25.製訂個人預算前需要考慮的七大問題
段落大意：製訂個人預算前需要考慮七大問題，如收入、固定開支、存錢、投資等。
Most people have a number of immediate financial responsibilities and certain financial objectives. In planning a budget, people generally keep both their immediate and long-range objectives in focus. Before drawing up a budget, it helps to answer the following questions.
1）What are my earnings, and how will they affect my personal spending and saving habits?
2）What are my financial assets and liabilities?
3）How much money will I need to put aside to pay for fixed or regular periodic expenses, such as rent and mortgage payments, utilities charges, taxes, insurance premiums , or loan payments?
4）How much money should I keep in savings for variable expenses, such as food, entertainment and recreation, clothing and other personal goods and services, and transportation?
5）How much money should I keep in savings for unexpected costs, such as changes in the cost of living, unemployment, medical emergencies, or natural disasters?
6）What are my long-term financial objectives? For example, how much will I need to save for a trip, college tuition for myself or my children, a house, or retirement?
7）How much money do I plan to invest, and what kinds of short- and long-term yields （投資收益） can I expect from my investments?
After answering these questions, the next step is to establish a budget best suited to personal needs.
26.個人存款
段落大意：個人存款也應算做個人預算的一部分。
A person who earns income in reasonable excess of his or her expenditures will commonly deposit earnings in two or more bank accounts, one or more for saving and usually one for writing checks. In this case, the individual may set aside a percentage of earnings to put into savings each month. This savings deposit is then listed as an item on the budget. Many types of monthly budget forms and personal finance computer programs are available to help individuals and families keep track of budget plans and bank account balances. However, the figures in a personal budget need not balance（收支平衡） perfectly, as required in a corporate bookkeeping （簿記） system. A personal budget should be a guide to the better use of income, not an end in itself.
27.家庭存錢的目的
段落大意：家庭存錢是為了防備意外情況、支付大額花費、為退休做準備以及投資等。
Households save money for several reasons. Money saved can provide a cushion （緩衝） against bad times, as when wage earners or other members in the household become sick, injured, or disabled. It serves to pay for large expenditures such as houses, cars, and vacations. Families can set aside money for retirement or for investment. Banks and other financial institutions compete for households’ savings deposits by paying interest to the savers.
28.每月的各項支出比例
段落大意：大多數財務顧問建議把每月支出控製在淨收入的三分之二左右，或更少，並對常見的各項支出進行劃分。
People can base their spending goals on their gross （毛收入）, before tax, or net（淨收入）, after tax, incomes. Since taxes are not entirely in any person’s control, most financial advisers recommend keeping regular monthly expenses to two-thirds or less of net income. For most people these expenses would include at least rent or mortgage payments, food, and utilities. Depending on a person’s income, needs, and wants, the two-thirds of income might also include installment payments （分期付款） on a car, or bigger-ticket（費用龐大的） household appliances, electronics, or furniture. Advisers recommend that such payments should never exceed 20.percent of someone’s net income, and close to 10.percent is a good goal. Beyond the basic two-thirds, most people will want to set aside between 10.and 20.percent of net income to cover periodic, but sometimes costly expenses, such as clothing, recreation, and house or car repairs. Again, depending on a person’s needs and assets, such as owning a home or car, 10.percent of net income may be a reasonable goal for covering property taxes and insurance premiums.
29.個人理財的五大步驟
段落大意：個人理財的關鍵是製訂財政計劃，一般包括五大步驟：評估、確定目標、製訂計劃、執行、監控和再評估。
A key component of personal finance is financial planning, a dynamic （動態的） process that requires regular monitoring and reevaluation. In general, it has five steps. The first step is the assessment. One’s personal financial situation can be assessed by financial balance sheets and income statements. A personal balance sheet lists the values of personal assets, e.g., car, house, clothes, stocks, bank account, along with personal liabilities, e.g. credit card debt, bank loan, mortgage. A personal income statement lists personal income and expenses. The second step is setting goals. Two examples are “retire at age 65.with a personal net worth of $200,000”and “buy a house in 3.years paying a monthly mortgage servicing （抵押貸款服務的） cost that is no more than 25% of my gross income.”It is common to have several goals, some short-term and some long-term. Setting financial goals helps direct financial planning. The third step is creating a plan. The financial plan details how to accomplish your goals. It could include, for example, reducing unnecessary expenses, increasing one’s employment income, or investing in the stock market. The fourth step is execution. Execution of one’s personal financial plan often requires discipline and perseverance. Many people obtain assistance from professionals such as accountants, financial planners, investment advisers, and lawyers. The fifth step is monitoring and reassessment. As time passes, one’s personal financial plan must be monitored for possible adjustments or reassessments.
30.投資彙集基金的利弊
段落大意：投資彙集基金的好處是可以借助專業經理人的技巧，能以多種形式持有基金，並接受相關服務；缺點是需支付傭金給經理人，而且過於多樣化，風險較大。
The advantages of investing in pooled funds （彙集基金） are access to professional managers’ skills and obtaining the diversification（多樣化） of the holdings within the fund. The investor also receives the services associated with the fund e.g. regular written reports and dividend （紅利） payments. The major disadvantages of investing in pooled funds are the fees payable （應付的） to the managers of the fund, usually payable on entry and annually and sometimes on exit, and the diversification of the fund that may not be appropriate given the investor’s circumstances. It is possible to over-diversify. If an investor holds several funds, the risk increases accordingly. Meanwhile, the costs or fees paid to the professional fund management organization need to be monitored carefully. In the worst cases, the costs e.g. fees and other costs that may be less obvious or hidden fees within the workings of the investment organization, are much relative to the dividend income payable on the stock market and to the total post-tax return that the investor can anticipate in an average year.
31.股票購買的兩大分析技巧
段落大意：關於股票購買有兩大思想派係：技術分析和基礎分析。技術分析對特定股票的股價曆史和股票市場進行整體分析；基礎分析對股票和市場所有相關信息進行分析，以預測商業和金融發展趨勢。
To try to identify good shares （股票） to invest in, two main schools of thought （思想派係） exist:technical analysis and fundamental analysis. The former involves the study of the price history of a share and the stock market as a whole. Technical analysts have developed an array of indicators, some very complex, seeking useful information from the price and volume series. Fundamental analysis involves study of all pertinent （相關的） information relevant to the stock and market in an attempt to forecast future business and financial developments, including the likely trajectory （軌道） of the share price itself. The fundamental information studied will include the annual report and accounts, industry data, such as sales and order trends, and information of the financial and economic environment （e.g. the trend of interest rates）.