還記得過去那些美好的日子么？那時，在校園里，只要填張表格，簽上姓名就可以得到一張炫酷信用卡，還能獲贈一大堆禮物。但現在，這種好事就要一去不復返了。不久前，由于還款問題，國內大部分商業銀行開始停辦大學生信用卡。事實上，早在銀行做出該決定前，信用卡還款問題就一直存在。 REMEMBER the good old days, back when you just filled out a form, signed your name, and got a cool credit card and a bunch of gifts right there on campus? Well, don't expect that to happen again anytime soon. Recently, China's major commercial banks stopped handing out credit cards to college students because of payment problems. In fact those problems with credit cards are a phenomenon that existed long before the banks recent decision.

    去年，武漢大學經濟學專業的鄭濤（22歲）,從4名校園推銷員處各辦理了1張信用卡，每張卡的透支額度是2000-3000元/月，整個辦卡過程才花了不到2小時。 Zheng Tao, 22, an economics major at Wuhan University, got four credit cards from four different campus sales reps in less than two hours last year, each with a 2,000-3,000-yuan overdraft per month.

    在剛辦完信用卡后的幾個月里，鄭濤瘋狂購物、下館子吃飯，絲毫不擔心手頭沒錢。由于靠刷卡付帳，他發現自己的生活水平得到了很大提升。然而不久后，某一天下午，他算了算自己的信用卡債務總額--9000元左右的數字令他目瞪口呆。當時，他的銀行賬戶里僅有不到2000元。萬般無奈之下，在卡債到期的前一天，鄭濤撥通了媽媽的電話。還清債務后，他便注銷了信用卡。 For the first several months, Zheng bought things and meals with no worries about being short of cash. He found his "living standard improved a lot" by running the cards through a machine. Then, one ordinary afternoon, he calculated his debt and the amount - around 9,000 yuan - stunned him. His bank account had less than 2,000 yuan in it. Just a day before his card payment was due, he dialed his mom's number. Right after that, he paid off the debt - and cancelled the credit card.

    鄭濤感慨說，使用信用卡最大的危險在于--刷卡人通常意識不到自己在花錢。"如果是親手拿著這么一大筆現金，我一定要考慮再三才會花出去。但是，有了信用卡就不一樣了，花300元吃頓飯和花2塊錢坐公共汽車好像沒什么不同。"決定把卡注銷后，鄭濤如此說。 Zheng says that the most dangerous thing about a credit card is that a person isn't always aware of the fact that he's spending money. "If I had that much cash in my hand, I'd think twice before handing it over to someone else. But, with a card, it seems like there's no difference between using a card to pay 2 yuan on a bus or paying 300 yuan for a meal," Zheng said, after he decided to give up the card.

    除了錢，學生們還很容易忽略另外一樣東西--信譽，而這對他們的前途更為至關重要。 Apart from the money, there's another thing students can easily lose by being "unaware", something that's even more critical to their future - credibility.

    比如說，23歲的李素娟是人民大學新聞專業的學生。她經常等到最后關頭才還款。這樣做的原因倒不是因為缺錢，而是她總會忘了這碼事。 Li Sujuan, 23, a journalism major at Renmin University, for example, always waits until the last minute to pay off the debt, not because she doesn't have money, but simply because she "keeps forgetting".

    對此，北京銀行個人理財顧問何榮表示，學生們不準時還款并不是因為他們還不起，而是因為不善于管理自己的賬戶。 In commenting on this, He Rong, a personal finance manager at a Beijing bank, says that the reason students don't pay the money on time is not that they can't but because they don't manage their account well.

    她說："學生們懶得為日常生活做預算，而且大多數人根本就沒有意識到信用卡消費是種借款行為。對他們而言，信用卡更像是個銀行賬戶，里面的錢就是用來花的。 "她希望學生們明白：如果因為還款不及時而留下不良記錄，他們的個人信用度將會因此受損，嚴重的話甚至還會對將來貸款、保險或就業造成障礙。 "Students hardly bother to make a budget for their daily lives, and many don't see the credit card as a kind of money borrowed from others. It's more like a bank account and it's theirs to spend," she said. She says that students should be more aware of the fact that, if they get a bad record for falling behind on their payments, their credit record will suffer, and may even cause future problems with loans, insurance, even jobs.

    但反過來講，每件事都有兩面性，這回自然也不例外：經此一事，學生們可以學會如何管理使用信用卡。 But every story has two sides, including this one: some students actually learn how to manage their credit card use.

    例如這位：楊盛，22歲，就讀于深圳大學市場營銷專業。每個月父母給他1000元生活費，而他只花一半。通常他在免息階段就把債務還清了，他說："這樣一來我就不用付額外的費用了". Yang Sheng, 22, a marketing major at Shenzhen University, is one of them. He only spends about 50 percent of his monthly funds from his parents, which is about 1,000 yuan. And he pays off the debt during the interest-free period, "so that I don't pay extra for my purchases" .

    與此同時，前文中提到的鄭濤已經恢復了老樣子--用現金消費。如今，他花錢變得比以前更加理性了。 Meanwhile, the cardless Zheng is getting back to the old way of doing things with cash and now finds his spending becoming more rational.

    理財小竅門 Money management tips

    1. 制作每月預算，更清晰地了解自己的財務狀況 1. Make a monthly budget to get a clear picture of your finances

    2. 根據每月預算選擇適當的信用額度 2. Choose a credit limit that fits your monthly budget

    3. 在寬限期內將錢還清 3. Pay off your money debt during the grace period

    4. 看看你的錢包里是否有張"睡眠卡"--很少使用卻還在付年費的卡。如果你根本不用那張卡，就退還給銀行吧。 4. Make sure you don't have a sleeper card, one you hardly use but still pay an annual fee for, in your wallet. If you don't use the card at all, give it back to the bank.