Jane找上司Vincent, 可不是为了工作。

Jane: (knock knock) Hi, Vincent…got a second?

Vincent: Sure, Jane…come in. Grab a seat. What’s on your mind?

J: Well, I know this doesn’t fall under your responsibilities, but I really need some advice. Do you mind?

V: Not at all. Shoot.

J: Ok…I’ll just say it: I’m quite heavily in debt and I need advice on how to get out of this hole I’m in.

Jane问Vincent有没有时间,got a second? 请别人坐,可以说grab a seat. Vincent让 Jane – shoot. Shoot在这儿不是开枪,而是“说吧”。原来,Jane是因为债务缠身,heavily in debt, 让Vincent帮她出主意,to get out of this hole,摆脱困境。

V: I see. Is this mainly credit card debt?

J: Yes. But there’s a mortgage and car payments as well.

V: You know what? I’m going to ask Anna Wang to join our conversation. She’s our company’s financial expert.

(Picks up phone) Anna? Would you mind joining me for a second? Thanks.

J: Oh. I don’t want to be a burden.

V: No…it’s really no problem. Millions of people have fallen into debt and it’s great that you are trying to take positive action. Oh, hi Anna. This is Jane.

Anna: Hi Vince. Hi Jane.

Jane不光信用卡欠了很多钱,还有房贷和车贷。Vincent请公司的财务专家Anna来咨询。注意听,Jane欠了多少钱。

V: Jane wants advice on how to get out of credit card debt.

A: Ah. That’s a popular problem these days. Can I ask how much you owe?

J: Um…it’s kind of embarrassing…but Ok…25,000 dollars.

A: Jane, I’m going to be blunt: if I were you, I’d cut up all my credit cards today.

J: All of them?

A: Well, you might keep one for emergencies, but the point is: stop using the cards.

Jane一共欠了两万五千美元。Anna说,I’m going to be blunt,我直话直说:要是我,今天就把信用卡都剪碎。The point is: stop using the cards,关键是:不能再刷卡了。

V: I never used to pay attention to the fine print, but one day I looked up the details from my bank and I discovered I got charged 14% interest!

A: Yes, you really have to read the fine print. In Jane’s case though, I’d recommend actually canceling the cards.

J: Can’t I get the bank to lower my interest rates?

V: Sure, but you also want to stop new spending. When you buy something with a credit card, you think you are paying what the price tag says. But really there are a lot of extras.

消费者一定要注意信用卡的fine print,合同细则,Vince的银行就收他14%的利率。刷卡购物,你以为付的是商品标价,the price tag, 可实际上有很多额外收费, a lot of extras。Jane具体该怎么做?我们下次继续听。