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【Ready to Save Like There's No Tomorrow?】
TEXT:This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
Are you a saver or a spender?
你是节俭者，还是挥霍者？
"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.
“省钱就是赚钱”，这句老话让人重视省钱的艺术。“未雨绸缪”是为将来打算的另一种说法。
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."
不舍得花钱的人被称作“吝啬鬼”，使金钱实现价值最大化的人就是“节俭”。节俭者和挥霍者可不一样，挥霍者是很败家的人，通常称这种人花起钱来“像喝醉的水手”或“好像没有明天”。
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.
在美国，人们想开储蓄账户就多种选择，包括银行和信用机构。信用机构是为有某些关系的人服务的合作社，比如，成员可能就职于大学或政府机构。大多数信用机构都是非营利性的。
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.
信用机构、银行等其他金融机构都对储户支付利息，但利率很低。存款证的回报要高些，使用存款证的人承诺一定时间内不取钱，期限可以是几个月或几年。期限越长，金额越大，支付的利息就越高。可以提前提取存款，但要支付违约金。
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.
另一种存钱方式是货币基金，这是一种共同基金。共同基金用许多人的钱去投资。有时投资于短期政府债券。然而，货币市场基金不像其它种类的储蓄一样有联邦政府担保。联邦存款保险公司为存款提供最高25万美元的担保。
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.
这些年，一些国家的人们储蓄得越来越少。经合组织有36个会员国。组织称1990年美国家庭储蓄率为7%，今年预计略高于4%。许多欧洲国家储蓄率更高，但美国人的家庭储蓄比日韩等国家的多
