不做"月光族"的5個方法

Many of us would like to have money in savings. Fankly speaking, a dollar spent now seems to provide a lot more pleasure than a dollar saved, how can you make sure you're motivated enough to put money aside on a regular basis?
有積蓄是許多人的夢想。坦率地講，花一塊錢比存一塊錢要爽多了，那麼怎樣才能保證自己有足夠的意志力把錢按期存起來呢?
Here are five things that could work for you...
下面是你可以考慮的五個辦法……

1. Save Little And Often 存小錢，常存錢
Do you tell yourself that it's not worth saving if you don't have at least 100 (or 500, or 1000) to put into a savings account? This is a bit like telling yourself that it's not worth getting some exercise unless you have a whole day clear to jog.
你是不是告訴自己，至少有100(500或1000)塊錢才值得存入銀行?這就有點像對自己說，只有擁有一整天的時間才值得去鍛鍊。
How about saving just a dollar or two each day? Most of us can cut a couple of dollars of unnecessary spending every day (how about skipping that latte, carpooling, ditching your daily newspaper..?) It's a tiny amount that you'll barely notice on a daily basis, but over the course of a year, you'll have saved several hundred dollars.
何不試試每天只存一兩塊錢呢?大多數人每天都能剩出幾塊錢來，(例如不喝咖啡，和別人合夥坐出租車，少買點報紙)你可能很容易就忽略這些小錢，但一年後，你就可以節省數百元錢。

2. Read Personal Finance Blogs 閱讀個人理財博客
I find that I get encouraged to save--and to adopt good financial habits in general--by reading about others'tips and success. One of my must-read blogs for this is The Simple Dollar; Trent writes very well, and covers topics in-depth without making them too complicated. He also has an upbeat and motivating attitude towards savings and finances (some personal finance blogs can make for rather dour reading).
我是通過閱讀別人分享的小技巧和成功經驗才學會了存錢和理財。我必讀的一個理財博客是 The Simple Dollar，裏面的文章深入淺出，對儲蓄和理財的態度讓人變得樂觀而振奮(一些個人的理財博客則讓人昏昏欲睡)。
Other good blogs on personal finance are Get Rich Slowly and Wise Bread.
其他好的個人理財博客還有Get Rich Slowly 和 Wise Bread。

3. Keep a Savings Log 建立一個儲蓄日誌
Something that's often recommended for those sorting out their finances is to keep a spending log--to write down what you spend, so that you have a clear picture of where all the money is going. I've done this in the past, and it's always revealing (and occasionally a bit horrifying!)
管錢的一個好辦法是建立一個花錢日誌，寫下你的花費，讓自己清楚地知道所有的錢都花到哪裏去了。我已經做到了這一點，而且我發現它的好處明顯(只是偶爾覺得結果有點可怕!)
A twist on this, though, is to keep a savings log. Each time you make a deposit into your savings account (or each time you shove a few dollars into the jam jar hidden under your bed), write down the date and how much you saved. This can be a great way to motivate yourself to save more. You could also use your calendar or diary for this.
另一個辦法正好相反，即建立一個儲蓄日誌。每當你把錢放進銀行戶頭(或把幾塊錢放到牀底下的果醬瓶裏)，記下日期和你存了多少錢。這是一個挺不錯的可以激勵存更多錢的方式。你也可以使用自己的日曆或是日記本來做記錄。

4. Save Towards A Specific Goal 爲自己設立一個具體目標
Having a very clear goal in mind can make it much easier to save up. If you know that you need 1,000 for that new computer, or if you're determined to reach ,000 in your emergency fund, focusing on the end goal can keep you motivated.
一個非常明確的目標可以讓你的省錢計劃更加易行。如果你知道自己需要1000塊去買一個新的電腦，或者決心要存下5000元以做應急之用，那麼明確最終目標能夠讓你保持幹勁。
Your end reward might not be a tangible thing like a vacation or a new purchase: it might be peace of mind, or a sense of security or freedom. Consider visualizing how you'll feel once you have your target amount in the bank. Will it take a weight off your shoulders? Will you be proud of what you've achieved?
你也許因爲要存錢而不能去旅遊或大買特買，但你因此收穫了安心，安全感和自由。想象銀行存摺裏的數字一直增加，你是不是感到自己的生活壓力減少了?你會爲自己實現目標而自豪嗎?

5. Automate Your Savings 自動化你的儲蓄
Finally, if you do find that your motivation waxes and wanes, simply automate your savings. Get your bank to transfer 100 (or 200 or 500 etc) from your checking account into a savings account, at the start of each month. If the money goes out without you having to lift a finger, chances are that you'll simply let it head off into the savings pot ...
如果你發現自己省錢的激情在減弱，只要想辦法讓儲蓄變成一個自動的流程。讓你的銀行在每月的第一天自動把支票帳戶裏的100元(200或500)轉到儲蓄帳戶中。這樣不需要動一根手指錢就存了起來，你輕而易舉就一頭扎進儲蓄罐裏了。