已至 值得考慮的新年理財計劃大綱
Many people will start the new year having made personal resolutions to lose weight, drink less, stop smoking or become better at staying in touch with family members and friends. But New Year's is also a good time to recommit to financial goals that keep you and your family on a sound financial track. As prescribed by financial experts, here are some money resolutions to consider:
新年伊始，許多人都定下了個人的新年決心，比如減肥、少喝酒、戒菸或增強與家人和朋友的聯繫等。除此之外，新年也是一個堅守讓你和你的家人處於良好財務軌道的財務目標的好時機。以下來自理財專家的一些理財計劃供讀者考慮：Make a budget and stick to it: No one likes to cut down on spending, but doing so might improve your financial life in the long run. You can start by compiling a spreadsheet of expected costs using your past year's spending and income. If you've found it hard to stay on target in the past (say, you keep buying that pricey latte every day), add 'accountability, some reward system that because we've been successful, we're going to do certain things that we might not have been able to do otherwise,' says Wesley Clayton, managing director of Twickenham Wealth Advisors in Huntsville, Ala.
制定預算計劃並堅持執行：沒有人喜歡削減開支，但是這麼做也許能改善你長遠的財務狀況。你可以從借鑑去年的收支情況編制一份預期開支表開始。阿拉巴馬州亨茨維爾(Huntsville) Twickenham Wealth Advisors公司的董事總經理韋斯利・克萊頓(Wesley Clayton)說，如果你發現自己過去很難堅持目標（比如你每天都買價格貴的拿鐵咖啡），那就加上“責任制，某種獎勵制度：因爲我們的成功堅持，所以我們可以去做些本來可能不能夠去做的事情”。The reward could be a long weekend away or tickets to see your favorite sports team. The person monitoring your progress can be your spouse, parents or a close friend.
獎勵可以是出門度個長週末或是買票去看自己最喜歡的球隊的比賽。監督你進度的人可以是你的配偶、父母或密友。
Pay down debts: That stack of student loans, credit cards, mortgage and car loans may seem daunting, but envisioning how good it will feel to pay off that last debt can help you get started. One way is to 'make a list of the three to four credit cards you have,' says Patrick Bet-David, owner of financial-services firm PHP Agency. Then 'pay the highest-interest-rate [debt] and you work your way down to the lowest.'
償還債務：一大堆的學生貸款、信用卡欠款、抵押貸款和汽車貸款可能讓人心生畏懼，但是想象一下還清最後一筆債務的美妙感覺可以幫助你開始動手。理財服務公司PHP Agency的老闆帕特里克・貝特-戴維(Patrick Bet-David)稱，其中一個方法是“列出你手頭上那三四張信用卡的清單”，然後“償還利息最高的（債務），一步步最後還利息最低的”。Another way is to ask which debt 'is the most unsettling for you, the individual. What keeps you up at night?' says Mr. Clayton. 'It might not be the one with the highest interest rate. It might be the one with the lien on the most important piece of property' that concerns you most.
克萊頓說，另一個方法是自問哪筆債務“是最讓你本人心神不寧的。什麼讓你晚上睡不着覺？它也許不是利息最高的那筆債務，（最讓你擔憂的）可能是以最重要的一處房產作擔保的那筆債”。Stephen Smith, chief executive of South Jordan, Utah, financial-services firm Finicity, suggests trying to get rid of your smallest debt in the first 90 days of the year. Once that's accomplished, you'll be encouraged to retire other debts.
猶他州南喬丹(South Jordan)理財服務公司Finicity的首席執行長斯蒂芬・史密斯(Stephen Smith)建議，可嘗試在新年的頭90天中還清數額最小的債務。一旦完成了這個目標，你就會受到鼓舞去還清其他債務。Make an estate plan: You might not have a Downton Abbey manor house or a trust fund for the kids, but you still need an estate plan. Without one, 'you don't have control, and it's a lot slower and a lot more costly,' says Rob Robertson, an estate and probate lawyer in Austin, Texas. But 'if you have a will, you can choose the objects of your affection,' including favorite charities.
制定遺產計劃：或許你沒有像唐頓莊園那樣的豪宅，也沒有給孩子們設立的信託基金，但是你仍需要一個遺產計劃。得克薩斯遺產事務及遺囑認證律師羅布・羅伯遜(Rob Robertson)稱，如果沒有遺產計劃，“你會失去控制，處理事情要慢得多，成本也會高很多”。不過，“如果你立了遺囑，你可以選擇你喜歡的受益人”，包括你最喜歡的慈善基金。As part of your estate planning, you'll want to assign durable general power of attorney to someone and select an executor for your estate. Look for people who are trustworthy, levelheaded and don't have conflicts of interest. Designate alternates as backups, says Mr. Robertson.
