【每日阅读训练第四期——速度越障3系列】【3-18】经管

猫咪团团

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How to Put Your Money to Work for You, Beyond the Basics

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Some people have serious financial problems, but that's not you. You've got a savings account, have cleaned up your interest-bearing debt, are contributing to a 401(k), and all-around are in pretty good financial shape. So where do you go from here? What's the next step for those of us who know the basics but want to put our cash to better work?
Facebook's recent IPO got a lot of people excited about investing in companies (though the subsequent tanking of their stocks post-IPO may have made many of the same people gun shy). Still, you may be wondering how you can—or if you should—get in on some of that action. Unfortunately, the depths of the market are largely off-limits to individuals with a few bucks here or there to invest, but you can boost your personal portfolio in a number of ways after you've exhausted the basics of investing. That's what this post is all about.
Don't Jump The Gun: Make Sure Your Money Isn't Better Spent Elsewhere
Before you jump head-first into riskier financial waters, we need to make absolutely sure that you're really at the point financially where you have money to invest. J.D. Roth, editor of Get Rich Slowly, explained that before you start looking for new ways to invest your money, make sure you have the basics covered—and we don't just mean a 401(k), a positive balance in your checking account, and a $0 credit card balance.
Before you venture beyond the basics, make sure you've hit all of the areas on this checklist first:
You have a budget. This may sound obvious, but it's important. Make sure that you have a budget and you're sticking to it, so you know at all times where your money is going, including this cash you want to save or invest.

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You're saving for retirement. Your 401(k) and Roth IRA are great, but they're the bare minimum. Before you start thinking about other things to do with your money, consider how much you'll need in retirement, and commit to save as much as possible to make those long-term goals.
You've paid off your debt. We're not just talking about credit cards here. Your money isn't really yours until you've paid off your other debt. Student loans, car loans, mortgages, even if it's "good debt, " your extra cash is better spent towards getting your net worth in the black before anything else.
You have an emergency fund. Usually 3-6 months of expenses saved up and stashed away, just in case. If you don't have one, here's how to start one.
You know how to save for life events and desired purchases. This means you know how to budget well enough to save for that new laptop you want, for your wedding, or for that dream vacation you've always wanted, without wrecking your budget or plunging into credit card debt to make it happen.
J.D explained that if you've hit all of the points above, you're ready to start thinking about intermediate savings, or taking that extra cash and putting it aside for other things. If you're not out of debt, or don't have a fully-financed emergency fund, you're better off putting your money there instead.
That can be daunting for a lot of people, because it implies you're better off paying off your home or your student loans before you start playing the investment game, or saving for luxury purchases. Of course, we've discussed how you can pay down your debt and invest at the same time, so you have options. Just choose your path wisely.

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ption 1: Use "Targeted Savings" to Save for Specific Goals
If you have the basics covered, it's time to do some brainstorming. What exactly do you want to do with this excess money in your budget? Do you want to stash it away so it makes you more money? Perhaps there's something you've always wanted—a specific model of car, or a vacation home? Maybe you want to start your own business, or found a charity? Whatever it is, J.D. calls these goals "targeted savings, " which usededicated savings accounts and automatic deposits to keep you saving towards specific goals. He explains that this allows you to name and prioritize what you're saving for, and you can easily monitor your progress at any time. Photo by Jeff Turner.
Whatever your dream is, J.D. suggests you set up an interest-yielding savings account for it, and start diverting that extra money to it on a regular basis. Consider signing up for a service likeSmartyPig, which helps you save for specific goals, to help you. It's not as sexy as investing or playing the stock market, but it uses skills you already have, puts your money to work for you, and most importantly, gets you where you want to go.
Option 2: Contact Your Retirement Fund Provider and Expand Your Portfolio
Talking to your investment firm about what to do with the extra money in your budget implies you want to put it somewhere it can grow and make more money for you, as opposed to save it for a specific goal. A good place to start is with the investment firm that holds your 401(k) or IRA, like Fidelity Investments or Vanguard.
Even if you're in a group retirement plan with your company, you can contact them about expanding your portfolio to include personal investments. It's worth noting that depending on the funds you want to invest in, you may have to front a certain amount of money just to get started, but if you have it, use it. Give the firm you have your retirement funds with a ring—they may just suggest you add the extra money to the funds you're already in, but others will be more than happy to help you open new lines of investments, and offer you some financial guidance to help you make the smart choices as well.

