Introducing Kids to Money
讓孩子認識金錢
Money gives people -- both young and old -- decision-making opportunities. Educating, motivating, and empowering children to become regular savers and investors will enable them to keep more of the money they earn and do more with the money they spend. Everyday spending decisions can have a far more negative impact on children's financial futures than any investment decisions they may ever make. Here are 15 simple ways to help educate children about personal finance and managing money:
錢給了人們---不論老少---以做決定的機會。教育、激發和授權孩子成為日常節省家和投資家會讓他們攢下更多錢、花同樣的錢得到更多。日常花銷的決定會比任何其他其他的投資決定對孩子更有負面影響。以下是十五種幫助您教育孩子關于個人資金和如何理財的簡單方法：
As soon as children can count, introduce them to money. Take an active role in providing them with information. Observation and repetition are two important ways children learn.
1. 孩子一能數數，就告訴他們錢是啥。積極地告訴他們關于錢的信息。觀察和重復是孩子學習的兩個最重要的方式。
Communicate with children as they grow about your values concerning money --- how to save it, how to make it grow, and most importantly, how to spend it wisely.
2. 在孩子們成長過程中和他們交流關于你的金錢觀---如何省錢，如何掙錢，最重要的是如何明智的花錢。
Help children learn the differences between needs, wants, and wishes. This will prepare them for making good spending decisions in the future.
3. 幫助孩子認識到需要、想要和愿望之間的區別。這會為他們在未來做好的花銷決定做準備。
Setting goals is fundamental to learning the value of money and saving. Young or old, people rarely reach goals they haven't set. Nearly every toy or other item children ask their parents to buy them can become the object of a goal-setting session. Such goal-setting helps children learn to become responsible for themselves.
4. 設定目標是學習金錢價值和攢錢的基本。不論老少，人很少達到他們不曾定下的目標。幾乎每一個玩具或別的東西都可以成為一個設定目標的訓練課。這樣的訓練會讓孩子們學會對自己負責。
Introduce children to the value of saving versus spending. Explain and demonstrate the concept of earning interest income on savings. Consider paying interest on money children save at home; children can help calculate the interest and see how fast money accumulates through the power of compound interest. Later on, they also will realize that the quickest way to a good credit rating is a history of regular, successful savings. Some parents even offer to match what children save on their own.
5. 告訴孩子省錢和花錢的價值。闡釋從儲蓄中獲得收益利息的概念。考慮給孩子們在家的儲蓄支付利息；孩子可以幫著計算利息也看看錢是怎么通過復利快速積攢起來的。以后，他們會認識到最快獲得好的信譽級別的方式是通過日常的一系列成功儲蓄。有些家長甚至自己把孩子的儲蓄和信譽級別匹配起來。
Allowance and Spending Decisions
零錢和花錢
When giving children an allowance, give them the money in denominations that encourage saving. If the amount is $5, give them 5-1-dollar bills and encourage that at least one dollar be set aside in savings. (Saving $5 a week at 6 percent interest compounded quarterly will total about $266 after a year, $1,503 after 5 years, and $3,527 after 10 years!)
6. 在給孩子們零花錢的時候，以一種可以鼓勵攢錢的方式給予。如果給5美元，給他們五個一元的紙幣并要求至少有一元錢要存起來。(每星期按6%的復利存5美元，在一年之后就有$266,五年后$1,503 ,10年后$3,527 !)
Take children to a credit union or bank to open their own savings accounts. Beginning the regular savings habit early is one of the keys to savings success. Remember, don't refuse them when they want to withdraw a portion of their savings for a purchase--This may discourage them from saving at all. You can also introduce children to U.S. savings bonds. Bonds are still a good value, costing one-half their face value and earning interest that in some instances will be tax-free if used for a college education. Perhaps more importantly, when given as a gift, bonds will not be spent immediately, reinforcing saving and goal-setting lessons.
7. 帶孩子去信用社或者銀行，開通屬于他們自己的儲蓄賬戶。早點開始日常儲蓄是成功攢錢的關鍵之一。記住，當他們要取錢買某樣東西的時候，不要拒絕他們---這可能會讓他們干脆放棄存錢。你也可以告訴孩子美國的儲蓄國債。國債的價值還是不錯的，只需花費其面值的一半，如果被用于大學教育那么在某些情況下所得的利息會免稅。也許更重要的是，當作為禮物給孩子的時候，國債不會立即被花掉，加深了攢錢和定目標的概念。
Keeping good records of money saved, invested, or spent is another important skill young people must learn. To make it easy, use 12 envelopes, 1 for each month, with a larger envelope to hold all the envelopes for the year. Establish this system for each child. Encourage children to place receipts from all purchases in the envelopes and keep notes on what they do with their money.
8. 好好記錄攢的錢，投資的錢和花的錢，這是另一個年輕人應該掌握的重要技巧。簡單的方法是：準備12個信封，每個信封裝每個月的錢，用一個大一些的信封裝當年的所有信封。為每個孩子都建立一個這種系統。鼓勵孩子們把所有購物小票放進信封中并記錄下他們用那些錢做了什么。
Use regular shopping trips as opportunities to teach children the value of money. Going to the grocery store is often a child's first spending experience. About a third of our take-home pay is spent on grocery and household items. Spending smarter at the grocery store (using coupons, shopping sales, comparing unit prices) can save more than $1,800 a year for a family of four. To help young people understand this lesson, demonstrate how to plan economical meals, avoid waste, and use leftovers efficiently. When you take children to other kinds of stores, explain how to plan purchases in advance and make unit-price comparisons. Show them how to check for value, quality, repairability, warranty, and other consumer concerns. Spending money can be fun and very productive when spending is well-planned. Unplanned spending, as a rule, usually results in 20-30 percent of our money being wasted because we obtain poor value with our purchases.
