为什么我不切碎我的信用卡

译者 hbthlw

It’s been just over two years since I got my first credit card. I now have three and I’m never looking back. Ah, credit cards. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

从我拿到我的第一张信用卡距今已经有两年时间了。我现大已经有三张了，我从来不回顾。啊，信用卡。我为什么那么爱你。让我来细数一下：

·         Credit cards track my spending. The problem with withdrawing money from an ATM and paying for everything in cash is that you often struggle to remember exactly where your money went. With credit cards, I can review the statements every month and reconcile each line item to my Quicken records to make sure even a few bucks here and there are properly accounted for. I couldn’t do that with cash.

信用卡跟踪我的消费。从自动取款机中取出钱用现金来买任何东西会使你常常很难以准确的记住这些钱去了哪里。使用信用卡，我可以每个月查阅对账单，使每一条记录都和我的快速记录保持一致来保证每一笔钱都被适当的使用。我不能用现金来实在这些。

·         Credit cards boost my credit score. As a college graduate with no student loan, no car repayments, and no mortgage, credit cards have helped me ‘get into the system’ and build a strong credit profile. By using them wisely, I’ve already qualified for lower rates that I can take advantage of when I eventually buy a house. If it weren’t for credit cards, I’d pretty much be off the financial grid.

信用卡增加我的信用评分。做为一个没有助学贷款，没有汽车贷款，没有抵押的大学生，信用卡已经帮助我“进入这个系统”，并且建立了一个强健的信用记录。通过明智的使用他们，我已经有资格取得较低的利率，最终我需要买一个房子的时候，我可以利用它。如果不是因为信用卡，我几乎在金融网络之外。

·         Credit cards give me awesome rewards. Each of my credit cards rewards me in a very useful way. One gives me up to 33% off food. Another lets me earn interest on any positive balance at a rate banks would only offer if I locked in a far higher amount for a far longer time. But my favourite is a 90% discount on my monthly membership to an amazing gym. This includes free wireless internet, not to mention unlimited classes like yoga and FUN’k off (don’t ask), for just $7 a month! When’s the last time cash treated you so well?

信用卡给我了不起的回报。我的每张信用卡都以一种非常有用的方式回报我。其中一张给我高达7折的食物优惠。另一张使我在任何一定利率的正平衡下赚取利息。如果我锁定在一个更长的时间内锁定更多的数量，银行付我利息。但是我最喜欢的是一个令人吃惊的健身房中每月的一折折扣。它包括免费的无线网络，没有等级限制的瑜珈和（别问），仅仅7美元一个月！什么时候现金对你这么的好？

At this point, you might be feeling uncomfortable. Heck, you might be downright appalled. But please put down the pitchfork and step away from the comments. Allow me to offer some clarification before you write me off as yet another 25-year old on the road to disaster and destitution:

这时候，你可能感觉到不太舒服。真见鬼，你可能完全恐慌了。但是请放下干草叉并远离这些评论。在你认为我是另一个走上不幸和穷困的年青人之前，请允许我做一些澄清。

·         I am NOT advocating excess spending. Most people avoid credit cards because they’re too much of a temptation to overspend. Given that the key to wealth is to spend less than you earn, this makes perfect sense. Credit cards should NEVER be used to spend money on things you can’t afford. In other words, NEVER buy on credit what you can’t already buy using cash. Period. I’ve never been a particularly extravagant person, which is why I actually like the fact that I’ve had the same pair of All Stars for about five years. My credit cards are only used for things I can already afford (mostly things I have to buy anyway), which is why the charges only amount to around 25% of my income every month. Nothing gets charged that cannot be paid.

