我所知道的最佳理财建议（我希望孩子们学到的）

好的。

Alright.

那么，今天这期节目要讲的是这么回事。

So here's the thing about today's episode.

如果你没有孩子，甚至你根本不想要孩子，我觉得今天这期节目对你来说也很重要。

If you don't have kids, and even if you never want kids, I think today's episode will be important to you.

至少我希望如此。

I hope so, at least.

因为今天要讲的是这个。

Because here's what this is about.

我有两个孩子。

I have two kids.

他们一个四岁，一个八岁。

They are four and eight years old.

而且在他们俩出生的时候，应该说就在他们出生前一两天，我给他们各自写了一封信，告诉他们我想教给他们关于金钱的道理。

And when both of them were born, I should say just a day or two before they were born, I wrote both of them what I wanted to teach them about money.

对一个婴儿，一个刚出生的孩子来说，想这些确实有点奇怪，但是，第一，我是个财经作家。

Now that's a weird thing to do for an infant, for a newborn to be thinking about that, but, a, I'm a financial writer.

第二，我觉得这是个很好的练习，退一步问问自己：如果有十条理财建议，重要到你想确保把这些道理灌输给孩子，那会是哪十条呢？

And, b, I think it was a great exercise to take a step back and ask and say, if there were 10 pieces of financial advice that were so important to you that you really wanted to make sure that you instilled these lessons in your children, what would they be?

而且，当你把这些写成给孩子的信时，你会确保这些道理非常容易理解，简洁明了，不让人困惑，没有行话，也没有公式。

And, also, when you form this as a letter to your children, you make sure that those lessons are very easy to understand, succinct, not confusing, no jargon, no formulas.

所以我对我的两个孩子都这么做了，我特别喜欢。

So I did this with both of my kids, and I loved it.

这个过程真的很有趣。

It was such a fun exercise to go through it.

我女儿再过几周就五岁了。

And so my daughter will be five in a couple weeks.

所以前几天我正好想到这件事，今天想和你一起看看我写给她的那封信，关于我想教给孩子们的理财建议。

So I was just thinking about this the other day, and I wanna go through with you today the letter that I wrote her about financial advice that I wanted to teach my children.

希望这对你自己的孩子们也能有所帮助。

And maybe this will be useful, hopefully, for your own children.

但再说一次，即使你没有孩子，希望你在读这些的时候也能像我写的时候一样享受。

But again, even if you don't have any, hopefully, you will enjoy these as much as I did for myself when I wrote them.

好的。

Alright.

那我们就开始一条一条过吧。

So let me just start going through some of these.

第一条是，我们很容易认为财富和贫穷是由我们做的选择造成的，但更容易低估运气在人生中的作用。

The first one was, it is easy to assume that wealth and poverty are caused by the choices that we make, but it is even easier to underestimate the role of chance in life.

每个人的生活都是他们经历和遇到的人的反映，其中很多是你无法控制的，是由运气决定的。

Everyone's life is a reflection of the experiences that they've had and the people who've they've met, a lot of which are out of your control and driven by chance.

出生在不同的家庭，有不同的价值观，在不同的国家，不同的时代，以及你一路上碰巧遇到谁，这些对结果的影响比大多数人愿意承认的还要大。

Being born into different families with different values in different countries in different generations, and the luck of who you happen to meet along the way plays a bigger role in outcomes than most people want to admit.

我希望你相信努力的价值和回报，但也要明白，不是所有的成功都靠努力，也不是所有的贫穷都因为懒惰。

I want you to believe in the values and rewards of hard work, But realize that not all success is due to hard work, and not all poverty is due to laziness.

在评判别人，包括评判你自己的时候，记住这一点。

Keep that in mind when judging people, including yourself.

好的。

Alright.

第二条。

Second one.

金钱带来的最大红利，就是让你能掌控自己的时间。

The highest dividend that money pays is providing the ability to control your time.

能够想做什么就做什么，想什么时候做就什么时候做，想去哪儿就去哪儿，想和谁在一起就和谁在一起，想做多久就做多久，这种幸福感是任何昂贵的东西、物质的东西都给不了的。

Being able to do what you want, when you want, where you want, with whom you want, for as long as you want, offers a level of happiness greater than any amount of fancy stuff, material stuff can ever offer.

拥有昂贵东西的新鲜感很快就会消退，但一份工作时间灵活、通勤又短的工作，永远不会让人厌倦。

The thrill of having fancy stuff wears off quickly, but a career with flexible hours and a short commute will never get old.

有足够的积蓄，让你在紧急情况下有时间、有选择，这永远不会让人厌倦。

Having enough savings to give you time and options during an emergency will never get old.

