Entry-level workers typically earn between $10, 000 and $30, 000 annually, according to Salary.com--not a whopping amount by any stretch of the imagination. And if you're in this boat, you know how difficult it is to make ends meet. Sure, you may have nabbed that golden paid internship or entry-level job, but the victory is bittersweet--because while your co-workers, supervisors, and assignments are ideal, your paycheck is not.
据Salary.com统计，初级员工的年薪一般是10000美元到30000美元—这并不是什么想象力延伸之后的巨额数字。如果你也处于这个阶段的话，想必也知道，要想维持家计，有多困难。当然，你可能已经抓获那份收入颇丰的工作的实习机会或是入门岗位，但是这个胜利却是苦乐参半—因为尽管你的同事，主管和分配都很理想，但是你的薪水却并不理想。
If you're wracking your brain over some easy ways to maximize your meager salary, consider these six suggestions from finance experts and first-time employees:
如果你正在绞尽脑汁寻求一些简单的方法，以最大限度地利用你那微薄薪水的话，不妨考虑以下来自金融专家及首次工作的员工们的建议。
1. Trade duties. Having trouble starting your car in the wee hours of a workday morning? To save money, ask a friend or roommate for help before reaching out to an auto repair shop. If you can't repair your car, maybe he or she can. "Trade things like oil changes or fixing things around the apartment with friends to cut down on repair bills, " suggests Erin Baehr, a financial adviser at Baehr Family Financial in Stroudsburg, Pa. "Paying attention to where your money goes and how much you have is critical when you have a small margin of error, " she adds.
1． 交易任务。 某个工作日的凌晨，你的车发动不起来了？为了省钱，在前往汽车修理店之前，可以请个朋友或是室友帮忙。如果你修不了你的车，也许他/她可以。“与公寓周围的朋友们交换一些任务，如换油，修理物件之类的，以减少维修费用。” 艾琳 ‧ 巴赫（Erin Baehr）建议道，她是《巴赫家庭理财》（Baehr Family Financial）的财政顾问，它位于宾夕法尼亚州的斯特劳兹堡 (Stroudsburg)，“注意你的钱的去向，当你的误差幅度很小时，你拥有多少钱就至关重要了。”她补充道。
2. Shop at discount stores. Name-brand shoes, designer jackets, and fancy belts might seem to call out to you when you pop into your nearest shopping mall. And while it's tempting to delve out hundreds for a pricey piece of clothing or accessory for Monday's big meeting, that's usually not an option if you're on a shoestring budget. "Use the library for magazines or movie rentals or thrift shops for clothes, " Baehr suggests. "There are some nice places out there with brand clothes for cheap." Baehr also encourages interns and entry-level employees to keep frugal company. "Try not to hang around people with expensive tastes, as that can make you feel dissatisfied or pressured into spending money you don't have."
2. 在折扣店购物。 你冲进最近的商场的时候， 那些名牌鞋，品牌夹克和高档腰带似乎都在呼唤你。下个血本，花数百美元为周一的重要会议买件昂贵的衣服或是配饰，尽管这个想法很诱人，但是如果你资金有限的话，这通常不是一个好的选择。“在图书馆翻阅杂志，租看电影或者在旧货店购买衣服。”，巴赫建议道。“也有一些不错的地方，廉价出售品牌服装。”。巴赫也鼓励实习生和初级员工，与节俭的人交往。“尽量别和那些喜欢昂贵物件的人一起玩乐，因为那可能会让你感到不满足，或是倍感压力，而花你本没有的钱。”
Stacey Kehaulani Torigoe, a Seward, Alaska-based intern for the Student Conservation Association, echoes Baehr's sentiments. She says discount-store shopping can be enjoyable if done right. "Shopping at thrift stores and garage sales is ... a lot of fun, " she says. "I didn't bring that much with me to Alaska, so I pretty much stocked an entire new wardrobe from thrift stores in town and in Anchorage, and from neighborhood garage sales. There's this place called Ray's Reusables a few streets down--people bring in their used jackets or fishing poles or electronics or books, and Ray sells them, with a cheerful, 'What treasures did you find? Come back again and I'll have something different!'"
