建立退休基金的幾個步驟
FOR MANY RETIREES, THE fear of running out of money is their greatest worry. They don't know how to stretch their Social Security benefit to pay all their bills, or they are uncertain about how often, or how much, they can dip into their individual retirement account or other retirement savings.
對於很多退休人員而言，最擔心的事情莫過於錢花光了。他們不知道如何使用社保福利支付所有的賬單，或者說他們不確定自個兒動用個人退休賬戶或其它退休儲蓄的頻率是多少，也不確定每次會用多少錢。According to a 2019 survey from the Certified Financial Planner Board, barely 40 percent of Americans track their Expenses and make a household budget. For the rest, budgeting simply means spending whatever income comes in during the month - or maybe more, if you haven't yet reached your credit limit.
註冊財務策劃委員會於2019年開展的一項調查表示，僅40%的美國人會記錄他們的開支、制定家庭預算。而對於其他人而言，預算僅僅意味着每月一發工資就可以任意揮霍--更甚至意味着，只要不超過信用額度就行。Gather Your Financial Records Together
將財務記錄放在一起
To make a plan, you need to know where you stand. Haul out your checkbook and your credit card statements so you can access your records for the past year. Many credit card companies offer a yearly summary to make this step easier. And tax season is a good time to do this, since you're already using much of this information to fill out your reports to the IRS.
若要制定計劃，你必須明白自己的處境。拿出你的支票簿和信用卡流水單，以便查看過去一年的消費記錄。很多信用卡公司都會提供年度賬單，所以這一步就非常簡單了。交稅季也是完成這一步的好時機，因爲在填寫美國國稅局報告時，你需要用到大量消費信息。
Make a List of Your Fixed Monthly Expenses
列出每月的固定開支These are your expenses that are the same every month. They include your rent or mortgage, a car payment, your Medicare payment and anything else you do that gets billed in equal monthly amounts, from a gym membership to your cable and phone bills.
有些費用是每月必須支出的，包括房租或房貸、汽車貸款、醫療保險費用和每月所需支付的其它等額費用，包括健身房會員費和電話費。List Your Regular Monthly Variable Payments
列出每月的浮動開支This step is a little harder, since some bills change every month. They might include your heating and electric bill, your ongoing medical expenses, grocery bills, pet fees, gasoline charges and entertainment costs. Look over your bank statements and credit card bills. Total your spending for the year in each category, then divide that number by 12 to arrive at your average monthly cost.
這一步稍有難度，因爲有些開支每月都不盡相同，包括供暖和電費、醫療費用、雜貨開支、寵物費、汽油費和娛樂開支。查看你的銀行流水和信用卡賬單吧。計算每一類別的年度開支，之後除以12，就能得出每月的平均費用了。Estimate Non-Recurring Expenses
估算偶爾性的開支Are you planning to take a vacation or buy a new car this year? That's a special expense that requires advance planning. There are other bills that you pay only once or twice a year, such as membership dues, some insurance bills or medical expenses, home and car repairs and birthday and Christmas gifts.
今年有計劃外出度假或買輛新車嗎？這是需要提前規劃的特殊費用。還有些費用，你可能每年都需要支付一兩次，比如會費、保險費或醫療費、住房和汽車修理費、生日禮物開支和聖誕節禮物開支。