能在你准备好的时候退休，这永远不会让人厌倦。

Being able to retire when you're ready will never get old.

最终的财务目标，就是独立。

The ultimate financial goal is independence.

但独立并不是非黑即白的。

But independence is not black or white.

它不是全有或全无的。

It's not all or nothing.

你存的每一块钱，都像是拥有自己未来的一部分，否则这部分未来可能会被别人掌控，按他们的优先级来安排。

Every dollar you save is like owning a slice of your future that might otherwise be managed by someone else and whatever their priorities might be.

好的。

Alright.

下一个。

Next one.

你的父母，我指的是我和我妻子，会努力工作来支持你，为你打开机会之门，但我们绝不会宠坏你。

Your parents, I'm talking about my wife and I, will work hard to support you and open the doors of opportunity, but we are never going to spoil you.

我们不是故意苛刻，但没有人能在不经历匮乏的情况下真正理解钱的价值。

We're not trying to be mean, but nobody can learn the value of a dollar without experiencing its scarcity.

学会你不能拥有一切，是理解需求和欲望之间区别的唯一途径。

Learning that you can't have everything you want is the only way to understand the difference between a need and a desire.

这会教你如何做预算、如何存钱，以及如何珍惜你已有的东西。

It will teach you how to budget and how to save and how to value what you already have.

学会节俭而不觉得痛苦，是一项重要的生活技能，在人生不可避免的起起落落中会派上用场。

Learning to be frugal without it hurting is an essential life skill that will come in handy during life's inevitable ups and downs.

现在，我读到这些，回头想想，我有没有为我的孩子们做到这些呢？

Now, I read that in hindsight, have I done that for my children?

对我儿子来说可能容易些，但我觉得我女儿知道，只要她眨眨眼睛，我就会给她买任何她想要的东西。

Maybe it's easier for my son, but I think my daughter knows that if she flutters her eyes a certain ways, I will buy her anything that she wants.

说起来容易做起来难。

It's easier said than done.

好。

Alright.

下一个。

Next one.

拿破仑对军事天才的定义是：在周围所有人都失去理智时，还能做平常事的人。

Napoleon's definition of a military genius was the person who can do the average thing when everyone else around him is losing his mind.

理财也是一样的道理。

Managing money is the same.

你不需要做出什么惊天动地的事，时间长了，结果自然也不会差。

You don't need to do amazing things to end up okay over time.

你只需要在很长一段时间里，一直不犯大错就行了。

You just have to consistently not screw up for long periods of time.

避免灾难性的错误——最大的错误可能就是让自己背上沉重的债务——这比任何花哨的理财技巧都管用。

Avoiding catastrophic mistakes, the biggest of which is maybe burying yourself in debt, is more powerful than any fancy finance tip.

好的。

Alright.

下一个。

Next one.

学会少花钱过日子，是最强大的理财杠杆之一，因为比起收入或投资回报，你对这件事的控制力更强。

Learning how to live with less is one of the most powerful financial levers because you have more control over it than things like your income or your investing returns.

一个赚五万但只需要四万就能过得开心的人，比一个赚十五万但需要十五万一千才开心的人更富有。

The person who makes $50,000 but only needs $40,000 to be happy is richer than the person who makes a $150,000 but needs a 151,000 to be happy.

而且，一个投资回报率只有5%但开销很低的人，可能比一个年回报率7%但每一分钱都要花掉的人过得更好。

And the investor who earns a 5% return but has low expenses may be better off than the investor who earns 7% a year but needs every penny of it.

你赚多少并不决定你拥有多少，你拥有多少也不决定你需要多少。

How much you make doesn't determine how much you have, and how much you have doesn't determine how much you need.

好。

Alright.

下一个。

Next one.

改变主意没关系。

It's okay to change your mind.

几乎没有人18岁就搞清楚了人生。

Almost nobody has their life figured out at age 18.

所以，如果你选了一个后来发现不喜欢的大学专业，甚至拿了一个不是你热爱的领域的学位，那也没关系。

So it's fine if you pick a college major you end up not enjoying or even end up getting a degree in a field that isn't your passion.

如果你从事一份职业，后来决定想做别的事情，那也没关系。

It's fine if you work in a career and then decide that you wanna do something else.

承认自己的价值观和目标已经发生了变化，这没什么大不了的。

And it's fine to admit that your values and your goals have evolved.

原谅自己、改变想法，这是一种超能力，尤其是在你年轻的时候。

Forgiving yourself and changing your mind is a superpower, especially when you're young.

