5個大錯誤：流行的個人理財建議對Y世代的規劃不正確

LESSON #1: “SKIPPING YOUR DAILY LATTE WILL MAKE YOU A MILLIONAIRE” 
第一課：「放棄每天的拿鐵咖啡會讓你成為百萬富翁」

This popular personal finance “lesson” seems to be a favorite for Baby Boomers who see younger people enjoying their little “luxuries,” whether it’s a daily trip to Starbucks or a plate of avocado toast. And frankly, aside from bad advice, it’s condescending.
這個受歡迎的個人理財「教訓」似乎是嬰兒潮一代的最愛，他們看到年輕人享受著一些小小的「奢侈品」，不論是每天去星巴克還是吃一盤酪梨土司。坦白說，除了提供錯誤的建議外，這種態度還顯得有些居高臨下。

Sweating the small stuff isn’t always the correct answer, especially if you’re making meaningful purchases that bring you joy. Let’s put it in perspective: spending $5 on a latte five days a week would equate to about $1,300 a year. Not enough for a down payment on a house or a new car.  
對於那些能帶給你快樂的有意義的購買，過於計較小事並不總是正確的選擇。讓我們來看看這個問題：每週五天花5美元買一杯拿鐵，一年下來大約花費1300美元。這點錢不足以支付房屋首付款或買一輛新車。

Instead, focus on reducing your most significant expenses, such as housing and transportation. If you’re determined to purchase a new home or reach another significant financial milestone, it will take more considerable lifestyle changes than skipping coffee to meet your goals. Consider getting a roommate to split housing costs or purchase a used car with cash  instead of financing a  brand new one.
相反，著重減少你最重要的開支，例如住房和交通費。如果你決心購買新房或達到其他重要的財務里程碑，就需要做出更大的生活方式改變，而不僅僅是為了實現目標而省下咖啡錢。考慮找一個室友分擔住房費用，或者用現金購買一輛二手車，而不是買一輛全新的車並進行融資。

Pinching pennies with your discretionary spending isn’t sustainable and can harm your overall well-being and sense of fulfillment. If something makes you happy and you can afford it without blowing the budget, go for it. 
過於節儉地使用零用金是不可持續的，並可能損害您的整體幸福感和滿足感。如果某件事讓您感到快樂，而且您負擔得起而不會超出預算，那就去做吧。

LESSON #2: “OWNING A HOME IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN RENTING” 
第二課：「擁有房屋總是比租房更好」

Homeownership is often looked at with rose-colored glasses. We’re told time and time again that success means a white picket fence and a (large) mortgage. But we urge you to challenge the notion of homeownership and recognize that it is, in fact, not always the superior choice.
擁有房產常常被人以理想化的眼光看待。我們一再被告知成功意味著擁有一個白色的圍籬和一筆（巨額的）抵押貸款。但我們敦促你質疑擁有房產的觀念，並認識到這並不總是最佳的選擇。

The big hangup people have with renting is that you’re giving money to a landlord, essentially helping somebody else pay their mortgage and build equity in their home. But before writing it off completely, consider the benefits of renting (and there are many!). 
人們對租房的主要疑慮在於你將錢交給房東，實際上是幫助別人支付他們的抵押貸款並積累房屋資產。但在完全否定之前，請考慮租房的好處（而且有很多！）。

When you don’t own a piece of property, you’re not the one responsible when something goes wrong. A pipe bursts, the ceiling leaks, and the tub drain clogs up—not your problem! And house repairs can get expensive, so being able to pass the buck when things go awry is a big advantage.
當你沒有擁有一塊財產時，當事情出了問題時，你不需要負責。管道爆裂、天花板漏水、浴缸排水口堵塞——這些都不是你的問題！而且房屋維修費用很高，所以當事情出錯時能夠推卸責任是一個很大的優勢。

I tell my clients, when you’re renting your rent payment is the most you’ll spend on housing costs, but when you own a home, your mortgage is the least amount you’ll spend on housing cost.
我告訴我的客戶，當你租房時，房租是你在住房費用上花費最多的部分，但當你擁有一個房屋時，你的抵押貸款是你在住房費用上花費最少的部分。

When you rent you aren’t responsible for paying property taxes and don’t have to worry about general maintenance costs such as servicing the HVAC system, repaving the driveway, cleaning the gutters, etc. Unexpected repairs can come up and these can be costly. 
當你租房時，你不需要負責支付房地產稅，也不必擔心一般維護費用，例如維修暖通空調系統、重新鋪設車道、清理排水溝等等。意外的維修可能會出現，而這些可能會很昂貴。

