Don't Get a Credit Card

不要申请信用卡

If I didn't get a credit card when I was your age, I would have saved myself 10 years of financial struggle.

假如在我年轻时没有申请信用卡的话，我能够减少10年的财政困难。

I know it seems like you have to be a grown up and have nice things, but you've got to think long-term. If you can just have the patience to hold off a few years on the nice stuff, you'll be able to afford more of it than you can imagine.

我知道你感觉作为一个成人应该物质生活丰富，但是你要从长远来看这件事情。如果你能够有耐心为更优渥的物质生活多等几年，你会诧异的发现你能够过上更好的生活。

Buying something today on credit because you can't wait will impact your financial situation for years to come.

如果只是因为你等不及了就刷信用卡购物的话，这将会对你接下来许多年的财政状况产生影响。

Simply have the mind to save up for what you want to buy. If you buy with cash, you'll always own what you have, and be free to do what you want.

只需要为你想买的东西存钱。如果用现金付账的话，你会一直拥有你拥有的，并且能够自由的去做你想做的。

When people build up debt and monthly payments, they become slaves to their job. They have to work to pay for all the junk that they put on their credit cards.

当人们有了债务开始分期付款的时候，他们就成为了工作的奴隶。他们不得不为那些用信用卡刷出来的垃圾而工作。

Put Money Away Every Month

每月定期储蓄

Take this advice and you'll never regret it. Open a savings account and set up an automatic withdrawal from your checking account each month. Don't touch the money, NO MATTER WHAT!

你接受这个建议就绝对不会后悔的。给自己开一个零存整取账户，然后每个月存入一定的数额。不论发生什么事情，都不要去碰这一笔钱。

Even if you can only afford $10 a month, you must stick to this plan because it's your ticket to freedom. In five or ten years (whenever you decide to grow up), you'll use this money to invest in something that makes passive income, like real estate.

就算每个月只能存入10美元，你也一定要坚持，因为这是自由的门票钱。五年或者十年内（当你决定成人的时候），你能用这笔钱去投资一些能带来收入的东西，比如房地产。

Travel and Learn a Language

旅行，并且学习一门外语

Don't just take language classes and backpack around Europe at a furious pace; immerse yourself in a culture. Pick a place and stay there for several months.

不要只是参加语言学习班，并且背包游玩欧洲各地。你应该使自己沉浸在一种文化里。选择一个地方，并在那里呆上几个月。

The best time to do this is the year after you graduate from college. You'll be old enough to appreciate the experience, but young enough that you won't have any responsibility.

这件事最好在你刚刚毕业那一年的时候做。那个时候的你成熟的足以体验，又年轻的没有任何责任要去负担。

If you took my advice about taking your time to grow up, you won't yet be attached to a mortgage payment, a job, or a girl. Move all your stuff into a corner of your parent's basement and live abroad.

如果你接受了我的建议打算慢慢长大，你就不应该被按揭付款、工作或者一个女孩所牵绊。把你所有的东西打包放在父母家的地下室里，然后去国外生活吧。

It's actually a lot more affordable that you might think, especially if you don't have any expenses at home. Get a job in your chosen country if you need to.

其实这个比你想像的更容易实现，尤其是你在国内还没有什么花费的情况下。如果需要的话，还可以在你选择的国家找一份工作。

Don't allow yourself to hang out with other English-speaking people. That's too easy. Force yourself to learn the language. It will be frustrating at first, but the life-long benefit will be greater than you can imagine.

不要总是和说你母语的人呆在一起，那太没有挑战性了。强迫自己去学习当地的语言，也许一开始会很痛苦，但是它会带来终身享用的好处。

Keep a Journal

写日记

Get a Moleskine Notebook and carry it in your back pocket wherever you go. Don't be a perfectionist with it, just jot whatever comes to your mind in it.

买个日记本，无论去哪里都带上它。不需要文辞华丽，只要记下你心中的点点滴滴。

Having a journal will help to solidify your thoughts. The act of writing helps to close the circle of ideas from your head to your hand and back to your head.

写日记可以让你理清思路。写作这一过程能够让想法从脑袋里的碎片变成文字上的完整，然后再度回到你的思考里面去。

Plus, you'll have a record of your thoughts for generations to come.

另外，时间的流逝中，你还能让自己的想法留下印记。