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Option 3: Hire a Financial Planner and Sail for Risky Waters
Sometimes you have to spend money to make money, but a good financial planner can help you make smart decisions about other, more advanced options. Sure, a financial planner can help you make the smart saving decisions we've discussed up to this point, but that kind of advice is free—what you really want a financial planner or accountant's advice with are the tricky investment options, like these:
Buy/remodel an investment property: Many people buy a condo or vacation home just for a little rental income, but if you're not sure where to start, get help before you go shopping. The market is much different now than when this was more popular, and your mileage will vary depending on where you live and what you plan to do.
Start a private portfolio: Mutual funds offered by your 401(k) are one thing, but if you want to get into index funds, options, or even just start buying up stock in well-performing companies that you want to invest in, you'll need some assistance. By all means, go for it—just don't neglect your research.
Consider annuities: The folks at The Motley Fool suggest annuities, despite their cost and limited insurance coverage, are an option worth considering if you've already started investing elsewhere. They can be difficult to cash out of, but they can yield decent returns if you find a good one. The key, of course, is finding a good one, and The Motley Fool has some tips on how to do that.
Buy an investment vehicle: Depending on your age and the amount of risk you're willing to take, you can stash your extra money away in government bonds (low risk, low reward) or stock options and futures (high risk, high reward.) It's especially important to get a professional's help before wading into these waters: there are plenty of vehicles that do little more than fleece unsuspecting customers, so do your research and get help before writing any checks.

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Or, Stop Worrying and Manage Your Current Investments Instead
There are plenty of options available if you're wondering if there's a way to make your money work harder for you, as you can see. Even so, the vast majority of us will have a hard enough time paying down our debt and putting together an emergency fund. We mentioned it earlier, but you shouldn't go running into the wilds of investment properties and annuities until you're in sound financial shape. There's an old adage about gambling that applies here: "Don't play with money you can't afford to lose." Photo by 401k.
Despite all of these options, you may be better off simply putting your extra cash into your retirement fund, whether it's a 401(k) or an extra contribution to your Roth IRA at the end of the year. It's just easier to dump it into an interest-yielding savings account or a CD offered by your credit union, forget about it until it matures, and then roll it over or cash it out. The market rat-race can be alluring, especially when you read about IPOs that make investors boatloads of cash, or venture capitalists shoveling money into companies with big ideas and no products. However, J.D. points out thatfinancial independence means different things to different people, and it's more than just "having a boatload of cash." Find out what it means for you, and work your way there.
How are you saving for the future? Do you believe in any specific investment vehicles beyond the tried and true ones everyone should have, or are retirement funds and IRAs really enough for most people? Share your financial thoughts—and advice—in the comments below.
J.D. Roth is the editor of Get Rich Slowly. He offered his expertise for this story, and we thank him.

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Eating and recession
The basket case
Harder times have transformed a nation’s eating habits
Jun 23rd 2012 | from the print edition

