鑽石舞台

We all know that saving is important and is something that we should be doing. And yet, overall, we're doing less and less of it.

我們都知道省錢很重要，這是我們應該一直做的事情。然而，總的來說，我們很少這麼做了。

We know what we need to do. The question is: How do we do it? And that's what I'm here to teach you.

我們知道要怎麼做。問題在於：我們該如何做？我在這裡就是要回答這個問題的。

Your savings behavior isn't a question of how smart you are or how much willpower you have. The amount we save depends on the environmental cues around us. Let me give you an example.

你的省錢行為與你的智商或者你有多強的意志力無關。我們能省多少錢取決於我們周邊的環境。我來舉個例子。

We ran a study in which, in one group, we showed people their income on a monthly basis. In another group, we showed people their income on a weekly basis. And what we found was that people who saw their income on a weekly basis were able to budget better throughout the month. Now, it's important to know that we didn't change how much money people were receiving, we just changed the environment in which they understood their income. And environmental cues like this have an impact.

我們進行了研究，向其中一組的人們展示他們的每月收入。在另一組，我們以周為單位 展示他們的收入。我們的發現表明，被按周展示收入的人能夠更好地調整整月的預算。重要的是要知道我們並沒有改變人們拿到多少薪水，我們只是改變了他們理解收入的環境。像這樣的環境線索產生了影響。

So I'm not going to share tricks with you that you already know. I'm not going to tell you how to open up a savings account or how to start saving for your retirement. What I am going to share with you is how to bridge this gap from your intentions to save and your actions. Are you ready?

我不打算和你們分享你們已經知道的技巧。我也不打算告訴你們如何開設儲蓄賬戶，或者如何開始為你的退休計劃存錢。我要和你們分享的是如何更好地將省錢的意圖付諸行動。準備好了嗎？

Here's number one: harness the power of pre-commitment. Fundamentally, we think about ourselves in two different ways: our present self and our future self. In the future, we're perfect. In the future, we're going to save for retirement, we're going to lose weight, we're going to call our parents more. But we oftentimes forget that our future self is exactly the same person as our present self. We know that one of the best times to save is when you get your tax return.

第一點：利用預先承諾的力量。我們通常用兩種不同的方式看待自己：現在自我和未來自我。在未來，我們是完美的。在未來，我們會為退休儲蓄，我們會減重，會經常給父母打電話。但我們常常忘記了未來的自己和現在的自己根本沒有差別。我們知道，最好的儲蓄時間之一是當你收到你的納稅申報單時。

So we tried an A/B test. In the first group, we texted people in early February, hopefully before they even filed for their taxes. And we asked them, "If you get a tax refund, what percentage would you like to save?" Now this is a really hard question. They didn't know if they would receive a tax refund or how much. But we asked the question anyway. In the second group, we asked people right after they received their refund, "What percentage would you like to save?"

所以我們做了個A/B測試。在第一組，我們在2月初給人們發短信，希望趕在他們報稅前。我們問他們，「如果你得到退稅，會把其中多少錢存起來？」這真是個很難回答的問題。他們不知道他們是否會得到退稅或退了多少。但我們還是問了這個問題。在第二組中，我們在人們收到退稅後問他們，「你會把多少退稅存起來？」

Now, here's what happened. In that second condition, when people just received their tax refund, they wanted to save about 17 percent of their tax refund. But in the condition when we asked people before they even filed their taxes, savings rates increased from 17 percent to 27 percent when we asked in February. Why? Because you're committing for your future self, and of course your future self can save 27 percent. These large changes in savings behavior came from the fact that we changed the decision-making environment. We want you to be able to harness that same power. So take a moment and think about the ways in which you can sign up your future self for something that you know today will be a little bit hard. Sign up for an app that lets you make savings decisions in advance. The trick is, you have to have that binding contract.

結果是這樣的。在第二種情況下，當人們收到退稅時，他們想把退稅額的17%存起來。但在人們填寫納稅申報前就詢問的這種情況里，當我們在2月詢問時，儲蓄率從17%增至27%。為什麼有這種差別？因為你對未來的自己做了承諾，當然未來自己能夠存下27%。這些較大的儲蓄行為改變是因為我們改變了決策環境。我們希望你們能夠駕馭同樣的力量。所以花點時間想想你可以用什麼方式，讓未來的自己去做一些你現在覺得有點困難的事情。註冊一個應用程序，讓你提前做出儲蓄決定。關鍵是，你的承諾要有約束力。

Number two: use transition moments to your advantage. We did an experiment with a website that helps older adults share their housing. We ran two ads on social media, targeted to the same population of 64-year-olds. In one group, we said, "Hey, you're getting older. Are you ready for retirement? House sharing can help." In the second group, we got a little bit more specific and said, "You're 64 turning 65. Are you ready for retirement? House sharing can help." What we're doing in that second group is highlighting that a transition is happening.

