双语：大学毕业之后我明白的7件事

烟雨未落

If you are a new graduate, congratulations! Everything you've worked for during your college career has come to fruition. If you thought college was fun, this next chapter has the potential to be way more fun. You can stop doing homework, at least for a little while, and actually relax at night and on weekends (and be able to pay for it!).

( v, E" D3 F8 F" A: H$ `I graduated college several years ago and, in looking back, wished I knew then what I know now about personal finances and money. I've distilled these ideas into the seven tips you see below. None of them are difficult to do, they're just difficult to remember. If you can do all of these tips you'll be ahead of the curve.
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Set It and Forget It Retirement
' B* ]- o; X" p9 zWhen you start your new job, the last thing on your mind is what you'll be doing when you retire in forty years. However, what you do now will pay big dividends in forty years so be sure to take advantage of the retirement options you have.
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Contribute to a 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plan if you can, especially if your employer offers to match a percentage of your contribution. Contribute to a Roth IRA to the maximum every year you can because, hopefully, eventually you will earn too much to contribute and you'll want to take advantage of tax-free growth while you can.
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Need proof of this: If you contribute only $100 a month and it appreciates at 10% a year for forty years, you'll end up with over $632,000. Set it and forget it.

Seek Mentors
: o; H' x$ ^. Q0 dFind people who know more about the world than you do and learn as much as you can. One of the greatest lessons you can know as a young person is that you don't know a damn thing. All the greats always credit the ones who came before them, the giants' whose shoulders they stood on - find your giants.
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2 r3 o, O9 r* T7 o8 y/ [) W" GContinue Learning
. H" Q0 m6 _* T& [+ cYou may have just graduated college but don't stop learning. If your new employer offers education reimbursement, use it and use it as quickly as you can. Education reimbursement is like getting a raise in your salary. And, when you've completed yet another degree, you'll be able to command more in the marketplace for your skills and knowledge. All that costs you is time and effort.

9 d; ]( t8 t" B; f2 B, {Always Be Networking
Networking is really the fancy term for making new friends. Find opportunities to meet new people by participating in as many things as you can. Join local groups interested in what you like, attend work functions (especially if they're geared towards new employees), and actively participate in local charities or philanthropic groups. Friends give life richness, make as many as you can.

; T  p& f2 ]; n$ sPay Off Debts
If you have any credit card debts from your freewheeling college years, begin paying those off in earnest. Credit card debt is a weight that will hold you back from your dreams as long as you let it. Your dream isn't to sell your future so you can have fancy new clothes or glittery new electronics, your dream is to make a good life for yourself and the ones you care for. Credit card debt, and other debts, are holding you back so get rid of those 20% a year interest rate behemoths as soon as possible.

5 }) |, ^+ w) D, P4 |  xKeep Rent Low
' d' c; [. B. Y7 J0 vWhen you move to a new place, don't immediately go for the swanky new apartment. You just spent the last four years living in college dorms or off-campus housing, hardly Ritz-Carltons, so don't go locking yourself into high rents for the next year. If you keep your rent low, you can save more and spend more on other, more important, things (like paying off debts).

' u; d6 X+ @: nEnjoy Life, Have Fun!
. t! ?5 R- N0 ?( r% X* j! a0 UI went to an engineering school where a lot of people spent a lot of their time hitting the books. I had my fair share of fun but there comes a time when you need to start enjoying life and not focus 100% on work. Remember work-life balance. You can burn the candle at both ends in college because it was only four years, you may be working for forty... your candle isn't as long as you think. Work hard, but remember to play as well or you'll end up miserable.
Congratulations once again and go celebrate!


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/ n  e- X) K5 [# @+ I% x       如果你是一名即将毕业的大学生，那么恭喜你！因为你在大学生涯里所做的所有事情都会让你变得更为成熟。如果你觉得大学很有趣，那么接下来的章节将可能会使你觉得大学生活会更为有趣。你可以放下功课，至少休息一会，在晚上或者周末放松一下（有能力支付这些费用！）

/ C$ z5 L  r% ?4 U. @5 L/ R" v我大学毕业已经有好几年了，现在回首起来，当时的我希望能知道个人费用和金钱，这些现在我已经知道了。我已经把这些想法归纳成了如下七点。每一点都很容易做到，只是记住有点难度。如果你能做到所有这七点，你将会走在前沿。
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) l! _% {' y# L) W7 q退休观念的建立和忘记
当你开始一份新的工作时，你最后的想法是四十年之后当你退休的时候你将会做什么。然而，你现在所做的事情将会对你今后的四十年很有帮助，所以请务必要利用你拥有的退休选择。   

如果可能的话，请做一个退休计划，尤其是如果你的雇主给你的业绩提供了一个比较有竞争力的百分点。如果可能，尽量每年在你的个人退休帐户上存入最大值，因为这样你就希望并且最终会挣得更多，并且还占有免税的优势。
8 a5 L- q; [0 E& g6 }7 W. M1 X8 Y论据：如果你每个月只创造$100，在四十年内每年以10%的比例增值，你最终将会拥有$630,000多。建立和忘记。
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3 u; C! P. E3 I) L% f9 y* W4 h请教有经验的人
寻找了解这个世界比你多的人，越多越好。作为年轻人，其中一个重要的课程就是你不知道黑暗的一面。所有的伟人总是相信他们的先辈，站在巨人的肩膀上来看这个世界—寻找你的巨人吧。

  w. M  ~4 v. ^7 l( O: Z) ?不断学习
你可能刚刚从学校毕业，但是你不能停止学习。如果你的新雇主给你提供教育补偿，尽快得应用。教育补偿就相当于加薪。并且，当你已经拿到了另外一个学位，你将会在市场里学到并掌握更多的技能和知识。所有的这些花费你的是时间和努力。

经常上网
7 P9 w7 P' j$ q; O  a: }: C上网真的是一种别致的结交新朋友的方式。通过尽可能多的参与，寻找认识新朋友的机会。加入你感兴趣的当地群组，参加工作群组（尤其当他们面对的是新员工），积极参与当地慈善群组。朋友可以让生活更加丰富，尽可能地多结交。

还清债务
3 y" k6 F4 r! [) s+ ~: r6 z  V0 c( {8 H如果你在随心所欲的大学生活里欠下信用卡债务，开始认真地还掉这些债务吧。如果你拖得时间越长，信用卡债务将会是你实现梦想的负担。你的梦想不是牺牲你的将来，所以你可以拥有昂贵的新衣服或者耀眼的新型电子产品。你的梦想是为你自己和你所关心的人创造好的生活条件。信用卡债务和其他的债务，都会让你远离这些梦想，所以尽可能快地还掉这些年利率为20%的债务吧。

/ V5 `% @; |0 Q+ n保持低房租
当你迁移到一个新环境时，不要立刻去住奢华的新公寓。你只需花费四年住学校宿舍或者学校周边的房子，这样就不用在次年将自己被高昂的房租困住。如果保持低房租的话，你可以节省许多钱并且将它花费在其他更重要的事情上（譬如还债）。
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$ Y) E; k' K8 p- `# ^享受生活，保持开心！
1 [' S7 L+ b2 O! W8 U: I我去过一个工程学校，那儿很多人把他们大部分的时间花在学习上。我会公平地分配时间在工作和娱乐上，但是你总会需要休闲一下，而不能100%专注在工作上。记住工作生活要平衡。在大学里你可以经常熬夜，因为那只有4年时间，但是你可能会工作40年……你的蜡烛并不如你想象得那么长。努力工作，但是要记住也要娱乐，或者结束你的痛苦。
再次恭喜你，庆祝去吧！