472 我破产时希望知道的三件事

想象一下这个场景。

Picture this.

你22岁，刚搬到纽约市，正和朋友在酒吧里。

You're 22, you just moved to New York City, and you're out at a bar with friends.

喝了几杯龙舌兰，又喝了一瓶温啤酒，然后你走向吧台准备结账。

Couple of tequila shots, a lukewarm beer later, You go to the bartender to close out your tab.

但这时，她说出了人类最可怕的三个字。

But then she says the three scariest words known to man.

你的卡被拒了。

Your card declined.

感觉整个酒吧的人都听到了。

It feels like everyone in the bar overhears.

2016年一个特别的夜晚，我不得不等到12点01分，工资直接存入银行账户，才能付清我的酒吧账单。

On one particular night out in 2016, I had to wait until 12:01 for the direct deposit from my paycheck to actually hit my bank account to be able to pay my bartab.

那时候，我靠工资过日子，说实话，那晚的尴尬我多年都忘不了。

At the time, I was living paycheck to paycheck, and if I'm being honest, the embarrassment I felt that night would stay with me for years.

尽管我在华尔街有一份体面的工作，但我的个人财务状况却一团糟。

Even though I had a fancy job on Wall Street, my personal finances were a mess.

白天，我代表对冲基金执行价值数十亿美元的交易。

During the day, I would enact trades on behalf of hedge funds worth billions of dollars.

到了晚上，我回到家会担心再多点一份泰式炒河粉会不会让我的经济状况雪上加霜。

And at night, I would go home and wonder if one more pad Thai order would set me over the financial edge.

遗憾的是，这种经历并不少见。

Sadly, this is not a unique experience.

很多年轻人面对金钱问题时仍然感到非常迷茫。

Many young people still feel hopelessly lost when it comes to our money.

这部分要归咎于现有的金融体系。

And this is in part due to the existing financial system.

从幼儿园到高中都没有教过个人理财知识。

Personal finance education is not taught k through 12.

过去五十年的政策实施导致了贫富之间的巨大鸿沟。

The past five decades of policy implementation has led to a deep divide between the haves and the have nots.

说实话，现在的金融服务行业，其实真的只是为那些已经很有钱的人服务的，也只会激励他们去帮助那些有钱人。

And if we're being honest, the financial services industry as it currently exists is really only set up and incentivized to help, well, be already wealthy.

但故事从这里开始变得精彩了。

But here's where the story starts to get really good.

现在正是学习理财知识的最好时机，从来没有比现在更好的时候了。

There has never been a better time to get financially literate than right now.

以前那些只有花钱请顾问才能得到的知识，现在动动手指就能获取。

Knowledge that was once locked behind expensive advisers is available at your fingertips.

十年后的今天，我成为了那个我当初多么希望拥有的理财教育者。

10 after bar night, I have become the financial educator I so desperately wish I had had back then.

我通过社交媒体，像朋友一样教大家理财知识，这就是我的职业。

I built my career teaching financial literacy like a friend across social media.

结果发现，那些通俗易懂的语言、那些傻傻的笑话、那些搞笑的梗图，并没有让我显得不够专业。

And as it turns out, that boiled down language and those silly jokes and those funny memes, they didn't make me any less credible.

但它们确实让我说的话更容易被理解。

But they sure did make me more understandable.

一开始只是社交媒体上的视频，现在已经变成了一个播客，还出了两本书，如果一切顺利的话，还会发展成一个完整的科技创业公司。

What started as just videos on social media has turned into a podcast, not one but two books, and if all goes according to plan, a full blown tech startup.

金融世界终于敞开了大门。

The financial world has finally opened its doors wide.

但是有三件事，我希望多年前自己就知道该怎么做，那时候我穷得叮当响，又特别特别想变得非常非常有钱。

But here are the three things I wish I had known to do all those years ago when I was so desperately broke and wanted so desperately to be very, very rich.

第一，学会这门语言，金融的语言。

One, learn the language, the financial language.

第二，围绕金钱建立社群。

Two, build community around money.

第三，为现代问题寻找现代解决方案。

And three, find modern solutions for modern problems.

那我们先来说说第一点。

So let's dive into that first point.

可以说，学金融真的就像学一门新语言。

It's safe to say learning finance really is like learning a new language.

