1.Divvy up any unexpected income
分配好福利收入
When you have a windfall a bonus, gift, or extra cash for extra work — use the rule of thirds to determine how to use it:
當你得到一筆意外之財時--獎金、禮物，或是賺到的外快--使用三分之一法則來決定如何使用它：
One third for the past. Use one third to pay down debt you owe.
三分之一用在過去。把三分之一的錢用來支付你欠下的債務。
One third for the future. Put a second third immediately into some sort of savings or investment.
三分之一用在未來。把第二個三分之一立刻進行儲蓄或是投資。
One third for the present. Use the final third to make a home or personal improvement or purchase you want.
三分之一用在當前。把最后的三分之一用于家庭或個人改善，又或者是買你想要的東西。
If you follow this rule, you'll see your debt shrink and your savings grow, and you won't feel deprived.
如果你遵循了這個法則，你將看到你的債務在減少，而你的儲蓄在增加。你也不會再覺得拮據了！
2.Keep a slush fund handy
手頭要有一筆備用金
Something be it a car repair, an emergency root canal, or a job layoff always comes up to throw you off your monthly budget. To keep these incidents from running you into debt, you need to have an emergency stash in an easily accessible account, preferably a money market account (they earn a little more interest than regular savings accounts).
總有些事會給你一個措手不及，打亂你的每月預算，比如修車、牙根治療或是下崗之類的事。為了避免因為這些事而讓自己背負債務，你需要準備一個隨時可用的緊急賬戶，比較好的是貨幣理財賬戶(比起一般的儲蓄賬戶，它們賺到的利息會更多一點)。
How much is enough?Easy.Track all of your spending for a month(including everything from your mortgage payment to lunch at the deli)，and multiply that monthly total by three.That three-month operating budget is a scary number, eh? Well, is the minimum you should have on hand in case the roof caves in(literally or figuratively)and you need some dough to get you through the rough spots. And don't worry if this money isn't accruing the big interest; it's there for emergencies.
多少錢才足夠？很簡單。記錄下你一個月的總花銷(所有林林總總的賬目，從按揭支付到去熟食店吃午飯的開銷)，然后把月消費總額再乘以三。這份三月收支預算看著有些嚇人，是吧？這個數字其實是你手頭應該有的最低費用，用來防止意外的發生，不管是房子倒塌了還是出現其它意外。你需要一些錢幫你度過這些難關。如果這些錢不能產生很多利息，也不必擔心，因為預留這些錢是為緊急狀況準備的。
3.Ditch the ATM card
丟掉銀行卡
We're always making impulse purchases,from a pack of gum at the supermarket checkout line to that new Van Halen-meets-bluegrass CD.How can you stop your bank account from hemorrhaging? Take a page from the old-timers and shred your ATM card.Figure out how much cash you'll need each week for your regular,cash-based purchases(things like lunch at the cafeteria and your daily cup of coffee)，head on over to the bank teller's window,and get your walking-around money for the week.With a finite amount of cash,you'll start to think twice before those spur-of-the-moment spending sprees.
我們不可避免地會沖動購物，比如在超市排隊結賬時會買一盒口香糖，或是在唱片店買一張范·海倫樂隊新出的CD。你怎么做才能守住你銀行里的錢而不是鋪張消費呢？跟老前輩學一學，丟掉銀行卡。你要算出每個月滿足正常生活需要所花的現金數目(像在自助餐廳吃的午飯，你每天要喝的咖啡)，接著徑直走到銀行柜臺，取出你這一星期所需要的零花錢。因為金額有限，在你想沖動購物時，你就會開始再三考慮了。
