The Culture of Saving Money Around the World全球省錢文化一覽

It’s a familiar feeling for many Americans： checking your bank account after a week of hard work only to wonder， “Where did my money go？” How many times have you told yourself that you really need to stop going out for that happy hour1 drink （or three）， that you shouldn’t have taken an Uber when you could have taken the bus？ All those miscellaneous expenses can really add up.

不少美國人都有類似體驗(yàn)：辛苦工作了一周，查對銀行賬單之后卻納悶“我的錢都花到哪兒去了？”曾經(jīng)多少次告誡自己，該戒掉歡樂時(shí)光的那一杯（三杯）酒了，該乘坐公交的時(shí)候也不該老打車。這些雜七雜八的開銷最終積少成多。

But for a country that loves to spend， spend， spend， the United States is not without its thrifters. For many Americans， saving money can be an art form. Clipping coupons， packing lunch from home and taking public transit are among the countless ways spending-conscious Americans try to curb their spending. Around the world， thriftiness is more ingrained in everyday culture， and many other countries fare much better than the United States when it comes to saving money. Here’s a look at spending and saving culture around the world.

不過，國民熱衷于買買買的美國也不乏精打細(xì)算的行家。對很多美國人來說，省錢是一門學(xué)問。他們剪下報(bào)紙上的贈(zèng)券，自帶午飯上班，乘坐公共交通，精打細(xì)算的美國人就這么變著各種花樣來節(jié)約開支。放眼全球，節(jié)約精神深深地植根于日常文化中，還有不少國家的人比美國人更精于此道。讓我們一起來了解全球消費(fèi)和省錢的文化。

Strength in numbers

人多力量大

A communal money-saving method that many Americans would consider novel is the tanda2， which is popular in Latin American countries and the Caribbean. It’s known by different names around the world， but its basic underlying idea is the same： when people work in tandem3 to save， everyone benefits. The system works in turns; a group of people each pitches in an agreed-upon amount to a collective pool during each turn on a specific day， which can be a payday， the first of the month， or any other stipulated time. Then， during the first turn one member of the group receives the pooled money as a payout， and then the next member receives all the money during the next turn， and so on. More money isn’t created， but it gives each person a boost every once in a while.

很多美國人會(huì)對叫做坦達(dá)的集資方式感到新奇，其實(shí)它在拉丁美洲國家和加勒比海地區(qū)廣泛流行。盡管叫法不同，但世界各國都有與之相通的集資概念：大家搭伙攢錢，互利共贏。這是一種輪流運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的機(jī)制：一輪開始時(shí)，每位成員按約定金額在特定的某日（可以是發(fā)薪日、每月第一天或其他約定的日子）向資金池各自投入資金；投入完畢，第一輪籌集的資金由第一位成員收取，第二位成員則收取第二輪籌集的所有資金，以此類推。這么做并不能錢生錢，但每個(gè)人都可以時(shí)不時(shí)拿到一大筆錢。

The notion of communal financial planning is not foreign in Kenya， either， where the harambee （Swahili for “all pull together”） is a popular tradition of community improvement. It works through a group contribution to a common cause or goal like education and resourcing—all projects that benefit the community as a whole. It may not be “saving” in the purest sense of the word， but by crowdfunding money， people hold each other accountable and can see the tangible effects of their investments.

集資規(guī)劃這種概念在肯尼亞也稱不上新鮮，他們用傳統(tǒng)的哈蘭比募捐會(huì)（瓦西里語，表示“齊心協(xié)力”）來促進(jìn)社區(qū)建設(shè)。通過集體的力量來促成某項(xiàng)事業(yè)或達(dá)成目標(biāo)，比如推進(jìn)教育或資源管理，最終目的是讓整個(gè)社區(qū)獲益。也許這種做法不能嚴(yán)格歸為“省錢”，但是眾籌讓大家分?jǐn)傌?zé)任，而且人人都能看到投資帶來的切實(shí)效果。

Thinking bigger， farther ahead and beyond oneself

著眼長遠(yuǎn)，自利利他

Indian culture—less individualistic than that of the United States and much more frugal—typically emphasizes sharing wealth and investing in the financial stability of one’s family. Parents often support their children financially even after they leave home， and the cost of weddings and dowries makes saving up all the more important.

印度文化不像美國文化這么看重個(gè)人主義，而且印度人節(jié)儉得多，他們尤其注重家族財(cái)富的共享，會(huì)為家庭經(jīng)濟(jì)的穩(wěn)定而投資。父母對子女的經(jīng)濟(jì)支持一直持續(xù)到他們成人離家之后，而且婚禮和嫁妝費(fèi)用讓攢錢格外重要。

In China， people are more focused on saving for a rainy day4. The saving culture also has a focus on taking care of one’s elders and planning for the future， like children’s education or unexpected health costs that might arise.

