美國人真的生活在“月光”之中嗎？_風聞

【來源龍騰網】

正文原創翻譯：

Is it true that Americans are living “paycheck to paycheck”?

美國人真的生活在“月光”之中嗎？

（paycheck to paycheck, 形容這個月工資花完了盼着下一個月的工資單過日子。）

I’ve been seeing online a lot of commentators saying that American citizens are living “paycheck to paycheck” and made me wonder how is it possible considering the USA is still #1 or very possibly #2 economic power in the World after China?

I am from Serbia and love my country but due to low pays here made me want to move to the US at the time. When I was younger all I’ve seen on media is that Americans live pretty comfortable lives with no major economic issues.

So average American citizens, is there any truth to the claim that Americans are living “paycheck to paycheck” and that the US economy and life are not that perfect?

我在網上看到很多評論家説美國公民在"靠下一個月的工資單過活"，這讓我很好奇，考慮到美國仍然是世界上僅次於中國的第一或第二經濟大國，這怎麼可能呢？

我來自塞爾維亞，熱愛我的國家，但由於這裏的低工資，我曾想搬到美國去。當我年輕的時候，我在媒體上看到的都是美國人過着相當舒適的生活，沒有重大的經濟問題。

那麼我想問一下普通的美國公民，關於美國人"靠下一張工資單生活"的説法是否有道理，美國的經濟和生活並不那麼完美？

評論翻譯

greatteachermichael

Washingtonian in Korea

paycheck to paycheck doesn’t necessarily mean people don’t have good incomes. It just means that people aren’t saving. Now, some people might not save because they have poorly paying jobs. On the other hand, you could earn $100,000 a year and still spend all your money every week on expensive junk you don’t need and live paycheck to paycheck.

The problem is, when you live in a wealth country like the US, your expectations are higher. In fact, our average poor person earns above the average global wage, even after adjusting for a higher cost of living. However, that person is still poor by American standards. It’s really hard to save in a country when you’re expected to have internet, a cell phone, a TV, an education, a computer, a car, car insurance, live on your own and not in multigenerational housing, etc. etc. As incomes go up, the potential to save also goes up, but so does people’s expectations so they spend their new disposable incomes on better/higher quality/more stuff. I remember reading an article about how making $400,000/year for a family of 4 shouldn’t make people think all their problems were solved and then they broke down someone’s budget. It had things like a “cheap” $80,000 car for the mom, $400/month piano lessons for each kid, $2,000/month on food, $2,500/month (every month!) on clothing… it was really really BS.

So in a way, it isn’t as bad as it sounds, but at the same time, it is.

（華盛頓人在韓國）

靠工資維持生計並不一定意味着人們沒有一個好的收入。它只是意味着人們沒有儲蓄。有些人可能因為他們的工作收入很低而沒有儲蓄。另一方面，你也可以每年賺10萬美元，但仍然每週把所有的錢花在你不需要的昂貴的垃圾上，過着靠下個月工資維持生計的生活。

問題是，當你生活在像美國這樣的富裕國家時，你的期望值會更高。事實上，我們的普通窮人的收入高於全球平均工資，即使在經過較高的生活成本的調整之後依然如此。然而，按照美國的標準，這個人仍然是窮人。在一個國家，當你被期望擁有互聯網、手機、電視、教育、電腦、汽車、汽車保險、自己住而不是多代同堂的住房時，真的很難儲蓄。隨着收入的增加，儲蓄的潛力也在增加，但人們對生活質量的期望也在增加，所以他們把新的可支配收入花在更好/更高質量/更多的東西上。我記得讀過一篇文章，説一個四口之家每年賺40萬美元，不應該讓人們認為他們所有的問題都解決了，然後他們分析了其中某人的預算，裏面包括一些東西，如媽媽的8萬美元的"廉價"汽車，每個孩子400美元/月的鋼琴課，2000美元/月的食品，2500美元/月（每個月！）的衣服……這真的是非常扯淡。

所以在某種程度上，它並不像聽起來那麼糟糕，但同時，它也是事實。

PatrickRsGhost

Georgia

This. So much this. The economic psychology of most Americans is “spend, spend, spend” when they have the income to “spend, spend, spend”. Even if you’re making minimum wage, the mindset is to spend, spend, spend.

Some people do save money, but deep down they hate doing it. They want to buy new clothes, new electronics, new furniture, and everything else RIGHT NOW. They’ll pay the necessary bills and debts, buy the necessities like food and personal hygiene products, but if there’s even a single penny left over, they’ll find ways to spend it.