斯泰西 ‧ 卡拉尼 ‧ 岛越（Stacey Kehaulani Torigoe）在“学生保护联合会”位于苏厄德阿拉斯加（Seward，Alaska）的分部实习，她赞成巴赫的观点。她认为，如果做得对的话，在折扣店购物也是一种享受。“在旧货店和宅前旧货市场购物会……非常有趣，”她说。“我来阿拉斯加的时候，没带多少行李，所以我基本上就是用从镇上和安克雷奇（Anchorage）的旧货店，还有周围的宅前旧货市场淘来的衣物，组成了新的衣柜。有个地方叫作‘雷的旧货店’，就在几条街外—人们 把穿过的夹克或者用过的钓竿、电器、书籍等拿过来，然后雷再出售它们，并用欢快的语调说着‘你淘到什么宝啦？，欢迎再来，到时我这又有不一样的东西啦！’”。
Torigoe says interns can find just about anything at thrift shops like Ray's. These shopping trips can even turn into fun group outings with peers. "I love going on rainy days with my roommates, whether it's trying on the craziest clothes we can find, or looking for rope [to hang a bear bag while camping], " she says.
岛越说，在诸如雷的旧货店里，实习生可以淘到所有东西。这些购物之旅甚至可以变成与同辈们一起的欢快出游。“我喜欢在下雨天和我的室友去（旧货店），不论是试穿我们能找到的最疯狂的衣服，还是寻找[露营时用来悬挂小熊背包的绳子。]”她说。
3. Get creative with your work commute. Not having a reliable car to transport you to and from your new gig can present a challenge. "A younger worker may have an older vehicle, perhaps one he got in high school or college, that may need repairs that he can't afford. Yet he has a tough time saving for a new car, or affording a car payment, " says Baehr. But all hope is not lost--even if you're stuck with a jalopy. When it comes to car maintenance, a little responsibility can go a long way. Baehr says her son encourages his fellow entry-level workers to be smart about gas and repair, and she agrees: "Take care of your car. Even though maintenance costs money, in the long run, it's a savings [benefit]."
3.在工作通勤方面来些创意 。上下班没有一辆可靠的车可乘？这可能是个挑战。“一个较年轻的员工可能开着一辆较破旧的车，这可能是他在高中或是大学的时候买的，这车需要维修，但是他却负担不起。然而，他为了省钱买辆新车，或是还车贷款，日子过得很拮据，”巴赫说。但是也并不是毫无希望—即使你身陷一部老爷车中。关于保养，一点点保养，就能有很大帮助。巴赫说她的儿子鼓励自己同辈的初级员工，对汽油和维修精明一点，她也同意：“好好照顾自己的车。尽管保养需要花钱，但是长远来看，却是在省钱 。”
Carpooling and biking to work are other viable options because they save money and help preserve the environment. Torigoe bikes to work regularly. "I'm riding a loaner bike from the National Park where I work, so I don't have to pay for gas or insurance and it's earth-friendly, too, " she says, adding that using alternate modes of transportation has other benefits. "The park has an awesome alternative transportation program where employees log the miles that they bike, walk, or carpool, and at the end of the season, you can cash in miles for a gift card or leave time, " she says.
拼车和骑车上班，也是其他可行的方法，因为这样既省钱，又有助于保护环境。岛越定期骑车去上班。“我骑的是一辆出租自行车，从我工作的国家公园租来的，这样我就不用支付汽油钱和保险费，而且还很环保，”她说，并补充说采用替代的交通模式还有其他好处。“国家公园有一个很棒的‘替代性交通 ’方案，员工将自己骑自行车、走路或拼车所行的英里数记录下来，然后在季末的时候，可以用该英里数兑换礼品卡或是休假时间，”她说。
4. Bring your lunch to work. Even those office-cafeteria club sandwiches and daily specials can get expensive if you buy them more than two or three times a week. Home-prepared meals are as good for your wallet as they are for your health. Torigoe says she and her friends generally prefer home-cooked meals over fast food. "Being a vegetarian and preparing my own meals helps a lot--eating food that's lower on the food chain like beans, grains, and vegetables is not only ecologically sound, but financially more affordable, " she says."I save eating out for really special occasions."
4．自带工作午餐 。如果你每周购买的次数超过两次、三次的话，即使是办公室餐厅俱乐部里的三明治和日常特餐也会变得昂贵。家里自备的午餐既能省钱，又有利于健康。岛越说，相比于快餐，她和她的朋友们一般都更喜欢家里做的食物。“我是个素食者，自备食物确实帮了大忙—吃位于食物链低端的食品，例如豆类，谷类和蔬菜等，不仅对生态无害，而且经济上也更实惠，”她说，“我把外出吃饭的机会，留到一些特殊的时刻。”
5. Get your morning coffee at the office. If you've got to have a steamy cup of joe before crafting that deposition or marketing proposal, consider raiding your office coffee stash instead of paying for a latte at the nearest java house. Torigoe says the lure of tasty tea and coffee drinks can be difficult to resist; still, she consumes them in moderation. "I love chai lattes and cappuccinos, but expensive drinks really add up fast, " she says. "So I treat myself once in a while and then it becomes something really special."