Renting also provides flexibility and mobility, which is vital if there’s a chance you or your partner would have to relocate for work or family suddenly. It is much easier and more affordable to leave a rented space (especially if you’re on a monthly lease) than to sell your house. You don’t have to worry about market conditions or interest rates.
租房也提供了靈活性和流動性，如果你或你的伴侣突然需要為工作或家庭搬遷，這是至關重要的。離開租賃空間（尤其是如果你是按月租賃）要比出售房屋容易得多且更經濟實惠。你不必擔心市場狀況或利率。

Purchasing a home can be a rewarding experience, but it’s worth considering all options before tying your money up in such a significant asset.
購買一個房屋可能是一個有回報的經驗，但在將您的資金投入這樣一個重要的資產之前，值得考慮所有選擇。

LESSON #3: “AVOID DEBT” 
第三課：「避免負債」

If you’re human, there’s an excellent chance you’ll have to take on debt at some point. Rather than try for the impossible (avoiding all forms of debt ever), focus instead on distinguishing between good debt and bad debt.
如果你是人類，很有可能在某個時候需要負債。與其試圖達到不可能的目標（永遠避免所有形式的負債），不如專注於區分好的債務和壞的債務。

Taking on good debt means using a strategic borrowing strategy to help pursue wealth-building opportunities, such as homebuying or higher education. Bad debt, on the other hand, is typically high-interest debt that doesn’t serve your more significant goals or long-term needs. Bad debt includes credit card debt and personal loans.
承擔良好的債務意味著使用策略性借貸策略，以幫助追求財富增長的機會，例如購房或接受高等教育。另一方面，壞債通常是高利息債務，並不能滿足您更重要的目標或長期需求。壞債包括信用卡債務和個人貸款。

No matter what type of debt you accrue, you still owe it to your financial well-being to weigh your options and manage it responsibly. For example, the timing of taking on a loan can make a huge difference in how it plays into your greater financial picture.
無論你累積了什麼類型的債務，你仍然有責任對你的財務狀況進行評估，並負責地管理它。例如，借貸的時間點對於它如何影響你整體的財務狀況有著巨大的差異。

Consider how varied interest rates have been over the past few years.
考慮過去幾年間利率的多樣性。

In 2020 or 2021, you took advantage of a 3% mortgage rate and bought a home or refinanced your previous mortgage to reduce monthly payments. But in 2023, interest rates are significantly higher, so buyers are more cautious about taking on new debt (especially auto loans or home equity lines of credit).
在2020年或2021年，你利用了3%的抵押貸款利率，買了一個房子或者重新貸款以減少每月付款。但是在2023年，利率大幅上升，所以買家對承擔新債務更加謹慎（尤其是汽車貸款或房屋產權貸款）。

LESSON #4: “EVERYONE NEEDS LIFE INSURANCE” 
第四課：「每個人都需要人壽保險」

There are many types of life insurance policies but two common ones are: term and whole.
有很多種類的人壽保險政策，但其中兩種常見的是：定期壽險和終身壽險。

Term life insurance is active for a set amount of time (think 10, 20, 30-year periods). Once the term has expired, the coverage ends.
定期人壽保險在一段特定的時間內有效（例如10年、20年、30年）。一旦期限結束，保險保障也隨之終止。

Whole life insurance is an insurance policy that lasts your lifetime and has no expiration date. Some whole-life policies accrue a cash balance and act as an investment vehicle.
終身壽險是一種保險政策，其有效期為終身且沒有到期日。某些終身壽險政策會累積現金餘額，並充當投資工具。

Insurance brokers sometimes push whole life insurance policies heavily because of their large commissions and kickbacks. Because of the incentive to sell, people are saddled with expensive monthly premiums for a policy that doesn’t fit their lifestyle or needs.
保險經紀人有時會大力推銷終身壽險政策，因為他們可以獲得高額佣金和回扣。由於銷售的誘因，人們可能會被負擔昂貴的月保費，而這種保單並不符合他們的生活方式或需求。

When you’re in your 20s, for example, you may not have dependents or significant assets that require such robust coverage. Instead, you’re better off investing the money you would pay on premiums in a Roth IRA (as an example).
舉例來說，當你二十幾歲時，可能沒有需要如此全面保障的家屬或重要資產。相反地，你最好將本來要支付保費的錢投資於羅斯個人退休帳戶（以此為例）。

When used strategically, however, term life insurance can offer cost-effective coverage for your family. Use term policies to help protect your family’s financial well-being during high-cost years. For example, in your 30s and 40s, you may have a large mortgage and a spouse or children who depend on your income. A term life policy can offer critical financial protection and cover costs like childcare, college, retirement, or mortgage payments.
然而，如果明智地使用，定期人壽保險可以為您的家人提供具有成本效益的保障。在高成本的年份使用定期保單來幫助保護您家人的財務狀況。例如，在您三四十歲時，您可能有一筆巨額的抵押貸款，並且有一個依賴您收入的配偶或子女。定期人壽保單可以提供關鍵的財務保護，並支付像是托兒費、大學學費、退休金或抵押貸款等費用。