And this is one of the major reasons as to why so many Americans are in debt. They don’t save the money necessary to buy some things they may need on down the road, or for “a rainy day”. Some don’t even budget properly. They only budget for what they know they have to pay/purchase; things that are relevant or evident. They’ll budget for rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries, gas, and other bills (car payment, credit card payment, etc.). But they don’t budget for car repairs, for medical expenses (including prescxtions), or other routine-but-not-as-routine-as-the-other-stuff expenses. This dangerous way of thinking is one of the main causes to such a high amount of debt in this country. “Unexpected” expenses such as routine car maintenance or major repairs, medical expenses, and the like are put on the credit card rather than paid for in cash or debit card.

（喬治亞州）

就是這樣。太多這樣的事了。大多數美國人的經濟心理是"花錢、花錢、花錢"，當他們有收入可以"花錢、花錢、花錢"時。即使你掙的是最低工資，心態也是花錢，花錢，花錢。

有些人確實在省錢，但在內心深處他們討厭這樣做。他們想現在就買新衣服，新電子產品，新傢俱，以及其他一切。他們會確保能支付必要的賬單和債務，購買食品和個人衞生用品等必需品，但如果有哪怕是一分錢的剩餘，他們都會想辦法花掉。

這就是為什麼這麼多美國人負債的主要原因之一。他們沒有存下必要的錢來購買一些他們可能以後需要的東西，或者為了"未雨綢繆"而存錢。有些人甚至沒有正確的預算。他們只為他們知道必須支付/購買的東西做預算；與之相關或明顯的東西。他們會為房租/抵押貸款、水電、雜貨、汽油和其他賬單（汽車付款、信用卡付款等）做預算。但他們不會為修車、醫療費用（包括處方）或其他常規但不像其他東西那樣常規的費用做預算。這種危險的思維方式是造成這個國家如此高額債務的主要原因之一。例行的汽車保養或大修、醫療費用等"意外"支出被記入信用卡，而不是用現金或借記卡支付。

原創翻譯：龍騰網 http://www.ltaaa.cn 轉載請註明出處

3AM_Dreaming

Got it.

You know, most of the comments are negative here regarding the current US economy but and all I’ve got is that the average life in the US is pretty much the same as in Serbia. Except that you guys can maybe occasionally afford tech, vacation or whatever toys you want or occasionally travel. So that’s a big plus for the US.

Due to NATO bombing and sanctions economy here in 2021 is kinda bad so the average salary is around 500$. With that money, you cover bills with let’s say 200-250$ and you spend 50-100$ for food. And you have about 150$ at most just for yourself if you ain’t paying a house/apartment. That means treating yourself with vacations, Playstation, iPhone, an amazing car, or whatever is out of the reach for an averige Serbian. That kinda bothers me as a 28-year-old man. I LOVE this country but I guess I gotta leave somewhere If I wanna experience nicer things in life as an average worker.But then again you guys do not have healthcare and that’s a big plus for Serbia.

Overall: I guess life is not perfect anywhere and that there is the truth to the “paycheck to paycheck” I see on the internet but that it MIGHT be a bit overblown. Things are rough for many. Things could be worse for others.

我懂了。

你知道，這裏的大多數評論都是關於當前美國經濟的負面評論，但我所得到的信息是，美國的平均生活與塞爾維亞的基本相同。除了你們也許偶爾能買得起科技產品、度假或任何你們想要的玩具，或者偶爾能旅行。所以這對美國來説是一個很大的好處。

由於北約的轟炸和制裁，2021年這裏的經濟有點糟糕，所以平均工資是500美元左右。有了這些錢，你可以用200-250美元來支付賬單，你可以花50-100美元購買食物。如果你不支付房子/公寓，你最多有150美元給自己。這意味着用假期、PS遊戲機、蘋果手機、漂亮的汽車或其他什麼東西來犒勞自己，對於一個普通的塞爾維亞人來説是遙不可及的。作為一個28歲的男人，這讓我有點困擾。我喜歡這個國家，但我想如果我想作為一個普通工人體驗生活中更美好的東西，我必須離開某個地方。

總的來説：我想生活在任何地方都不是完美的，我在網上看到的"從這個月工資到下個月工資"的説法是有道理的，但可能有點誇大了。對許多人來説，事情很艱難。對其他人來説，情況可能更糟。

ggill1313

Texan in MA/RI

all I’ve got is that the average life in the US is pretty much the same as in Serbia. Except that you guys can maybe occasionally afford tech, vacation or whatever toys you want or occasionally travel. So that’s a big plus for the US.

I’m not sure I’d agree with this.

