Loan traps hit home

Fu Yanxi could not help buying an iPhone at only a third of its market price in January. But now he is running into trouble – failing to pay the monthly due will damage his credit record.
今年一月，付彦锡（音译）忍不住买了部只要市价1/3价钱的iPhone手机，但如今却陷入了困境——由于无法按月还款，他的个人信用记录将会受到影响。

“I regret my decision now. I thought I could squeeze out some 550 yuan every month to cover the loan,” said the 22-year-old English major at Central China Normal University. “As it turns out I’m not very good at managing my limited budget.”
就读于华中师范大学英语专业、22岁的他说：“我很后悔之前的决定。原以为我每月能挤出550元来还贷，结果却发现自己并不擅长管理有限的预算。”

Fu is not alone. According to a recent report in Wuhan Evening News, more than 20,000 students in the city, which has about 1 million college students, have taken out loans to buy smartphones, tablets and other digital gadgets.
遇到这种情况的不止付彦锡一人。《武汉晚报》近日报道称，在武汉100多万名在校大学生中，有超过2万人通过贷款来购买智能手机、平板电脑及其他数码设备。

Experts say college students are inexperienced with handling credit. They should first learn to manage their basic budget and become more responsible, both financially and mentally.
有关专家表示，大学生在处理信贷方面经验不足，他们应该先学会安排基本开销，在经济与心理上变得更有责任感。

Zhang Shuyi, 21, felt reassured when the salesman explained the 12-month loan to him. He walked away with a 2,300-yuan smartphone having paid only 230 yuan. The process looked easy enough and it took less than 15 minutes for his student ID, citizen ID and an activated bankcard to be checked.
听了销售人员关于一年期贷款的解释后，21岁的张舒乙（音译）打消了之前的顾虑，最终以230元的首付购买了一部价值2300元的智能手机。整个过程看起来十分简单，只需提交学生证、身份证、以及一张激活了的银行卡，审核过程只用了15分钟。

“It was easy and the monthly due was only 250 yuan,” recalled the information engineering major at Wuhan University of Technology. Later he purchased a digital camera in the same way.
就读于武汉科技大学信息工程专业的他回忆说：“这种方式十分便捷，每月也只需还250元。”之后，他用同样的方法购入了一部数码相机。

But when Zhang couldn’t pay, he turned to his parents for help. A short calculation revealed that he had to pay 3,600 yuan for his 2,300 yuan phone, even though the initial payment looked minimal.
但是当张舒乙无力还贷时，他只好向父母求助。通过简单的计算便可得知，尽管看上去几乎“零首付”，但他却要为这部售价2300元的手机花掉3600元。

A lack of basic finance knowledge is one of the major reasons why students are falling into the credit purchase trap, said Chen Xin (not his real name), a credit manager at a local bank.
武汉当地一家银行的信贷经理陈新（化名）表示，缺乏金融常识是这些学生跌入信贷购物陷阱的主要原因之一。

“What they see is only the small initial payment to take the gadget home,” said Chen. “Some don’t realize that interest is charged on the loan. In Zhang’s case it was more than 40 percent, which is basically usury.”
“他们只看到购买电子设备的首付很少，却没有意识到贷款利息。在张舒乙的事例中，利息高达40%，这基本上算是高利贷了。”

Wuhan Morning News conducted a survey on student budgets across five local universities. The report indicates that on average students have a monthly budget of 1,000 yuan. Interestingly, more than 30 percent of respondents said they usually exceed their budget.
《武汉晨报》在武汉五所高校中进行了一项有关学生开销的调查，结果显示，学生平均每月预算为1000元。有趣的是，超过30%的受访者表示，他们通常会超出预算。

“Everything was taken care of for these students before they entered college,” said Shen Qinlin, an education PhD based in Beijing. “It can be very challenging for them to suddenly manage a budget all alone. But it’s a lesson they have to learn sooner or later.”
来自北京的教育学博士沈勤林（音译）认为：“在这些学生升入大学前，他们受到了无微不至的照顾。突然间要他们独立管理日常开销确实颇具挑战性。但这一课他们迟早都要学习。”

以上文章内容选自《21世纪英文报》，详情请见《21世纪英文报》998期