LESSON #5: “SAVING MORE MONEY IS ALWAYS THE SOLUTION” 
第五課：“多存錢總是解決之道”

It’s great to be a savvy saver, but there are limitations to putting too much focus on your savings strategy. Stuffing dollar bills under the mattress, or letting money sit in a checking account accruing virtually no interest, isn’t making your money work for you.
成為一個精明的儲蓄者確實很棒，但過度專注於儲蓄策略也有其限制。把美元塞進床墊下，或者讓錢在支票帳戶上閒置，幾乎不產生任何利息，這樣並不能讓你的錢為你工作。

Start small by opening a high yield savings account. Even earning 4% on your money can be a huge improvement! If you move $10,000 from your checking earning nothing in interest to your savings earning 4%, you’d have made over $400 throughout the year!
從開立一個高收益儲蓄帳戶開始小規模投資。即使只有賺取4%的利息，也能帶來巨大的改善！如果你將一萬美元從不賺利息的支票帳戶轉移到賺取4%利息的儲蓄帳戶，一年下來你就能賺取超過400美元！

The next step to building wealth is investing your money. Opening a brokerage account and setting up a recurring deposit into low cost index ETFs or mutual funds will have a large impact on your ability to grow your net worth long term. Allowing your money to grow and hopefully, outpace inflation (which has seen record highs in recent years). Otherwise, all that cash starts to erode from the effects of inflation, and your purchasing power decreases over time.
建立財富的下一步是投資您的資金。開設一個證券交易帳戶並設定定期存款到低成本指數ETF或共同基金，將對您長期增加淨資產的能力產生重大影響。讓您的資金增長，並希望能夠超越通脹（近年來通脹率創下歷史新高）。否則，所有現金將因通脹而逐漸侵蝕，您的購買力將隨著時間的推移而下降。

As Ryan Holiday said in his blog post: 24 Things I Wish I Had Done Sooner, “As far as saving and investing money goes, there are so many different automatic transfers I should have set up earlier. I don’t know what my block was, but I stuck with doing things by hand for too long. Meanwhile, every account I have and did eventually set up scheduled transfers for–for my retirement, for my kids’ college, rainy day fund etc.–constantly surprises me with how large the balances have been. Set it and forget it…the sooner you do it, the more you’ll have. You won’t regret compound interest.”
正如Ryan Holiday在他的博客文章《我希望我早點做的24件事》中所說：“就儲蓄和投資而言，我應該早點設立許多不同的自動轉帳。我不知道我當時為什麼猶豫不决，但我堅持手動操作的時間太長了。與此同時，我為每個帳戶設立了定期轉帳——用於退休金、孩子的大學教育基金、應急基金等等——這些帳戶的餘額總是讓我驚訝地增長。設定好後就忘記它……你越早這樣做，你就會擁有更多。你不會後悔複利的好處。”

And when we say investing, we’re not only talking about the markets. One of the best investments you can make is in yourself, whether pursuing a new passion, expanding your skillset, negotiating a higher salary at your new job, learning a new language, or anything else that interests you. Find new ways to make yourself more valuable and explore income-generating opportunities, such as starting a business or side hustle. 
當我們說到投資時，我們不僅僅是指市場。你可以做的最好的投資之一就是投資自己，不論是追求新的熱情、擴展你的技能、在新工作中談判更高的薪水、學習一門新語言，或者其他任何你感興趣的事情。尋找讓自己變得更有價值的新方法，並探索創收機會，比如開創一個事業或者兼職。

Moving from a saver to an investor provides you the flexibility and opportunity to reach significant financial milestones and exponentially grow your retirement savings.
從儲蓄者轉變為投資者，為您提供了靈活性和機會，以達到重要的財務里程碑，並使您的退休儲蓄成長迅速。

DEBUNKING BAD FINANCIAL ADVICE 
揭穿不良的理財建議

Plenty of people in life and online like to share personal finance advice. But we encourage you to listen and evaluate the information carefully. Personal finance balances enjoying your hard-earned wealth today and being mindful of your future goals.
生活中和網絡上有很多人喜歡分享個人理財建議。但我們鼓勵您仔細聆聽和評估這些信息。個人理財是在享受您辛苦賺來的財富的同時，也要對未來的目標保持警覺。

There’s no one-size-fits-all financial advice that will help you become a millionaire overnight, and you should run far, far away from anyone who promises otherwise. Feel free to reach out if you ever want to chat about some of the personal finance myths we shared above. 
沒有一套適合所有人的財務建議能讓你一夜之間成為百萬富翁，如果有人承諾這樣的事情，你應該遠離他們。如果你想聊一聊我們剛才分享的一些個人理財迷思，隨時可以聯絡我們。

原文網址:

https://genyplanning.com/2023/08/01/5-lessons-personal-finance-gets-wrong/