401k、IRA、529、FICO、APY、AGI。

Four zero one k, IRA, five two nine, FICO, APY, AGI.

有人吗？

Hello?

谁能帮帮我？

Can someone please help me?

但我对你的要求其实很简单。

But my ask of you is really simple.

别怕因为不懂而显得笨。

Don't be afraid to be smart by looking dumb.

不懂就问这些词是什么意思。

Ask what the words mean.

别怕用Investopedia或NerdWallet这样的资源。

Don't be afraid to utilize resources like Investopedia or NerdWallet.

最重要的是，找一个能跟你沟通的财务导师，一个真正懂行、有实力的人，一个从不承诺天上掉馅饼的事，也绝不会让你心里发毛的人。

And most importantly, find a financial mentor that speaks your language, someone who has the industry chops to back up those smarts, someone who never promises you anything that's too good to be true, and certainly someone who never gives you that weird feeling in the pit of your stomach.

这里有一些我和寻求财务建议的人建立联系的方法。

Here are some of the ways that I have connected with people looking for financial guidance.

首先，我给杰罗姆·鲍威尔起了个外号叫“联储老爹”，用来解释降息。

First off, I nicknamed Jerome Powell FedDaddy to explain rates lowering.

联储老爹刚刚宣布我们要降息了，但很多人根本不知道这意味着什么，更别说对他们有什么影响了。

FedDaddy just announced we're lowering interest rates, and a lot of people don't even know what that means, much less what it means for them.

把新闻标题变成实际行动。

Translating headlines into action items.

联邦政府今天没上班，但我上班了。

The federal government didn't clock in today, but I did.

所以，政府停摆会这样影响你和你的钱包。

So here's how the government shutdown is going to impact you and your wallet.

甚至还会分析像肯德里克·拉马尔这样的名人是怎么变富并保持富有的。

And even breaking down how celebs like Kendrick Lamar get rich and stay rich.

肯德里克·拉马尔的家人在《Not Like Us》音乐视频里跳舞，这不仅仅是一次回击，更是一笔天才的投资。

Kendrick Lamar's family dancing in the Not Like Us music video wasn't just a clapback, it was a genius investment.

当你懂了这门语言，你就知道什么才是真正重要的。

When you understand the language, you understand what matters.

把金融变成“趣融”之后，反响特别热烈。

And the response to turning finance into Funnance has been incredible.

这就引出了我们的第二点。

And this leads us into our second point.

金融教育者要主动去贴近下一代的生活方式和习惯，而下一代也要自己建立起自己的金融圈子。

While it's on financial educators to meet the next generation where and how they already live, it's on the next generation to build their own financial community.

多年来，我们一直被灌输说谈钱很粗俗、很掉价、是个禁忌。

For years, we have been told talking about money is rude, tacky, taboo.

但我发现，鲍勃和史蒂夫在第三洞开球时，交换投资心得可一点都没觉得不好意思。

But the last time I checked, Bob and Steve seemed to have no problem trading investment tips as they're teeing off at hole three.

原来，只有我们聊钱的时候，才会被认为是不合时宜。

It turns out it's really only a faux pas when when we do it.

是时候改变这种观念了。

It's time to change that.

我和很多年轻人一样，每天准时打卡上班，在‘看手机工厂’里干满一整天。

I, like so many young people, clock in daily for a full shift at the looking at my phone factory.

不管你是整天刷抖音，还是泡在Reddit上看帖子，有一点很清楚。

And whether you spend all of your time scrolling TikTok or reading Reddit threads, it's clear.

公开谈论金钱，就能削弱那些上层人士的权力，把主动权拿回我们自己手里。

Having conversations around money takes the power away from the people up top and gives it back to us.

互联网催生了像Fishbowl和Glassdoor这样的平台，人们可以在那里分享真实的数字、坦诚的困境和真正的成功，而不用感到羞耻或被评判。

The Internet has led to the creation of spaces like Fishbowl and Glassdoor, where people can share true, real numbers, honest struggles and genuine victories without shame or judgment.

说实话，很多这样的对话在现实生活中还太敏感，难以当面聊。

And frankly, many of these conversations are still too raw to be had IRL.

