Friends are going to tell you that.

朋友會這樣告訴你。

Family's going to tell you that.

家人會這樣告訴你。

Commercials are going to tell you that.

連廣告都會告訴你不可能。

But let me give you some truth about credit cards.

但讓我告訴你一些關於信用卡的殘酷事實。

There are currently 459 million credit cards in circulation today.

目前有約 4 億 5 千 9 百萬張的信用卡在美國市面上流通。

And only 327 million people living in America!

但美國人口實際上只有 3 億 2 千 7 百萬！

That's like 132 million extra cards that are not assigned to a person, but they're floating around.

也就是說有 1 億 3 千 2 百萬張額外的無主信用卡在市面上某處流通著。

But they are assigned to people, because the average person carries four credit cards.

但它們其實是屬於某些人的，因為平均來說每個人有 4 張信用卡。

68% of people who use their credit cards said they use it on things that they need.

68% 信用卡持有者說他們之所以使用信用卡，是為了要買「 需要」的東西。

But the most common type of credit card are the ones they sell you at retail stores.

但他們最常拿的信用卡，是店員在零售店推銷給你的那種。

Yes, 41% of people have store specific credit cards.

沒錯，41% 的人擁有零售商聯名卡。

And last I checked, not many emergencies can happen where J.Crew swoops in and solves your problems.

而就我目前所知，沒有什麼「緊急需求」是 J.Crew (美國服飾零售商) 應付不了的。

Maybe a fashion emergency, but no other emergency.

除了時尚方面的緊急需求以外，大家應該沒什麼緊急需求了。

Store credit cards, actually you guys, they are the worst you can get.

各位，其實零售商聯名卡是最糟糕的信用卡選擇。

Their interest rates are nearly double of traditional credit cards.

它們的利率幾乎是傳統信用卡的兩倍。

So let's just assume that you accumulate $1,000 of debt on a store credit card.

假設你使用某間店家的聯名信用卡並積欠了 1000 美元的債務。

This is actually way lower of a balance than the average American, but it's just a nice round number.

這個數字其實遠比美國人平均欠的金額還低，但為了讓你更好了解，我決定用這個整數舉例。

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt.

我暫且相信你會固定還款。

And let's say you pay two times the minimum payment every month on your balance.

假設你每個月的還款金額是最低還款金額的兩倍。

For a store credit card with a 25% interest rate, it's going to take you 27 months and cost you $307 in interest to pay off that balance.

以一個利率為 25 % 的聯名卡來說，你需要 27 個月，以及 307 美元的額外利息才能還完整筆欠款。

So let's say you signed up for that credit card when they said, "Would you like to save 15% on your purchase today?"

還記得信用卡業務人員在你辦卡的時候跟你說：「你有沒有興趣為自己今天的消費金額省下 15% 呢？」

And you said, "Yes!"

而你說：「當然。」

And let's assume that you spent that whole $1,000 we talked about earlier when you signed up for that store credit card.

然後我們假設你辦信用卡後，花了我們前面說的整整 1000 美元。

Which is pretty unlikely, but let's just say you did.

雖然不太可能，但我們就假設你這麼做了。

That 15% saves you $150.

15% 的信用卡優惠幫你省下 150 美元。

But you end up spending $307 in interest.

但你卻多負擔了 307 美元的利息。

Guys, let it sink in.

各位，花點時間想想。

It's just math, people.

這是數字遊戲啊！

And then you look at the facts and the profits from places like Macy's.

看看 Macy's 百貨類業者的利潤。

Macy's credit cards make up nearly 40% of their businesses.

Macy's 百貨通過聯名信用卡的所賺進的利潤幾乎佔了他們整個事業體的 40%。

And stores like Kohl's and Macy's, they actually pay their employees for each credit card application they get.

像 Kohl's 和 Macy's 這種商家，他們的員工每成功推銷一張聯名信用卡就會獲得獎金。

It doesn't even matter if the application is approved.

信用卡的申辦有沒有被批准無所謂。

But the employees get a commission for just getting someone to sign up for a credit card.

只要能說服消費者辦卡就能抱走獎金。

And some stores even threaten to take away hours from employees who are not signing up enough people for credit cards.

有些店家甚至會用扣薪水作為威脅，要求員工強力推銷自家聯名信用卡。

It's a huge problem.

這是一個很嚴重的問題。

And you guys, I know a lot of people who sign up for credit cards with really good intentions.

各位，我知道有很多人申辦信用卡的動機是好的。

They do it for the points, because they think they can pay it off every month, but it's just not the reality.

他們辦卡是為了積分，他們相信自己可以每個月結清欠款，但事實並非如此。

Only 45% of people pay off their credit card balances every month.

只有 45% 的人真正結清每個月的信用卡欠款。

And there's $784 billion in outstanding credit card debt out there.

目前，還有高達 7 千 840 億美元的信用卡債還沒被償還。

Half of Americans are not paying off their credit card bill.

50% 左右的美國人無法結清他們的卡債。

So the bottom line is: credit cards are not going to help you build wealth.

總而言之：信用卡對你累積財富並無幫助。

They're actually going to steal it.

反而會偷走你的財富。

Because again, I said it earlier, at the top of this episode, but it's true.

事實就是我在片頭說的。

So many people say, "Well, I'm going to get a credit card to build my credit, so that I can buy a house."

很多人說：「我要通過辦信用卡來向銀行證明我的信用，方便日後申請房屋貸款。」

But you actually don't need a credit score to buy a house.

但其實買房子未必需要信用評級。

It is possible.

這是有可能的。