This glorious plastic card that allows me to get what I want when I want it.

這張金燦燦的塑膠卡能讓我想買什麼就買什麼。

It's amazing— an outfit here, an outfit there.

超棒，這裡買一件，那裡買一件。

I get to tap my card, and think about the money later.

輕輕一刷，錢的事情以後再考慮。

But if I'm not careful, I can get into some serious debt.

但如果不小心，我可能會陷入嚴重的債務問題。

Let's see what people have to say about their finances:

一起來看看人們怎麼說自己的財務狀況：

Do you have a credit card?

你有信用卡嗎？

I have just a debit card right now.

我現在只有一張簽帳金融卡。

-Okay, so what do you... -I don't trust myself with a credit card at the moment.

-那你對… -我還不信任自己用信用卡。

What do you know about credit?

你對信貸了解多少？

Do you understand how it works?

你知道它是怎麼運作的嗎？

Actually, not really.

不太知道，其實。

I don't know much about credit.

我對信貸了解不多。

Yeah.

對。

I am clueless on that.

我毫無頭緒。

Do you know why it would be good to have a good credit score, like, why it's helpful?

你知道為什麼有信用評分高是好事嗎？

Yeah! It's like everything— so you can, like, get a car, get like a place to live, like, be able to purchase things.

知道！一切都牽涉信用評分，買車、找地方住，讓你能買東西。

It kinda kills me that, like, you have to have credit to, like, survive in this country.

必須有信用評分才能在這個國家生存這件事讓我有點痛苦。

I'm like, "Why can't I just live off my debit card?"

我想，「為什麼不能就靠簽帳卡生活？」

So, what is credit, and how can you make it work for you and not against you?

什麼是信貸，又該如何使其成為助力，而不是拖後腿呢？

This is your world on money.

你收看的是你的金錢世界。

What is going on?

現在是怎樣？

So, I did some digging to find the credentials of credit, and this is what I found.

所以，我對「信貸」做了些調查，以下是我找到的資料。

Credit is the ability to borrow money or access goods or services with the understanding that you'll pay up later.

「信貸」指的是一個人借錢或獲得商品、服務，但知道自己日後得償還款項。

There's an agreement between the borrower and the lender.

借款人和貸款人間的協議。

Having credit enables consumers to buy goods or assets

信貸能幫助消費者購買商品或資產，

without having to pay for them in cash at the time of purchase.

而不必馬上以現金支付。

Believe it or not, credit was even a thing of the past, before banks, retailers, and others extended credit to people.

信不信由你，早在銀行、零售商和其他機構提供信貸服務前，信貸就已經存在了。

One of the earliest records of credit and the concept of lending can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia.

最早的信貸記錄和借貸概念可追溯到古美索不達米亞。

Back then, planting a single seed would yield a grain plant with hundreds of seeds on harvest days.

那時，種下一粒種子就能在收穫日結出數百粒種子。

So, farmers began to borrow seeds issued against a later payment.

於是，農民開始借種子，並於日後收成償還。

This was used in a similar manner with animals, where the repayment was issued with the birth of a new calf.

借貸動物的方式也之相似，在小牛出生後才償還。

Instead of borrowing grains or animals, today, we can borrow money and pay it back later.

不只藉糧或牲畜，如今我們可以借貸資金。

Now, there are many different types of credit,

信貸的種類有很多，

and I'll mainly be focusing on consumer credit

我今天會將重點放在消費者信貸，

because it pertains to most people today.

因為這跟如今大多數人較相關。

Consumer credit means, for example, credit cards.

消費信貸是指，比如說，信用卡。

and as a good, neutral Libra,

作為一個正直、中立的天秤座，

I won't be recommending you to be for or against credit cards,

我不會支持或反對信用卡使用。

we'll just be discussing it because...knowledge.

我們只會單純地討論這個主題，就當吸收知識。

Well, hello, Joe.

喬，你好。

Thank you so much for joining me here today.

非常感謝你願意接受採訪。

I had to learn all this stuff the hard way,

我不得已得從失敗吸取教訓，

so I'm super happy to help everybody learn it in an easier way than I did,

所以我非常樂意幫助別人，希望大家能不用像我一樣就能學到。

'cause if I can come back from that, so can you.

我都可以從谷底翻身，這一定難不倒大家。

All right, so since you're a money management expert, could you tell me about credit?

好的，您作為理財專家，能教教大家信貸的知識嗎？

Do I need it?

我們需要它嗎？

Well, I know about credit because I messed mine up myself.

這個嘛，我懂信貸是因為我曾把自己的信用搞得一團糟。

And the biggest lesson that I think we all need to learn is that credit is a paradox.

我學到最大的教訓，大家都需要知道的是，信貸很矛盾。

We certainly need it to buy things like a car to get to work, maybe, or a house for a roof over our head—

我們當然需要信貸來買車去上班，或者買房子以安身，

but we want to try not to use it as much as possible.

