商務禮節美語第197期:Getting Out of Debt 還清債務(上)

Jane找上司Vincent, 可不是爲了工作。
Jane: (knock knock) Hi, a second?
Vincent: Sure, in. Grab a seat. What's on your mind?
J: Well, I know this doesn't fall under your responsibilities, but I really need some advice. Do you mind?
V: Not at all. Shoot.
J: Ok...I'll just say it: I'm quite heavily in debt and I need advice on how to get out of this hole I'm in.
Jane問Vincent有沒有時間，got a second? 請別人坐，可以說grab a seat. Vincent讓 Jane - shoot. Shoot在這兒不是開槍，而是“說吧”。原來，Jane是因爲債務纏身，heavily in debt, 讓Vincent幫她出主意，to get out of this hole，擺脫困境。
V: I see. Is this mainly credit card debt?
J: Yes. But there's a mortgage and car payments as well.
V: You know what? I'm going to ask Anna Wang to join our conversation. She's our company's financial expert.
(Picks up phone) Anna? Would you mind joining me for a second? Thanks.
J: Oh. I don't want to be a burden.
V: 's really no problem. Millions of people have fallen into debt and it's great that you are trying to take positive action. Oh, hi Anna. This is Jane.
Anna: Hi Vince. Hi Jane.
Jane不光信用卡欠了很多錢，還有房貸和車貸。Vincent請公司的財務專家Anna來諮詢。注意聽，Jane欠了多少錢。
V: Jane wants advice on how to get out of credit card debt.
A: Ah. That's a popular problem these days. Can I ask how much you owe?
J: 's kind of Ok...25,000 dollars.
A: Jane, I'm going to be blunt: if I were you, I'd cut up all my credit cards today.
J: All of them?
A: Well, you might keep one for emergencies, but the point is: stop using the cards.
Jane一共欠了兩萬五千美元。Anna說，I'm going to be blunt，我直話直說：要是我，今天就把信用卡都剪碎。The point is: stop using the cards，關鍵是：不能再刷卡了。
V: I never used to pay attention to the fine print, but one day I looked up the details from my bank and I discovered I got charged 14% interest!
A: Yes, you really have to read the fine print. In Jane's case though, I'd recommend actually canceling the cards.
J: Can't I get the bank to lower my interest rates?
V: Sure, but you also want to stop new spending. When you buy something with a credit card, you think you are paying what the price tag says. But really there are a lot of extras.

消費者一定要注意信用卡的fine print，合同細則，Vince的銀行就收他14%的利率。刷卡購物，你以爲付的是商品標價，the price tag, 可實際上有很多額外收費, a lot of extras。Jane具體該怎麼做？我們下次繼續聽。