第二點：利用好轉型期。我們在一個幫助老年人分享住房的網站做過一個實驗。我們在社交媒體上投放了兩個廣告，都針對64歲的人群。在一組中，我們說，「嗨，你正在老去。你準備好退休了嗎？共享房子會有幫助。」在第二組中，我們更加具體地講：「你現在64歲，馬上就65歲。你準備好退休了嗎？共享房子會有幫助。」我們在第二組做的是強調轉型正在發生。

All of a sudden, we saw click-through rates, and ultimately sign-up rates, increase when we highlight that. In psychology, we call this the "fresh start effect." Whether it's the start of a new year or even a new season, your motivation to act increases. So right now, put a meeting request on your calendar for the day before your next birthday. Identify the one financial thing you most want to do. And commit yourself to it.

突然之間，當我們強調這點時，我們看到點擊率和最終的註冊率都增長了。在心理學中，我們稱之為「新起點效應。」不管這是在一年之初還是在一個新的季度，你行動的動力會增加。所以現在，在日曆上為你下一個生日的前一天寫一個會議請求。確定你最想做的一件理財事項。並儘量去實現。

The third and final trick: get a handle on small, frequent purchases. We've run a few different studies and found that the number one purchase people say they regret, after bank fees, is eating out. It's a frequent purchase we make almost every day, and it's death by a thousand cuts. A coffee here, a burrito there ... It adds up and decreases our ability to save.

第三點和最後一點技巧：控制好經常的小物品採購。我們做了幾個不同的研究，發現人們在買單後最後悔的頭號消費是外出就餐。這幾乎是我們每天都進行的消費，這真是讓人剁手的事情。來杯咖啡，再來個墨西哥卷餅……這些加起來顯著降低了我們儲蓄的能力。

Back when I lived in New York City, I looked at my expenses and saw that I spent over 2,000 dollars on ride-sharing apps. It was more than my New York City rent. I vowed to make a change. And the next month, I spent 2,000 dollars again -- no change, because the information alone didn't change my behavior. I didn't change my environment.

回到我住在紐約那陣，我檢查了一下我的花銷，發現我在拼車應用上花了2000美元。比我在紐約的租金還高。我發誓要做出改變。下個月，我又花了2000美元——沒有變化，因為信息本身並無法改變我的行為。我沒改變我的環境。

So now that I was 4,000 dollars in the hole, I did two things. The first is that I unlinked my credit card from my car-sharing apps. Instead, I linked a debit card that only had 300 dollars a month. If I needed more, I had to go through the whole process of adding a new card, and we know that every click, every barrier, changes our behavior.

所以現在，我有4000美元的虧空了，我做了兩件事情。第一件事是我從拼車應用上解綁了我的信用卡。反之，我將每個月只有300美元額度的借記卡綁在上面。如果我需要更多，我就得進行整個添加新卡的流程，我們知道即便是一個點擊，一個障礙，都可以改變行為。

We aren't machines. We don't carry around an abacus every day, adding up what we're spending, in comparison to what we wanted. But what our brains are very good at is counting up the number of times we've done something. So I gave myself a limit. I can only use ride-sharing apps three times a week. It forced me to ration my travels. I got a handle on my car-sharing expenses to the benefit of my husband, because of the environmental changes that I did. So get a handle on whatever that purchase is for you, and change your environment to make it harder to do so.

我們不是機器。我們不會每天都帶着算盤，把我們花的錢加起來和我們想花的錢做比較。但我們的大腦很擅長計算我們做事情的次數。所以我給自己設限。我只能每周使用三次拼車應用。這迫使我限量出行。為了我丈夫的利益，我控制住了與人共享汽車的費用，因為我所做的環境改變。所以無論你買什麼東西，都要控制好，改變你的環境，讓你更難做這一點。

Those are my tips for you. But I want you to remember one thing. As human beings, we can be irrational when it comes to saving and spending and budgeting. But luckily, we know this about ourselves, and we can predict how we'll act under certain environments. Let's do that with saving. Let's change our environment to help our future selves.

這是我給你們的提示。但我想讓你們記住一件事。作為人類，在儲蓄，花費和預算方面，我們並不理性。但幸運的是，我們有自知之明，我們可以預測出在特定的環境中，我們會如何行動。把這一點用在儲蓄上吧。讓我們通過改變環境來幫助未來的自己。