现在回头看这些，我觉得挺有意思的，因为我觉得我的一些价值观和信念随着时间也变了。

It's interesting to read that for me in hindsight because I think some of my values and beliefs have changed over time.

我觉得那种极度坚持甚至近乎崇拜节俭的态度，对很多人来说，包括我自己，可能是2008年金融危机及之后几年的产物，那时候在艰难的就业市场上，节俭真的非常重要。

I think the extreme adherence and almost worship of frugality may have been for a lot of people, including myself, an artifact of the 2,008 and the ensuing years where frugality was so important during a tough job market.

我仍然相信节俭，也相信储蓄这些。

I still believe in it and savings and all of that.

但当我回头看十年前写的东西时，我觉得那时候可能比现在更热衷于此。

But when I look at back at things I wrote a decade ago, I think I'm probably more passionate about it back then than I might be today.

对我来说，回顾这些并思考，是件很有意思的事。

It's an interesting thing for me to look back and think about.

好了。

Alright.

下一个。

Next one.

凡事皆有代价，我说的不只是价格标签。

Everything has a price, and I'm not just talking about price tags.

忙碌事业的代价，是远离朋友和家人的时间。

The price of a busy career is time away from friends and family.

长期股市回报的代价，是不确定性和波动。

The price of long term stock market returns is uncertainty and volatility.

宠坏孩子的代价，是他们被过度保护的人生。

The price of spoiling your kids is their own sheltered life.

所有值得做的事都有代价，而且大多数代价是隐性的。

Everything worthwhile has a price, and most of those prices are hidden.

这些代价往往值得付出，但绝不能忽视它们是真实的成本。

They're often worth paying, but never ignore that they are true costs.

当你接受这一点，你就会把时间、关系、自主权和创造力看作各自独立的货币，它们和现金一样宝贵。

And when you accept this, you'll view things like time and relationships and autonomy and creativity as currencies all their own that can be just as valuable as cash.

好的。

Alright.

下一个。

Next one.

真正的成功，是那些你希望爱你的人，真的爱你。

True success is when the people who you want to love you do love you.

这句话是我从沃伦·巴菲特那里偷来的。

I stole that line from Warren Buffett.

而这种爱，主要来自于你如何对待别人，而不是你的身价有多少。

And that love comes overwhelmingly from how you treat people rather than whatever your net worth might be.

我能给你的最重要的理财建议是，金钱并不能带来你——以及几乎所有人——真正想要的东西。

The most important financial advice I can give you is that money won't provide the thing that you and almost everyone else wants.

再多的钱，也弥补不了品格的缺失、诚实和对他人的真诚同理心，而这些才是真正让别人爱你的东西。

No amount of money can compensate for lack of character, honesty, and genuine empathy towards others, which are the things that will actually cause those other people to love you.

好的。

Alright.

最后一条。

Last one here.

你的世界会和我的不同，就像我的世界和我父母的不同一样。

Your world will be different than mine, just as mine is different from my own parents.

所以，你可以拒绝这些建议中的任何一条。

So it's okay to reject any of this advice.

每个人都不一样，没有人拥有所有正确答案。

Everyone's different, and no one has all the right answers.

不要盲目接受任何人的建议，要结合自己的价值观、目标和处境来理解。

Never take anyone's advice without contextualizing it within your own values and goals and circumstances.

然后我在信的结尾写道：你的父母爱你。

And then I I ended this letter by saying, your parents love you.

请让我们睡个好觉。

Please let us sleep.

她没有遵守这条规则，但没关系。

She did not follow that rules, but that's okay.

孩子就是这样。

That's how children work.

所以再说一次，我觉得即使你没有孩子，或者永远不会要孩子，我也希望你能从中有所感悟，因为很多这些内容，我其实不一定是为我的孩子写的。

So again, I think even if you don't have kids or you never do, I hope you can take some of that to heart because a lot of these things, didn't necessarily write for my kids.

我是为自己写的，作为一种思考金钱的方式。

I write them for myself as a way to think about money.

本期节目就到这里。

That's it for this episode.

本期节目由我的朋友在public.com以及他们的新播客《The Rundown》赞助播出。

This episode was brought to you by my friends at public.com and their new podcast, the rundown.

《The Rundown》是一个非常简短但很棒的播客，涵盖金融界发生的一切，从加密货币到股市再到经济。

The Rundown is a very short and great podcast that talks about everything that's happening in the financial world from crypto to the stock market to the economy.

去看看吧，了解一下本周金融市场的情况。

Check it out to get a good rundown of what's been happening in the financial markets this week.

再次感谢，我们下次再见。

Thanks again, and we'll see you next time.