THE British are addicted to cooking shows. In March fully one-quarter of television viewers were tuned to the final of “Masterchef”. The country is a prolific producer of television cooks—Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsey—all of whom insist on fresh ingredients and the virtues of cooking from scratch. It exports its cooking shows and its hectoring celebrity chefs around the world, even to France. But the reality of what goes on in British kitchens has never been farther from the televised ideal.
A few years ago the British diet seemed to be improving. Admittedly, people were buying fewer green vegetables, continuing a long-term trend driven by declining appetite for cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. But they were more or less making up for that by eating more salad leaves and fruit. They were purchasing more healthy fish and less fat. The average Briton bought 170 grams of fish per week in 2006—the most since at least 1974. Sales of organic food (believed to be healthier, despite the lack of evidence) were soaring.
Then came the financial crisis, a commodity-price surge and government belt-tightening. Retail food prices in Britain have increased by 25% since January 2008, considerably more than overall inflation. Among the poor, the proportion of household spending that goes on food has risen slightly since 2007, to 16%, reversing a long downward trend (the proportion was half in 1938). Inflation is now moderating, but pessimism is not. Nationwide’s “Present Situation Index” shows people were as gloomy last month as they have been at any point in the past eight years. All this has dramatically affected the national diet.
The first thing to go was eating out, says Giles Quick of Kantar Worldpanel, a market-research firm. Then consumers jettisoned worries about sustainability and the environment. The Soil Association reports that sales of organic products in Britain have slid by 21% since 2008. After that consumers began to make more painful compromises. Fruit and vegetable sales have sharply declined, along with sales of what Mr Quick calls “primary proteins”—that is, slabs of meat and fish, which impose additional costs on consumers because they require other ingredients to make a meal. America has seen a similar, though less extreme, shift.

These changes are most pronounced among the poorest one-fifth of the population (see chart). But they are by no means restricted to the poor. On a recent visit, Guy Warner’s grocery shop in Moreton-in-Marsh, in the pricey Cotswolds, had a prominent display of quails’ eggs and asparagus. Mr Warner nonetheless says customers are trading down, abandoning steaks in favour of cheaper cuts of meat such as shin. He is selling many more vegetables and fruit at a discount.
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Customers are visiting more often but buying less when they do. Sainsbury’s, a big supermarket, found that the number of customer transactions per week in the middle of 2011 was almost 22m—1m more than a year earlier. But the number of items sold to each customer fell. Impulse buying is down, too. IGD, another market-research firm, finds that the proportion of Britons who usually decide what to buy before going shopping jumped from 47% to 67% between 2008 and 2011.
This list-making tendency largely explains another, benign change: Britons are throwing away less food. WRAP, which tracks rubbish, estimates that households disposed of 7.2m tonnes of food waste in 2010—down from 8.3m tonnes in 2006-07. People are throwing away less of everything, but food accounts for more than half of the overall drop. Still, there may be another reason Britons are throwing less food away: they are doing less cooking.
Many people now spend more time watching people cook than doing it themselves. “Masterchef” lasts an hour. The average time taken to prepare the day’s main meal is just 34 minutes, according to Kantar Worldpanel; it has fallen sharply over time. Prepared food, which is seen as cheap and cheering (if guilt-inducing), is the great winner of the economic slump. Pizza and meat-based ready meals have fared especially well.
For a government that must pick up the tab for ill-health, this could be bad news. “Five a day”, the campaign to prod people to eat more fruit and vegetables, is failing. Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, is now trying to persuade the food industry to cut the number of calories in meals. This has worked for salt. But the latest effort may be trampled by consumers stampeding for cheap, easy nutrition.
Like the fall of fruit and fish, the rise of ready meals is most pronounced among the poor, but everybody favours them. Marks & Spencer, grocer to the upper middle classes, has scored with its “Dine in for £10” deal, introduced in 2008. The firm opened 29 stores in the past year, 26 of them food shops. Grocers like M&S and Waitrose are capturing better-off families who are trading down from restaurants.
Yet these dramatic changes in diet are not always evident in supermarkets. Morrisons, originally a northern English chain, touts precisely the sort of foods that people have stopped eating (fresh fish in particular). Yet it has fared well in the past few years. Extravagant displays of fresh produce are a useful signal to customers, says Mr Quick, because they suggest the shop is good at food. Fruit and vegetables in supermarkets are increasingly a sign of quality, rather than something you eat.
As eating habits have changed, so has the definition of cooking. Paul Gardner, who owns a Budgens grocery store in Islington, says things like rhubarb and Brussels sprouts hardly sell these days. What flies off the shelves, he says, are nicely packaged, fresh-seeming sauces that can be added to fish and meat to make a quick meal. “There’s a difference between what your grandmother would have regarded as cooking from scratch and what people mean by it now,” he says, delicately.