5.从办公室拿早晨咖啡。 如果你在起草那份证词或是营销提议之前，必须得喝一杯热汽腾腾的咖啡的话，可以考虑下洗劫你们办公室的咖啡隐藏柜，不要去最近的咖啡摊花钱买杯拿铁。岛越说，美味的茶和咖啡饮料的诱惑难以抵挡；然而，她的消费也很适中。“我喜欢湾仔拿铁和卡布奇诺，但是昂贵的饮品累加起来真的很快，”她说。“所以，我就偶尔奖励自己一杯，然后它就变成真正特别的东西了。”
6. Use credit cards sparingly. Remember that every expense you charge eventually must be repaid. And if you're earning a paltry $8 to $12 an hour, repaying thousands of dollars might prove an insurmountable challenge. "Don't go into debt if you can avoid it, " says Torigoe. "A lot of my friends graduated with huge loans that will take years to pay off, and have that burden hanging over their heads." Piling up credit card debt can trigger aftershocks for years to come. "Don't make mistakes now that will kill you five or 10 years down the line when you're trying to negotiate a down payment for a house or a car, " she says.
6 . 有节制地使用信用卡。记住，你收取的所有费用，最终都是要还的。如果你的时薪只有区区8美元到12美元，偿还数千美元可能就是一个不可逾越的挑战。“如果能避免欠债，就尽量避免。”，岛越说，“我的很多朋友毕业的时候，都欠了巨额贷款，需要还很多年，而这个重负就悬在他们头上。”累计的信用卡债务可能引发持续几年的余震。“现在不要犯错，不然将来你贷款买房或车，与银行商议首付的时候，可能会多花5年或10年。”她说。
Tim Maurer, vice president of Financial Consulate in Hunt Valley Md., and co-author of The Ultimate Financial Plan: Balancing Your Money and Life, agrees. "The biggest financial hurdle faced by minimum-wage earners is avoiding debt, " says Maurer. "The first line of defense against consumer debt is margin, often in the form of personal savings, sometimes referred to as emergency reserves. Because there is often so little margin in the minimum-wage earner's paycheck, it's especially difficult to avoid debt when emergencies or perceived emergencies are presented."
蒂姆 ‧ 毛瑞尔（Tim Maurer）是位于马里兰州亨特谷的金融领事馆的副总裁，也是《终极财政计划：平衡你的钱和生活》（The Ultimate Financial Plan: Balancing Your Money and Life）的合著者，他也同意以上观点。“赚取最低工资的人面临的最大的金融障碍就是避免欠债，”毛瑞尔说。“抵御消费债务的第一道防线就是余裕，通常是以个人储蓄的形式，有时也叫作应急储备金。因为赚取最低工资的人的薪资支票上，通常只有很少的余裕，如果紧急情况或者感知到的紧急情况出现了的话，想要避免欠债，就极其困难了。”
Above all else, Michelle Vedder, an intern at the Student Conservation Association in New York City, urges her fellow interns and entry-level workers to remember that their financial straits are only temporary. She also encourages her peers to give their all to their work--raises and other benefits will inevitably follow. "It gets hard to remember why you're doing what you're doing when you're right in the middle of it, especially for people working towards a cause like restoring and raising awareness for the environment, " she says. "My advice would be to keep the bigger picture in mind, and this can go to anyone living off a small paycheck. When you wake up in the morning, you should always remind yourself that you're doing this in hopes of better things to come."
最重要的是，一位在纽约城的“学生保护联合会”工作的实习生，米歇尔 ‧ 维德（Michelle Vedder），敦促她的实习生和初级员工的伙伴们记住，他们的财政困难只是暂时的。她还鼓励自己的同辈，将所有精力都投入到工作中—晋升和其他福利就会自然到来。“当你正在做的时候，想要明白你为什么在做你现在正在做的事情，就会变得很难，对于那些致力于诸如恢复和提高人们环境意识事业的人来说，尤其困难。”她说，“我的建议就是，要牢记大局，这适用于任何一个依靠微薄薪水过活的人。当你早上醒来的时候，你应该时刻提醒自己，你现在做这些，是为了期望有更好的事物到来。”
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