但又想盡量不去使用它。

In essence, credit means we're trying to use other people's money instead of our own—

從本質上來看，信貸意味著我們在用別人的錢，而不是自己的，

and that can be really, really dangerous.

而這可能會非常、非常危險。

Specifically thinking about credit cards, what are the main do's and don'ts?

把範圍縮小到信用卡使用，有哪些事是該做的，哪些絕對不能做？

The basic credit card rule is this:

信用卡去用的基本規則是：

Do not use the credit card, if you don't know where the money's going to come from to pay it.

如果不知道還不還得出來，就不要使用信用卡。

If you don't pay off your credit card on time, they're going to charge you this ginormous interest rate:

如果不按時償還信用卡欠款，銀行會向你收鉅額利息，

often 18, 21, 25% or more.

通常是 18、21、25% 或更多。

So, you want to have some systems in place.

所以，得給自己些制度。

I like setting up automatic payments, so at the very least, you don't get behind on your payments.

我喜歡設置自動付款，這樣至少不會遲繳卡費。

That makes sense.

有道理。

Can you define what a "credit score" is and why is it important?

你能定義什麼是「信用評分」，還有為什麼它很重要嗎？

A credit score is the way that any company issuing credits decide whether you are somebody they should be loaning money to or not.

信用評分是發卡公司決定他們要不要借錢給你的依據。

There's three main factors that make your credit go up or down:

有三個主要因素會影響你的信用評分：

The first one is paying that bill on time.

第一個是按時繳帳單。

If you at least pay the minimum payment, you're going to be great.

至少要支付最低應繳額，這樣就很好了。

The second is utilization.

第二是利用率。

If they let you borrow $500, have you already borrowed all of it, or have you borrowed very little of it?

如果銀行給你的額度是 500 美元，你會全用還是用很少一部分？

If you borrow very little, they're much more likely to think that you don't need the money,

如果你借得很少，銀行會更傾向於認為你不迫切需要這些錢；

making them want to loan you more.

更可能提高你的額度。

And then the third is how long you've actually had credit history.

然後第三，你實際擁有信用記錄的時間。

If you've had it for a long time, that's going to make it go up quickly.

如果你已經有很長一段時間了，分數上升速度會較快。

If you haven't had credit very long, it's going to take longer to build.

如果時間不長，就會需要更長的時間來建設你的分數。

So, should I be using my credit card for everything, or just small versus big purchases?

那麼，我應該用信用卡支付一切費用嗎？還是只用在小額或大額消費？

Using your credit card means using it responsibly,

你得有責任感的使用信用卡，

and a great way to get started with credit is to use it just for small purchases, not for big purchases.

一開始使用信用卡最好只用在小額消費，而非大額。

If I'm buying big things on my credit card,

如果一下用信用卡花太多錢，

it's so easy to get behind on those payments.

之後很容易遲繳卡費。

But if I'm using it for little things on a monthly basis,

但如果小筆小筆的花，每個月算，

I'm showing the credit card company I'm responsible, number one.

第一，我正在向信用卡公司展現我負責任的態度。

And then the second thing that it does is

還有，第二，

you're not going to owe these monster interest rates, sometimes, to some credit card company;

你就不會欠信用卡公司巨額利率；

that's extra money coming out of your pocket you don't need to spend.

那是本來不需要花的，額外的錢。

But the third thing is, and maybe the most important when you're young,

但還有第三件事，也許最重要的，年輕時，

is that allows you to build a great credit history

是允許你建立良好信用記錄的最佳時機，

so that you get higher amounts of credit later on when you might need more.

以便日後取得更高的信貸額度，以備不時之需。

That makes sense.

很有道理。

Thank you so much, that was such a helpful answer.

非常感謝你，這些回答都很有幫助。

I am fulfilled with credit wisdom now.

我現在充滿了信貸的智慧。

Woohoo, high five.

嗚呼，擊掌。

The most important thing about credit is it's very useful to build a good credit score,

關於信貸最重要的一點是，建立良好的信用評分非常有用，

but it's equally important that you pay off your credit cards in a timely manner.

而及時還清信用卡費也同樣重要。

As much as possible,

最好還是儘可能

it's better to avoid going into any sort of debt or having to use your credit card in the first place,

一開始就避免自己陷入任何形式的債務或使用信用卡，

but that simply isn't realistic for most Gen Zers and millennials.

但這對大多數 Z 世代和千禧一代來說根本不可能。

So, I would encourage less spending on things you don't really need in the first place.

所以，我建議一開始就減少購買你其實不需要的東西。

Put things in your online shopping cart,

把東西加進購物車，

but then let it sit over the next couple days, and then think if you really need it.

放個幾天，想想自己是否真的需要它。

The less money you spend, whether it's yours or on credit, the better.

錢花的越少越好，無論是現金還是信用卡。

I, personally, have a shared credit card with my mom

我和我媽有共用信用卡，

because my parents do not trust me to have a good credit score,

因為我父母不相信我自己開卡會有良好的信用評分，

but I need to build my own.

但我還是得自己有張卡。

Yeah, yeah.

沒錯。