最大化最低月薪的6种妙方.doc

6 Ways to Maximize a Minimum-Wage Salary最大化最低月薪的6种妙方文章出自：Yahoo!Entry-level workers typically earn between $10, 000 and $30, 000 annually, according to S-not a whopping amount by any stretch of the imagination. And if youre 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.If youre wracking your brain over some easy ways to maximize your meager salary, consider these six suggestions from finance experts and first-time employees:See 10 Tips for New Grads Hoping to Score a Job.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 cant 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.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 its tempting to delve out hundreds for a pricey piece of clothing or accessory for Mondays big meeting, thats usually not an option if youre 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 dont have.Stacey Kehaulani Torigoe, a Seward, Alaska-based intern for the Student Conservation Association, echoes Baehrs 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 didnt 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. Theres this place called Rays 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 Ill have something different!Torigoe says interns can find just about anything at thrift shops like Rays. These shopping trips can even turn into fun group outings with peers. I love going on rainy days with my roommates, whether its trying on the craziest clothes we can find, or looking for rope to hang a bear bag while camping, she says.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 cant 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 youre 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, its a savings benefit.In Pictures: 7 Work Habits That Are Making You SickCarpooling and biking to work are other viable options because they save money and help preserve the environment. Torigoe bikes to work regularly. Im riding a loaner bike from the National Park where I work, so I dont have to pay for gas or insurance and its 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.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 thats 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.5. Get your morning coffee at the office. If youve 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.See How to De-Stress from Student-Loan Debt.6. Use credit cards sparingly. Remember that every expense you charge eventually must be repaid. And if youre earning a paltry $8 to $12 an hour, repaying thousands of dollars might prove an insurmountable challenge. Dont 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. Dont make mistakes now that will kill you five or 10 years down the line when youre trying to negotiate a down payment for a house or a car, she says.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 earners paycheck, its especially difficult to avoid debt when emergencies or perceived emergencies are presented.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 youre doing what youre doing when youre 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 youre doing this in hopes of better things to come. 最大化最低月薪的6种妙方据S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。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 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. 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。”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！”。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.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 。”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