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angelafeng

速度
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越障
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Recently British like to watch cooking show. A few years ago, British people eat fewer vegetables and fruits, and they choose to eat more healthy fish and less fat. Then the financial crisis affect the British people’s daily diet. More and more people prefer to eat out. People go to supermarket more often but buy less things. They also throw less rubbish than before. That is because people do less cooking. People like to watch cooking shows but they do not like to cook by themselves. Since the eating habit changed, the cooking habit also changed.

teddybearj4

板凳板凳~~~~谢谢团团~~~~
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速度：
1'24    1'07    1'47    1'38    1'20
(谢谢团团今天的理财小贴士^^等以后赚钱了可以试一下哈哈~)

越障：6'04(中途无数噪音干扰，各种烦躁！thanks to在图书馆坐我隔壁的那位用一指神功敲电脑的女童鞋。孩纸，你有这么恨你的电脑么？！)
Main idea:
The passage talks about the finacial crisis change the eating habits and the cooking habits as well.
Structure:
*British people love the cooking TV programs.
*The eating diets of British people seem to improved these years.
*Until financial crisis, people change their eating habits reluctantly, esp. the poor. The author support his idea by presenting a diagram listing the change % purchase of major foods & friuts before and right suffering the crisis. And the people tend to have quick meal, either.
*The financial crisis influence not only the eating habits, but also the cooking habits (since citizens of Great Britain are so fond of cooking). It seems that cooking become a luxury now for cooking ingredients are so expensive.  They can not cook for fun as their grandmother's generation, but can only watch cooking programs in the TV.

kjia0120

1.35

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今天第一天复习逻辑 大受打击 没心情了。。。。

Olina加油

占首页

1'24
1'10
1'29
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1'11
5'17

树姑娘

1'58
1'34
2'07
1'48
1'35
6'40
The Brithish are obsessed with the cooking show" Materchef", which propose the idea of eating in a healthy way. But the real life is not like the TV show.
Before the financial crisis, the diet is improving in Brithish family.
When the financial crisis happened, many behaviors have been changed.
Go out for dinner./Healthier foods./Less rubbish./Spend time in watching cooking show rather than make dinner themselves.
Great changes have taken place in eating habit. It is evident in different eating habits between your grandma and you.

铁板神猴

团团辛苦了~！占座先~
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5'21''

cleotina

6-29

1'30

How to put your money to work for you? To find the right way to venture you money, and the most important is keep you account balance



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First of all save the money for you old age, then try to pay off your debt, don not forgetting lots of loans. If you are wealth and have no debt, then find a wise way to invest



1'49

Two tips to save money

1, save money for the specific goal, such as for a dreaming car, for a new company.

2, enlarge the amount of money in the retirement funds



1'30

Tip three go to a guide for help, especially in a tricky investment, such as buy a house for renting.



1'40

Don't play with money you cannot afford to lose, and the retirement fund is really not enough for your old age. So choose your way to roll your money.





5'48

British are obsessed on the cooking TV show, such as "masterchef". This trend spread worldwide, even France. However, the really situation is not the same as what you saw.



British were eaten lots of healthy food, such vegetable, fruit and fish, and they chosen eat less meet. But as the economic depression since 2008, people become poor and they tend to pay less on food. The sale of the heathy food is declining, since this food always expensive. More fast food and mature food, with high energy and salt are consumed. People in different class eat more cooked food, especially the poor.



At this time, most of family only watch the Cooking show rather than cook by themselves. And the amount of vegetable, fruit, and fish is not only an exhibition, but also a sign of quality for a shop.



As eating habit has change, so has the definition of cooking. People tend to make a quick meal.

beatG650

6月28 阅读时间记录

2.14


2.07

1.43
越障
6.50

jiline

团团的速度终于不难懂了
1‘30
1’43
2‘07
1’48
1‘21

越障：
04’53
*The British like cooking shows.
*When British economy was in good status, the British diet seemed to be improving.
*But when the financial crisis came, the British diet changed, cheaper, less food. More time watching the cooking shows, and do not do the cooking.
*But the theory is not suitable for supermarkets. Give the example.