9. 把日常的購物經歷當做告訴孩子錢的價值的機會。去雜貨店是一個孩子第一次的花錢經歷。大約有三分之一的稅后工資是用來買雜貨和家庭用品的。在雜貨店更聰明地花銷(用優惠劵、商場特價、比較商品價格)，一個家庭一年就可以剩下1800美元。想讓孩子懂得這些，就要告訴他們如何計劃經濟餐，避免浪費，有效地利用剩下了的食物。當你帶孩子去其他類型的商店時，解釋如何事先計劃所買的東西和如何做單價比較。展示給他們如何檢查價格、數量、可修度、保修期和其他顧客要考慮的事情。好的計劃可以讓花錢變得有趣且有效率。沒有計劃的花錢經常會導致20%~30%的錢被浪費，因為我們沒有從所買的東西獲得最大價值。
Allow young people to make spending decisions. Whether good or poor, they will learn from their spending choices. You can then initiate an open discussion of spending pros and cons before more spending takes place. Encourage them to use common sense when buying. This means doing research before making major purchases, waiting for the right time to buy, and using the "spending-by-choice" technique. This technique involves selecting at least three other things the money could be spent on setting aside money for one of the items, and then making a choice of which item to purchase.
10. 允許年輕人對花錢做自己的選擇。不論好壞，他們都會從中學習。你可以在錢被花出去之前開啟一個關于這次開銷利與弊的討論。鼓勵他們在消費時利用常識。也就是在買大件物品前要做調查，等待合適的購買時間以及對“先做選擇后花錢”的技巧的運用。這個技巧包括選擇被攢起來買一樣東西的這筆錢可以購買的至少三件其他東西，然后在這些物品中作出購買的選擇。
Buying Smart
聰明地花錢
Show children how to evaluate TV, radio, and print ads for products. Will a product really perform and do what the commercials say? Is a price offered truly a sale price? Are alternative products available that will do a better job, perhaps for less cost, or offer better value? Remind them that if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
11. 將如何估價電視、廣播和打印的商品廣告展示給孩子們。一個商品真的會有廣告中介紹的那些功能嗎？打特價時的價格是真實的嗎？有類似的產品可以做的更好嗎，也許花費更少，或者有更大的價值？提醒他們如果有些東西聽起來好的不真實，那么事實大抵如此。
Alert children to the dangers of borrowing and paying interest. If you charge interest on small loans you make to them, they will learn quickly how expensive it is to rent someone else's money for a specified period of time. For instance, paying for a $499 TV over 18 months at $31.85 a month at 18.8 percent interest means the buyer really pays about $575.
12. 讓孩子們警惕借錢和還利息的危險。如果你改變你借給他們的一小筆錢的利息，他們會很快地知道為了某一特殊時段而借別人的錢是多么的貴。比方說，為買一臺$499的電視，以18.8%的利率在十八個月之中每個月償還 $31.85，那么實際上買家花費了$575。
When using a credit card at a restaurant, take the opportunity to teach children about how credit cards work. Explain to children how to verify the charges, how to calculate the tip, and how to guard against credit card fraud.
13. 在餐廳使用信用卡的時候，抓住機會教孩子信用卡是咋回事。解釋如何核實付款，如何計算小費，如何防備信用卡騙子。
Be cautious about making credit cards available to young people, even when they are entering college. Credit cards have a message: "spend!" Some students report using the cards for cash advances and also to meet everyday needs, instead of for emergencies (as originally planned). Many of those same students find themselves having to cut back on classes to fit in part-time jobs just to pay for their credit card purchases.
14. 讓孩子們用信用卡的時候要警惕，甚至他們進了大學以后也是一樣。信用卡代表這一個信息：“花錢！”一些學生反映把信用卡當做現金墊款以及滿足日常需要來使用，而不是應急(原本的初衷)。很多這些學生需要翹課去做業余工作來還上買東西花掉的信用卡里的錢。
Establish a regular schedule for family discussions about finances. This is especially helpful to younger children--it can be the time when they tote up their savings and receive interest. Other discussion topics should include the difference between cash, checks, and credit cards; wise spending habits; how to avoid the use of credit; and the advantages of saving and investment growth. With teenagers, it's also useful to discuss what's happening with the national and local economies, how to economize at home, and alternatives to spending money. All of this information will be important as they take on more responsibility for their own financial well-being.
15. 建立一個定期的關于財政的家庭討論。這個對小孩子尤其重要---孩子們可以在這個時候結算他們的儲蓄并得到利息。其他討論的話題應該包括現金、支票、信用卡的區別；聰明地消費習慣；如何避免對信用卡的使用；以及存錢和投資增長的好處。和孩子們討論國際和當地經濟的新聞、如何在家實現經濟化、以及其他存錢的方式也都很有幫助。所有這些信息都會對他們為自己管理好財政而負責有重要作用。