这种网络匿名性让人们能够和他们的‘数字监督伙伴’一起合作，做出更明智的财务决策。

This online anonymity is empowering people to work together with their digital accountabilibuddies to make smarter financial choices.

我希望，随着这一代人越来越习惯于围绕金钱话题建立社群，我们的下一代在成长过程中会看到金钱被如此公开、真诚地讨论，以至于他们进入成年时，会拥有我们父母做梦都想不到的财务自信。

And my hope is that as this generation gets more comfortable creating community around money talk, the generation after us, they're going to grow up seeing money discussed so openly and authentically that they will enter adulthood with a level of financial confidence that their parents could have only dreamed of.

说到未来，你可能听过这句话：现代问题需要现代解决方案。

And speaking of the future, you've probably heard the phrase modern problems require modern solutions.

这句话从来没有像现在这样正确。

It's never been more true.

如果我拿不到我爸那样的养老金，也不能像我爸那样靠一份收入养家，而且我肯定不打算像我爸那样在同一份工作上干四十年，那我为什么要听我爸的理财建议呢？

If I'm not getting a pension like my dad and I can't make a household's ends meet on one income like my dad, and I certainly don't plan on working the same job for forty years like my dad, why am I taking my dad's financial advice?

或者更糟，用我爸的理财顾问。

Or worse, using my dad's financial advisor.

顺便说一句，我爸其实不是那样的。

My dad doesn't actually look like that, by the way.

如果我不说这句话，他会很生气的。

He's gonna be so mad if I don't say that.

对不起，爸。

Sorry, dad.

机器人顾问让复杂的投资策略变得人人都能使用。

Robo advisors are making sophisticated investment strategies accessible to everyone.

网上银行提供有竞争力的利率，而不用承担实体分行的高昂成本，创新的应用程序把复杂的金融任务变成简单、可操作的事情，让你在手掌心里就能完成。

Online banks are offering competitive rates without the burden of the overhead of brick and mortar branches, and innovative apps are turning complex financial tasks into simple, actionable things that you can do from the palm of your hand.

这些新平台同样受到监管和许可，而且往往费用更低。

These new platforms are just as regulated and licensed, and more often than not, they offer lower fees.

而且不只是创业中心或风投在关注这些。

And it's not just startup hubs or VCs that are taking notice.

创作者和教育者现在也开始创业了。

Creators and educators are now turning into founders.

就拿我的经历来说，最初只是做内容，后来变成了一个由AI驱动、与认证人类专家合作的应用，用像朋友一样的通俗语言提供指导，更重要的是，始终把教育放在首位。

For my story, what started as just content has turned into an app powered by AI working in conjunction with certified human experts to provide guidance in plain English like a friend, and more importantly, continues to educate first and foremost.

新时代的金融品牌不仅仅是传统金融服务的替代品。

New age financial brands aren't just a replacement for traditional financial services.

它们是为我们当下的生活方式量身打造的，旨在帮助你更聪明地储蓄、更轻松地投资，并且比以往任何时候都更快地积累财富。

They're purpose built for the way we live now, designed to help you save smarter, invest easier, and build wealth faster than ever before.

金融的未来不是即将到来。

The future of finance isn't coming.

它已经在这里了，而且正在为我们服务。

It's already here, and it's working for us.

所以，总结一下，距离我那次可怕的Bartab事件已经过去十年了，我多么希望能回到过去，给过去的Vivian提供一些现在Vivian能用的解决方案。

So to wrap us up, a decade has passed since my horrific Bartab incident, and I so desperately wish I could go back in time and provide past Vivian with some of the solutions available to today Vivian now.

这种金融可及性的转变不仅仅在改变个人的生活。

This shift towards financial accessibility isn't just changing individual lives.

它正在构建一个让每个人都有公平机会实现繁荣的生态系统。

It's building an ecosystem where everyone has a fair shot at prosperity.

而我的梦想是，十年后，金融教育的进步意味着酒吧之夜被拒的信用卡会减少，贫富差距会缩小，金融未来会比以往任何时候都更加光明。

And my dream is that a decade from now, the evolution in financial education will mean there are fewer declined credit cards at bar night, a shrinking wealth gap, and a financial future that is brighter than ever.

谢谢。

Thank you.