鄰居真的比你有錢嗎？

You look out the window of your home each night after dinner, staring across the street at your neighbors. You long for the cars they drive, their weekly manicured lawns, and even the vacations they seem to take several times a year.
吃完晚飯，你朝窗外望去，目光穿過(guò)小路看到了鄰居。你羨慕他家的車子，每周修剪的草地，甚至每年幾次的假期。

But there are several reasons our can neighbors afford so many of the things we would love to have:
但鄰居擁有我們追求的生活不是沒(méi)有原因的：

感覺(jué)會(huì)欺騙你

1. Perception is Everything
1. 眼睛會(huì)騙人

Your perception may be skewed. You see fancy cars in the driveway, and the trim lawns between your toes. You watch work crews going in and out of the awesome remodeling projects happening inside. Yet, none of that means your neighbors are wealthier than you are. Just because you see them as more affluent, doesn’t mean they are.
眼睛里看到的東西未必是真實(shí)的。你看到車道上的靚車，腳下整齊的草地，看到他家進(jìn)進(jìn)出出的裝修工人，忙著為屋子重新裝修。但這些都不能表示鄰居比你有錢。這只是你的錯(cuò)覺(jué)，不是實(shí)際情況。

You are only able to see above the surface of their spending, meaning you have no idea what’s happening down below.
你只看到他們表面上花錢的情況，不知道人家在你看不到的地方過(guò)什么樣的日子。

錢花在哪里很重要

2. Allocation is Essential
2. 錢花在哪里是關(guān)鍵

While you choose to consistently save money for your kids’ education, and retirement later in life, they are spending what they believe are excess funds on their cars and homes. They might be making the shallow choice to spend their money on what people can see, while you are spending your money on the life you want to live, both today and tomorrow. You choose to pay for piece of mind.
當(dāng)你決定要為孩子的教育和未來(lái)的養(yǎng)老存錢時(shí)，你的鄰居卻把額外的錢花在車子和房子上。也許他們只是膚淺地把錢花在大家都看得見(jiàn)的地方，可是你是用錢創(chuàng)造自己現(xiàn)在和未來(lái)的理想生活。你是在為自己的理想買單。

It’s how your neighbors allocate their income that makes them seem richer than they are.
看起來(lái)鄰居好像很有錢，其實(shí)是他們花錢的地方和你不同。

福利很重要

3. Perks Matter
3. 福利很重要

While Your neighbors’ salaries might be slightly more than yours, it isn’t enough to justify the massive leap in spending. However, fringe benefits can greatly widen the gap. Perks such as cars, phones, laptops, and more can give the recipient an amazing leg up when it comes to freeing money for other pleasures.
雖然你的鄰居可能工資高一點(diǎn)，但這不足以解釋你們消費(fèi)的巨大差異。不過(guò)，福利會(huì)加大你們之間的消費(fèi)差距，比如汽車、電話、筆記本電腦等，有了這些福利，你的鄰居就有閑錢享樂(lè)了。

家庭的成長(zhǎng)可以增加消費(fèi)的自由度

4. Luxuries of the Mature
4. 家庭的成長(zhǎng)可以增加消費(fèi)的自由度

As families mature, houses get paid off and savings grow. Even if your children do go to the same school, their children are older, and they have a few years on you as well. Those could be years spent paying on their house and putting money in the bank.
隨著家庭的成長(zhǎng)，家里的支出會(huì)減少，存款會(huì)增多。即使你和鄰居的孩子上的是同一所學(xué)校，只要他們家庭比你的家庭組建年數(shù)長(zhǎng)，就會(huì)比你稍顯富有。因?yàn)樗麄円呀?jīng)還了房貸，并且有銀行存款了。

Imagine how much more freedom you would have without also having to manage your monthly mortgage.
想想如果沒(méi)有月供，自己花錢能有多少自由度。

月光族有什么好羨慕的

5. Their Lives Might be Plastic
5. 月光族有什么好羨慕的

Your neighbors might be disciples, worshiping the power of the plastic. While you are smart enough to understand the headaches of undisciplined credit, your neighbors might be living carelessly, buying short-term luxury today in exchange for a meager tomorrow.
或許你的鄰居是一個(gè)月光族，崇尚及時(shí)享樂(lè)。當(dāng)你理解到爛刷信用卡的惡果時(shí)，他們說(shuō)不定還在渾渾噩噩地生活，今天買了奢侈品，明天就要喝西北風(fēng)了。

你懂得精打細(xì)算

6. They Know Where to Find Deals
6. 你懂得精打細(xì)算

I consider myself a connoisseur when it comes to finding great deals on groceries and kids clothing. Perhaps your neighbors also know something about finding deals on the things they need, freeing up more money for things they want.
我自認(rèn)為是一個(gè)淘雜貨和兒童衣服的行家。也許你的鄰居也知道采購(gòu)缺少的用品，只是錢要花得多一些。

什么急就買什么

7. They Pay for Their Immediate Wants First
7. 什么急就買什么

Your neighbors could also have more money than you do because they prioritize differently, and pay from their savings for projects that they want done.
你的鄰居看起來(lái)比你有錢也可能是這個(gè)原因，他們分清事情的輕重緩急，只要是在計(jì)劃之內(nèi)的消費(fèi)，就會(huì)拿出存款來(lái)。

為了更美好的明天

While my neighbors may or may not make have more money than me, I don’t let it influence the way that I live. I spend money in the way that’s most important for my family, both for a better, more comfortable today, and for a brighter tomorrow.
鄰居也許比我有錢，也許比我窮。但我不會(huì)讓財(cái)富的差距影響自己的生活。我花錢的原則就是，對(duì)家庭有利，為了更好更舒適的今天，為了更光明的未來(lái)。

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