在中國，人們更關(guān)注未雨綢繆。他們的儲(chǔ)蓄文化還側(cè)重于贍養(yǎng)老人和長遠(yuǎn)打算（如為子女教育或意外的醫(yī)療支出存錢）。

That’s not to say that people shouldn’t take care of their own needs， or that the United States has a perfect welfare system that allows its population to throw family values out the window5. But reframing your savings to account not only for yourself but also for your dependents and family members might make you think twice about blowing6 your paycheck on the latest gadget.

當(dāng)然，不是說關(guān)注自己的需求就不重要，況且美國的福利制度也沒有盡善盡美，還沒到可以拋棄家庭價(jià)值觀念的程度。但是，重新規(guī)劃儲(chǔ)蓄思路來滿足個(gè)人、被供養(yǎng)人和家人的需求，你在花光工資購買最新電子產(chǎn)品之前就會(huì)三思。

Stay within your means

量力而行

When it comes to saving money， don’t buy what you can’t afford！ This might sound too intuitive to even merit putting into words， but it’s an idea that many other cultures seem to grasp better than Americans do.

說到怎么省錢，可千萬別買自己買不起的東西！這話看似不假思索，甚至不值一提，但對于這一點(diǎn)，其他很多國家的人都比美國人理解得深刻。

Take Germany， for example， where people are so averse to debt that they use cash far more than they use credit cards. The German Central Bank found that 80 percent of its citizens’ transactions are conducted with cash， compared to only 50 percent of Americans’. They’ve even got a saying， Geld stinkt nicht （“Cash doesn’t stink”）， to reflect their steering clear of7 credit. And Germans are among several other European states like Belgium， Italy and Austria， where people try to shy away from8 personal debt by avoiding borrowing.

以德國人為例，他們厭惡借貸，現(xiàn)金比信用卡結(jié)算普遍得多。德國中央銀行研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，國內(nèi)交易有八成都是現(xiàn)金支付，但在美國只有五成的現(xiàn)金交易。德國甚至還有句諺語，叫做“現(xiàn)金永不臭”，體現(xiàn)了他們對信貸避之唯恐不及的態(tài)度。德國人與比利時(shí)、意大利、奧地利等歐洲國家的國民一樣，避免借貸以防背上個(gè)人債務(wù)。

Something similar happens in Japan， where money is generally treated with respect and dignity. That means that physical currency gets the star treatment; bills are kept crisp and clean to the fullest extent they can be and are customarily given as gifts in special envelopes tied up in red. In these cultures and others， being able to visualize and control exactly how much money you’re letting go of—and treating that money with care—means there’s a lot of thought that goes into spending and， by extension， saving.

在日本也一樣，現(xiàn)金為王，地位尊崇。也就是說，實(shí)體貨幣交易享受明星級(jí)的待遇，日本人把鈔票保存得極其干凈挺括，并習(xí)慣把錢放進(jìn)系紅帶的特殊信封里當(dāng)作禮金送出。在東亞和其他文化中，能在開銷上量入為出，而且用之有節(jié)，意味著無論花錢還是存錢都深思熟慮。

There’s plenty to learn about frugality， saving money and responsible financial planning from countries across the world. If you’re looking to spend less for your New Year’s resolution， you might want to take a page out of these cultures’ playbook9—or checkbook？

很多國家關(guān)于節(jié)約、儲(chǔ)蓄和理性財(cái)務(wù)規(guī)劃的經(jīng)驗(yàn)都值得學(xué)習(xí)。如果你定下新年決心要節(jié)約開支，那么不防借鑒一下這些文化的做法——尤其是花錢的方法。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)撸粏挝唬荷虾９こ碳夹g(shù)大學(xué)）

1 happy hour歡樂時(shí)光，酒吧酒水打折的時(shí)段。

2 tanda來自西班牙語，原義是“輪流、交替”。在華人社會(huì)俗稱標(biāo)會(huì)，也叫互助會(huì)。 3 in tandem協(xié)同地，聯(lián)合地。

4 save money for a rainy day為有朝一日困難時(shí)打算，未雨綢繆。 5 throw out the window放棄，拋棄。

6 blow揮霍，浪費(fèi)。 7 steer clear of 繞開，避開（令人不快或危險(xiǎn)的人或事情）。 8 shy away from sth（因不喜歡、害怕或缺乏自信而）退縮，躲避。

9 take a page out of someone’s playbook 采納別人的做法。

Money Saving Quotes

Do not save what is left after spending; instead spend what is left after saving.

—Warren Buffett

The habit of saving is itself an education; it fosters every virtue， teaches self-denial， cultivates the sense of order， trains to forethought， and so broadens the mind.

—T.T. Munger

Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money， and I’ll tell you what they are.

—James W. Frick