写作方法2016nytimes.com
每位父母都该写的那封关于钱的信
The Money Letter That Every Parent Should Write
导读
这篇《纽约时报》文章讲父母该给孩子写一封谈钱的信，用来传递理财观念。HN 评论认为泛泛的理财鸡汤和黄金法则没有用，建议应写成可计算、分处境的具体方案。对写作者来说，这是一次关于建议写作的提醒：少喊口号，多给情境、数字和读者分层。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
把建议写成数学题：先算想要的生活方式要花多少钱，再倒推职业、学贷和消费是否匹配。
- 02
按读者处境定制内容：中产、困难家庭、富裕家庭的财务重点完全不同，一封信不能包打天下。
- 03
用具体数字和选择后果替代抽象口号，比如比较本田和特斯拉、算清20%信用卡利息的影响。
- 04
把长信拆成成长过程中定期、小剂量的教育，或提供可自学的工具。
HN 评论精选
理财建议应数学化、具体化，而非鸡汤口号。
这篇文章和书正是理财教育的问题所在：理财没有什么特殊智慧、妙招或黄金法则，心灵鸡汤没用。个人理财应当作数学题：先算清你想要的生活方式成本，再倒推；若房子、车和外出晚餐要10万美元，就看职业选择是否匹配、背学贷是否合理。年纪大、已做选择且收入5万美元的人，算法不同：本田还是特斯拉、20%信用卡利息是帮你还是害你，算一算就清楚。泛泛的“避免负债”“房子是最好的投资”只会添乱；营养学领域的混乱和坏建议可能更多。信里奶奶说“选固定利率房贷”，什么鬼？
fefifofu查看英文原文
This article and the book is exactly what's wrong with personal finance education. There is no special wisdom, clever tricks or golden rules in finance. Chicken soup for the soul won't help. Personal finance should be taught as a math problem. Figure out the cost of the lifestyle you want, and work backwards from there. If your fancy house, car, and dinners out cost $100,000 then you can figure out if your choices make sense... does you career choice match up? does taking on school debt make sense? etc. Or if you are older and made these life choices already and make $50,000, your math problem is a bit different. Does the honda or tesla fit? You can very easily see if credit card interest of 20% will help or hurt you achieve your goals/lifestyle if you do the math. None of this generic "avoid debt" or "house are the best investment" (garbage) advice helps and only confuses the matter. I think the only area that has more confusion and bad advice than personal finance is nutrition. In the letter, grandma says "go for a fixed rate mortgage"... what!?
建议信要按家庭处境分层，不能一套模板。
这封信适合没有真正问题的中产家庭，但美国梦不适用于所有人。对有一个或多个受抚养或残疾成员的家庭，我会写很不同的信：常规储蓄既难又危险，一大笔钱或资产很容易被糟糕处境拖走或损失。对富裕家庭也要另写：资产保护远比储蓄重要，他们常花更多精力用信托和税务效率手段隔离财富，而不是积累储蓄。
sandworm101查看英文原文
A good letter if you are a middle-class household without any real problems. But that american dream isn't applicable to everyone. I'd write a very different letter for a family struggling with one or more dependant/disabled family members. There, conventional saving can be difficult but also dangerous. A big pile of money or other assets can too easily be attached or lost to a horrible situation. I'd also write a very different letter for wealthy families. For them, asset protection is far more important than savings. They often spend more energy dissociating themselves from their wealth via trusts and other tax-efficient games than they do actually building savings.
父母应优先教孩子避免债务，别把学贷正常化。
眼下最该给的建议是如何避免债务。储蓄固然重要，却越来越像奢侈品：朋友们还背着学贷，却已在考虑生孩子，并觉得孩子以后有学贷也正常。学贷并不正常；过去只属于教师、律师、医生等经典职业，本科可由家庭支付、奖学金或拼命打工做到无债。现在人人都觉得债务合理。如果我是父母，我会和孩子一起谋划，让破产成为他们正常大学教育的一部分，而不是债务。
cmurf查看英文原文
I think more than anything right now, the advice to give is how to avoid debt. Savings is certainly important, but increasingly a luxury, as friends still have school debt even as they contemplate having kids. And then think it's normal their kids will have school debt too. School debt is not normal. That used to be for only the classic professions: teacher, lawyer, doctor. College was either paid for by family, by grants, or you worked your ass off but had no debt after the undergraduate degree. Now everyone thinks debt is sane. If I were a parent, I'd plot with the kid how bankruptcy is part of their normal college education. Not debt.
财务教育应小剂量定期进行，或提供自学工具。
何不在孩子成长过程中，定期、小剂量地教这些内容？或者给他们工具，让他们自己学。
em3rgent0rdr查看英文原文
How about teaching in small doses at regular intervals throughout their growing up. Or give them tools to learn by themselves.
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