让时间成为盟友，让钱为我们工作

及早开始，赢得时间
Start early, and time is on your side

Lorna Tan（洛娜·谭）

It’s embarrassing to say this because it makes me seem money-minded, but I sleep with my financial calculator at my side.这说起来有点儿难为情，因为这好像我满脑子想的都是钱，但我睡觉时总把财务计算器放在身边。

I enjoy playing with figures, and one of my favourite bedtime activities is punching different permutations of numbers into my calculator to work out the number of years it will take for me to fill up my pot of gold, which to me means financial independence.我喜欢摆弄数字。我临睡前最爱做的一件事就是把一组组不同的数字敲进计算器里，算出需要多少年才能装满我的一桶金。对我来说，这意味着财务独立。

It never fails to amaze me that it is possible to grow a modest sum into a sizeable one simply through the power of compounding.每次都令我感到惊讶的是，只要借助复利计算的威力，小钱就可能变大钱。

For instance, do you know that $68 a month invested for annual returns of 8 per cent over 30 years will generate a sum of $102020? But if your investment horizon is shorter, say, 10 years, you will need a larger monthly sum of $554 invested at the same rate of 8 per cent to generate $102020.譬如，你知道吗，如果每个月投资68美元，年回报率为8%，30年后就会生成102020美元。但如果你的投资时间短，比如说10年，还是按8%的回报率计算，你每月的投资就需要增加，也就是554美元，才能生成102020美元。

Consider this: If you start saving at the age of 20, putting away $2000 a year until you reach 30, and you continue to stay invested without any further input of cash till you turn 63, you will have nearly the same amount of money socked away as a person who also saves $2000 every year but starts a decade later, between the ages of 30 and 62.想一想，如果你从20岁开始存钱，在30岁之前每年存2000美元，然后保留投资但不再往里存钱，而另一个人每年也存2000美元，但比你晚开始10年，那么等你63岁的时候，你的积累将和那个人从30岁到62岁积累的钱一样多。

A handy and easy tool that illustrates the effects of compounding is the Rule of 72.有个简单易行的方法能够说明复利计算效应，那就是72法则。

To work out how long it would take for your investment to double in value, divide 72 by the expected percentage return. With a return of, say, 9 per cent a year, to double your money, you would need eight years, that is 72 divided by nine.要算出你的投资需要多长时间才能翻倍，就用72除以预期回报率。例如，如果年回报率为9%，那么你的钱需要8年时间才能翻一倍，也就是72除以9。

This means that if you invest $10000 in an instrument that gives you an annual return of 6 percent, that sum would double to $20000 after 12 years.这意味着，如果你对一种年回报率为6%的投资工具投入1万美元，那么这笔钱将在12年后翻一倍，变成2万美元。

I’ve concluded that to make compounding work for you, two things have to be present: a good savings discipline and a long investment time horizon.我得出的结论是，要让复利计算为你服务，就必须做到两件事：严格约束自己储蓄和长期的投资。

Set up a saving routine and stick to it
养成定期储蓄习惯并坚持下去

Without the discipline to save, there can be no surplus for investments.如果没有存钱的约束，就没有闲钱来投资。

Being disciplined about saving includes learning to ‘pay yourself first’.约束自己储蓄也意味着学会“先付钱给自己”。

It is not that difficult to make savings your priority. Decide how much you can realistically save by taking into account your monthly liabilities. Start with a modest sum and stick to it. Increase this portion when your income goes up.以储蓄为头等大事并没那么难。将每个月要还的债务考虑在内，为自己确定一个现实的存款数额。开始可以少存一点儿，但要坚持下去。收入增加之后，就提高存款的比例。

Over the years, I have found that most people have trouble saving for the long term. They might be disciplined at the beginning and save for a short time, but then, they throw caution to the wind by blowing ***** hard-earned savings away on some big-ticket purchase such as a holiday or a car.这些年来，我发现大多数人都难以坚持长期储蓄。一开始，他们也许还能约束自己存钱，但过不了多久就会头脑发热，把自己辛辛苦苦才得到的存款挥霍在度假、买车这样的奢侈消费上。

Start as early as you can
尽早开始

The second factor required to make compounding work for you is a long-time horizon.要让复利计算为自己服务，你需要做的第二件事就是长期投资。

If you have an even longer horizon, you have enough time on your side to ride out the volatility of investing in equities, so more of your investments could be channeled there, depending on your risk appetite.如果你的投资时间较长，就有足够的时间帮你度过股票投资的波动期，你也就可以根据自己的冒险意愿，把更多的钱投入股票。

This is why it’s just good sense to start saving early as well as regularly. In fact, get started as soon as you get a job because you will have more time on your side.因此，尽早储蓄与定期储蓄一样明智。实际上，从你一开始工作就该储蓄，因为这会让时间对你更有利。

We work hard for our money, so let’s make sure our money works just as hard for us. Focus on the long term and make time your best ally.我们为了挣钱而努力工作，所以我们应该确保我们的钱也一样努力地为我们工作。着眼于长远，让时间成为你最好的盟友。

（来源于2008年6月4日《参考消息》）