其它種類的儲蓄一樣有聯邦政府擔保。聯邦存款保險公司為存款提供最高25萬美元的擔保。
In a number of countries, people have been saving less over the years. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is a group of thirty-four countries. The OECD says in nineteen ninety, Americans had a household savings rate of seven percent. This year, that rate is expected to be a little more than four percent. Many European countries have higher rates, but Americans save more than families in countries like Japan and South Korea.
這些年，一些國家的人們儲蓄得越來越少。經合組織有36個會員國。組織稱1990年美國家庭儲蓄率為7%，今年預計略高于4%。許多歐洲國家儲蓄率更高，但美國人的家庭儲蓄比日韓等國家的多