我不主张无节制的消费。大多数人躲避信用卡是因为他们有太多过度消费的诱惑。考虑到变富有的关键是花得比挣得少，这是很完美的理念。信用卡绝不应该花费在你承担不起的东西上。换句话说，你绝对不能用信用卡来买你用现金买不起的东西。我从来都不是一个特别奢侈的人，这就是为什么我一双全明星的鞋穿了五年的原因。我的信用卡仅仅用来买我已经承担的起的东西（大部分是我不得不买的），这也就是为什么花费仅仅相当于我收入的25%的原因。天下没有免费的午餐。

·         I am NOT advocating getting into debt. Another reason people avoid using credit cards is because they fear debt. This makes sense too. Debt. It’s a horrible word that conjures up images of shackles and a burdened life. But not all debt needs to be portrayed so negatively. One of the key things I learned at Rich Dad Coaching (and wrote about in The Beauty of Debt) is the distinction between good debt and bad dad. Good debt, like that used by Robert Kiyosaki to buy investment properties or that used by Bill Bartmann to become one of the 25 richest people in America, puts money in your pocket. Yes, credit card debt is bad debt, but it won’t cost you a cent as long as you ALWAYS pay the balance off in full (and can negotiate waived annual fees). This means your cash can stay in the bank longer (earning interest as it does so) and only be used to pay off the debt when the due date arrives. In some cases, that can be as far as 55 days away. Score!

我不主张债务。另一个人们避免使用信用卡的原因是因为他们害怕债务。这也说得过去。债务，一个让人想起手铐和超负荷的生活的可怕词语。但是不是所有的债务都需要被描绘的这么消极。我在《富爸爸教练》（写关于债务的美丽）中学到的一个关键的东西就是区分好的债务和坏的债务。好的债务就像罗伯特清崎那样用来投资产业或是像比尔波特曼那样成为美国最富有的二十五个人之一，把钱放进自己的口袋。是的，信用卡债务是坏的债务，但是它不会花你一分钱只要你一直全额还款（可以通过谈判取消年费）。这就意味着你的现金可以待在银行更长的时间（不停地赚取利息）只需要在到期日到来的时候付清债务就可以了。在一些情况下，到期日可以长达55天。得分！

·         I am NOT advocating getting credit cards purely for rewards. Too many people have been tempted by the promise of low rates and other amazing benefits only to find that they were temporary offers at best. Before settling on a card, make sure you do proper research and read the fine print. Since interest rates only matter if you have existing debt that you’re trying to consolidate, you have total freedom to find a card that works for your situation. Your best bet is to find one that rewards you for purchases at stores you already use all the time and/or rewards you with benefits you can actually take advantage of. Perhaps you’ll get lucky and score a free European trip!

我不主张纯粹为了得到奖励而办理信用卡。很多人一直被承诺的低利率和其他的令人吃惊的利益的诱惑，结果却发现他们只是临时性的得到这些。在选定一个卡片之前，确定你已经阅读了契约并做了适当的研究。因为利率只在你想要巩固未清偿的债务时才起作用，你有完全的自由来找一种卡片为你的情况服务。你最好的办法是来找到一种卡片可以奖励给你你常去的商店的商品或是你实际可以得到的利益。可能你有足够的幸运得到一个免费的欧洲游！

In conclusion, I hope it’s clear that credit cards are not the homewreckers everyone paints them out to be. If you already have a good dose of financial discipline (control your expenses by spending less than you earn) and use them with wise self-control (pay off the FULL balance every single month), they can be a really great part of your overall plan. But if you don’t and won’t, then burn this post immediately (figuratively, of course) and stick to what you know.

总之，我希望大家清楚的知道信用卡并像每个人说的那样破坏家庭的人。如果你已经有一个很好的财务纪律（以花得比挣得少来控制你的消费）并且明智的自制的使用它们（每个月清偿全部的债务），它们将成为你总体规划中重要的一部分。但是如果你不这样或者不想这样，那么请马上烧了这篇文章（当然是象征性的），做你想要坚持做的。

What do you think? Have any of you had good success with credit cards to help me build my case? Would you share your story in the comments, pretty please?

你是怎么想的？你们其中是否有人有成功的信用卡使用经历来帮助我建立我的档案？你想不想在评论中分享你的故事呢？