作爲遺產計劃的一部分，你需要指定某個人成爲你的持續全權受託人，並選定一位遺囑執行人。要找值得信任、頭腦冷靜且沒有利益衝突的人。羅伯遜建議，還要指定替代者作爲備選。Something often overlooked is making digital afterlife plans, especially in terms of passwords. Internet companies don't usually hand over passwords to email accounts or social-media profiles after a death. That's why putting your passwords into an application like PasswordBox is important: It securely stores your passwords, and you name someone you trust to get the codes in the event that you pass away suddenly and want others to have access to online photos or other documents.
常爲大家忽略的一件事是就數字資產、特別是賬戶密碼制定遺產計劃。互聯網公司一般不會在客戶去世後交出他們的電子郵箱賬戶和社交媒體資料，所以把你的密碼存進一個諸如PasswordBox這樣的應用很重要：它會安全地存儲你的密碼，然後你指定一個信任的人在你萬一突然離世、希望別人能訪問到你的在線照片或其他文件時取回密碼。Get serious about retirement: With people living longer and Social Security providing only a portion of needed income, workers of every age will have to save more of their own money to live comfortably after retiring. If your employer matches contributions for your 401(k), it's a no-brainer to max out the match, says Joanna Pratt, vice president at NerdWallet, a personal-finance website. Then you can put any remaining money into an individual retirement account, which typically has low fees and tax advantages, and lets you contribute up to $5,500 every year ($6,500 if you're 50 or older). Set up automatic contributions from your paycheck to the 401(k).
認真對待退休問題：由於人們的壽命變長，而社保只能提供一部分所需收入，每個年齡段的人都得自己存下更多的錢以便在退休後過上舒適的生活。個人理財網站NerdWallet的副總裁喬安娜・普拉特(Joanna Pratt)稱，如果僱主配合繳納與你的401(k)繳費額相等的費用，使配合繳費額達到最高限度會是件簡單的事情。接下來你可以把餘錢存入一個個人退休賬戶，該類賬戶一般費用低且有稅收優惠，每年的存款上限爲5,500美元（如果你的年齡在50歲以上，上限則爲6,500美元）。設置自動扣減工資將錢轉入401(k)賬戶。Think you don't have enough money to save for retirement? Track your spending habits over one month and try to find 2% of your expenses that you can use for 401(k) contributions, says Mr. Smith.
覺得自己沒有足夠的錢爲退休存錢？史密斯建議，跟蹤你過去一個月中的消費習慣，努力找出其中可存入401(k)賬戶的2%的花銷。Get an insurance checkup: One way to save money on premiums is to package most of your insurance coverage (home, auto, valuables) under one carrier, says Robert Courtemanche, chairman of ACE Private Risk Services. If your home has risen in value, have it appraised so you'll know the full replacement value.
檢驗保險計劃： ACE Private Risk Services的董事長羅伯特・庫特芒希(Robert Courtemanche)稱，一個節省保費的方法是將大部分保險項目（房產、汽車、貴重物品）一併轉到同一家保險公司。如果你的房產已經升值，可請人進行評估以瞭解完整的重置價值。Review your portfolio: With the sharp run-up in the stock market this year, equities likely make up a much larger portion of your portfolio than they did before the rally. Adjusting your stock allocation is critical, if only to reduce your exposure to a future downturn.
審視你的投資組合：由於股市在2013年大幅上漲，股票在你的投資組合中所佔的比例可能比股市上漲前高出很多。調整你的股票配置非常關鍵，哪怕只是爲了減少你對未來衰退的風險敞口。'You just want to make sure that your asset allocation is appropriate for your age and your personal goals,' says Ms. Pratt. Generally speaking, the older are, the less of your portfolio you want in stocks.
普拉特說：“你要確保你的資產配置是適合你的年齡和個人目標的。”一般說來，年紀越大，你的資產組合股票的比例就應該越少。'Make sure you're taking into account your age, your risk aversion, your personal goals [and] alternatives if you don't make those goals. Will you have to wait longer to retire?' She warns against actively managed funds, which charge relatively high fees, in favor of low-cost index funds. And if you're not an experienced investor, she says, stay away from day trading.
她說：“要確保考慮到了你的年齡、你的風險偏好、個人目標以及那些目標沒有達成時的替代計劃。你要想想自己是否得再等一段時間才能退休？”普拉特青睞成本低的指數基金，並提醒大家要小心費用相對較高的積極管理型基金。她還說，如果你不是一個經驗豐富的投資者，就要避開日間交易。Create an emergency fund: According to a 2012 survey, 28% of Americans have no emergency savings for events like a car breaking down, an unexpected house repair or a job loss. Finicity's Mr. Smith advises a fund equal to three months of living expenses.
設立應急基金：投資理財網站銀率網()2012年的調查顯示，28%的美國人沒有應對汽車出故障、房子突然需要修繕或失業的應急儲蓄。Finicity的史密斯建議要備好一筆相當於三個月生活開支的基金。
