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。”这句老话呼吁大家重视省钱的智慧。未雨绸缪是一种为将来打算的说法。
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."
舍不得花钱的人被称作吝啬鬼（tightwads），而使金钱的价值最大化者叫做节俭（thrifty）。节俭者和败家子（spendthrift）可不同。败家子是指花钱挥霍者。这类人通常被说成“花钱像喝醉的水手”或“花钱像没有明天一样”。
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，人们想要开设储蓄账户有多种不同选择。其中包括银行和信用社。信用社是为具有某种联系的人服务的合作社。例如，其成员可能都就职于某所大学或某家政府机构。多数信用社为非营利性组织。
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.
信用社、银行以及其它金融机构对储蓄账户支付利息，但利率很低。存款证支付更高的回报。使用存款证的人承诺一段时间内不提取存款，期限从几个月到数年不等。期限越长，金额越大，支付的利息就越高。人们可以提前支取其存款，但必须支付违约金。
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.
存钱的另一种方式是通过货币基金，这是一种共同基金。共同基金拿许多人的钱去投资。这些钱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被联邦政府担保。联邦存款保险公司（简称FDIC）为存款提供最高25万美元的担保。
51VOA注：FDIC为大多数账户提供最高10万美元的存款保险。对于部分退休账户，这一上限提高到25万美元。
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.
多年来，一些国家的人们储蓄得越来越少。经济合作与发展组织拥有36个会员国。该组织称，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，但美国人比日韩等国家的家庭存得更多（即美国家庭储蓄率超过日韩等国家）。
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