Most people, yes, do go to work to make a living. They have bills to pay and budgets to watch, and perform some calculus to know if they can afford to do XYZ with the money they have “left over.” But when reading this:

That means treating yourself with vacations, Playstation, iPhone, an amazing car, or whatever is out of the reach for an averige Serbian.

It seems to me that maybe you’re not understanding some of the nuance.

A lot of people here are living “paycheck to paycheck” precisely because they’ve indulged in not just one, but all of these things. They take that vacation, they buy the Playstation, the iPhone, the car they want, etc. It’s not a thought of, “Well maybe I can get one of these.” It’s, “I’m going to get all of these” even if it means having “no money” “left over” at the end of the pay period.

My brother has a house, a new Xbox, a new iPhone, car, etc., but splits these bills with his wife. They can afford these things, and he’s making far less than I am.

I guess the difference is that the majority of us have something else we’re working for other than mere subsistence. Some people are about to buy that new console, or an iPad, or a new couch or whatever. Most people have their eye on that next something.

If the Internet has convinced you that the average American is living like the average Serb, then I’m not sure you’ve yet gathered the correct picture.

And I have healthcare. I pay $400 a month for it for a max out-of-pocket cost of $1,000 for the year.

（在馬薩諸塞州/羅得島州的德克薩斯人）

“我所知道的是，美國的平均生活與塞爾維亞的基本相同。 除了你們也許偶爾能買得起科技產品、度假或任何你們想要的玩具，或者偶爾能旅行。所以這對美國來説是一個很大的好處。”

我不確定我是否同意你這個觀點。

大多數人，是的，確實依靠每個月的工資生活。他們有賬單要付，有預算要看，並進行一些計算，以瞭解他們是否能用"剩餘"的錢做XYZ。但是當讀到這裏時：

“這意味着用假期、PS遊戲機、蘋果手機、漂亮的汽車或其他什麼東西來犒勞自己，對於一個普通的塞爾維亞人來説是遙不可及的。”

在我看來，也許你沒有理解其中的一些細微差別。

這裏的很多人"靠下個月工資生活"，正是因為他們不只是沉迷於其中一個，而是所有這些東西。他們去度假，買PS遊戲機，買蘋果手機，買他們想要的車，等等。這不是一個"好吧，也許我可以得到其中的一個"的想法。而是"我要得到所有這些"，即使這意味着在下個月發工資之前"沒有錢"會"剩下"。

我哥哥有一棟房子，一個最新的Xbox，一個最新的蘋果手機，汽車，等等，但與他的妻子分擔這些費用。他們能負擔得起這些東西，而他的收入卻遠遠低於我。

我想區別在於，我們中的大多數人除了單純的生存之外，還有其他的為之工作的目標。有些人即將購買新的console遊戲機，或iPad，或新的沙發或其他東西。大多數人都在關注下一個東西。

如果互聯網讓你相信，普通美國人的生活就像普通塞爾維亞人一樣，那麼我不確定你是否真的理解了這件事。

而且我有醫療保健。我每月支付400美元，一年的最高自付費用為1000美元。

GreatLookingGuy

you don’t have healthcare

We have healthcare lol. I’m sorry I actually laughed out loud when I read that. We have some problems with access to healthcare for some people. Millions of people. But the country consists of about 350M people most of whom have plenty of healthcare.

In fact, as a legal immigrant, if you come to a major city, NYC for example, you will almost certainly get free healthcare immediately. If you continue to earn below a certain salary, you will continue to receive free healthcare. If you find a higher paying job, your healthcare will stop being free and youll need to pay for insurance. Every employer I’ve worked for has provided it. But your experience may vary.

“你沒有醫療保健”

我們有醫療保健服務，笑。對不起，當我讀到這句話時，我真的笑出聲來了。我們有一些人在獲得醫療保健方面存在一些問題。可能數以百萬計的人在這方面有問題。但這個國家由大約3.5億人組成，其中大多數人有大量的醫療保健。

事實上，作為一個合法移民，如果你來到一個大城市，例如紐約市，你幾乎肯定會立即得到免費醫療。如果你的收入繼續低於一定的工資，你將繼續獲得免費醫療服務。如果你找到一份更高薪的工作，你的醫療保健將不再是免費的，你將需要支付保險。我工作過的每一個僱主都提供這種服務。但你的經驗可能有所不同。

3AM_Dreaming

Yes, I know that I just worded that horribly :D Apologies.

是的，我知道我犯了個大錯:D 在此道歉。

Listlesslix

What we don’t have is access to affordable healthcare. 2/3 of personal bankruptcy is now due to medical debt

我們沒有的是獲得負擔得起的醫療保健。現在2/3的個人破產是由於醫療債務造成的