2014已至 值得考虑的新年理财计划

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，许多人都定下了个人的新年决心，比如减肥、少喝酒、戒烟或增强与家人和朋友的联系等。除此之外，新年也是一个坚守让你和你的家人处于良好财务轨道的财务目标的好时机。以下来自理财专家的一些理财计划供读者考虑：

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.
制定预算计划并坚持执行：没有人喜欢削减开支，但是这么做也许能改善你长远的财务状况。你可以从借鉴去年的收支情况编制一份预期开支表开始。阿拉巴马州亨茨维尔(Huntsville) Twickenham Wealth Advisors公司的董事总经理韦斯利・克莱顿(Wesley Clayton)说，如果你发现自己过去很难坚持目标（比如你每天都买价格贵的拿铁咖啡），那就加上“责任制，某种奖励制度：因为我们的成功坚持，所以我们可以去做些本来可能不能够去做的事情”。

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.
奖励可以是出门度个长周末或是买票去看自己最喜欢的球队的比赛。监督你进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.'
偿还债务：一大堆的学生贷款、信用卡欠款、抵押贷款和汽车贷款可能让人心生畏惧，但是想象一下还清最后一笔债务的美妙感觉可以帮助你开始动手。理财服务公司PHP Agency的老板帕特里克・贝特-戴维(Patrick Bet-David)称，其中一个方法是“列出你手头上那三四张信用卡的清单”，然后“偿还利息最高的（债务），一步步最后还利息最低的”。

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.
克莱顿说，另一个方法是自问哪笔债务“是最让你本人心神不宁的。什么让你晚上睡不着觉？它也许不是利息最高的那笔债务，（最让你担忧的）可能是以最重要的一处房产作担保的那笔债”。

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.
犹他州南乔丹(South Jordan)理财服务公司Finicity的首席执行长斯蒂芬・史密斯(Stephen Smith)建议，可尝试在新年的头90天中还清数额最小的债务。一旦完成了这个目标，你就会受到鼓舞去还清其他债务。

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.
制定遗产计划：或许你没有像唐顿庄园那样的豪宅，也没有给孩子们设立的信托基金，但是你仍需要一个遗产计划。得克萨斯遗产事务及遗嘱认证律师罗布・罗伯逊(Rob Robertson)称，如果没有遗产计划，“你会失去控制，处理事情要慢得多，成本也会高很多”。不过，“如果你立了遗嘱，你可以选择你喜欢的受益人”，包括你最喜欢的慈善基金。

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.
作为遗产计划的一部分，你需要指定某个人成为你的持续全权受托人，并选定一位遗嘱执行人。要找值得信任、头脑冷静且没有利益冲突的人。罗伯逊建议，还要指定替代者作为备选。

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.
常为大家忽略的一件事是就数字资产、特别是账户密码制定遗产计划。互联网公司一般不会在客户去世后交出他们的电子邮箱账户和社交媒体资料，所以把你的密码存进一个诸如PasswordBox这样的应用很重要：它会安全地存储你的密码，然后你指定一个信任的人在你万一突然离世、希望别人能访问到你的在线照片或其他文件时取回密码。

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).
认真对待退休问题：由于人们的寿命变长，而社保只能提供一部分所需收入，每个年龄段的人都得自己存下更多的钱以便在退休后过上舒适的生活。个人理财网站NerdWallet的副总裁乔安娜・普拉特(Joanna Pratt)称，如果雇主配合缴纳与你的401(k)缴费额相等的费用，使配合缴费额达到最高限度会是件简单的事情。接下来你可以把余钱存入一个个人退休账户，该类账户一般费用低且有税收优惠，每年的存款上限为5,500美元（如果你的年龄在50岁以上，上限则为6,500美元）。设置自动扣减工资将钱转入401(k)账户。