VOA标准英语2011--Online Money Management Sites Cater to Y

Online Money Management Sites Cater¹ to Young Savers

New youth-oriented banking² websites target young people who are often better known for impulsive³ spending than for saving money.
The websites offer information and tools to help clients become better money managers and to share their financial experiences with other young people.
Alix Scott, 19, is working at a store this summer, saving money to pay for college next year.
“I have to save for all my college money because my parents, they can’t afford to co-sign on loans,” she says. “So, I have to rely on my own savings⁴.”
Online piggy bank
But rather than put her money in a local bank, Scott opened an account on SmartyPig, a web-based banking service.
“When I do that, I overcome the impulses to just spend the money,” she says.
Michael Ferrari founded SmartyPig with a friend in 2007. After starting a college account for his new baby, Ferrari says he realized the power of saving for a specific goal. Helping⁵ other savers stay focused on their goals is the idea behind his online piggy bank.
“SmartyPig is really all about helping people to save for specific financial goals. It can be a wedding, a vacation, an i-Phone,” he says.
Ferrari explains how PigySmart works.
“For example, I’m saving for a vacation," he says. “I want to save $5,000. I want to meet this goal in three years. SmartyPig will actually calculate how much money you need to allocate⁶ every month. You don’t have to move it from your existing bank. We’ll actually go in and withdraw those funds on the day you specify⁷ every month and we put it into your SmartyPig account, where they’ll actually accrue⁸ interest, as well.”
And, Ferrari says, the site also allows depositors to get outside help.
“Perhaps a holiday or a birthday is coming up. Rather than getting a gift, your friends and family can actually contribute to any of your SmartyPig goals .”
Sharing savings goals online
Twenty-two-year-old civil engineering major Khang Nguyen likes being able to share his saving goals with his online community.
“I think it's actually a good thing that they are able to see it,” Nguyen says. “Like, you know a bunch of my friends after they find out about what I do, they always come ask me for financial advice.”
Online banking sites like SmartyPig are attracting a growing number of young depositors, who like the convenience and services. These personal finance websites offer a variety of money management tools which help users track their spending, set up a budget and consolidate⁹ their accounts.
And they all have a social media aspect, which appeals to young adults who are already comfortable sharing their personal information online.
“There are all kinds of individuals out there who have their own blogs who are talking about money, creating videos, making info graphics¹⁰ and are talking about money. You just see personal finances information in places that you wouldn’t expect,” says Janet Stauble, spokesperson for the personal finance website, bankrate.com.
She adds, “It’s not likely that you might go to a friend and say, ‘Hey, I paid off $1000 on my credit card today,’ but people write up blog posts about it and they explain how they did it, how much closer they are to their financial goal, whatever it is.”
As technology continues to evolve, she predicts more people will embrace the emerging electronic banking sites.
Online partnerships¹¹ with banks
Steve Weisman, who lectures about financial issues at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, says the more innovative¹² these sites are in providing their services, the more successful they will be in doing business alongside traditional banks or in cooperation with them.
“For instance, SmartyPig, they are not actually a bank, but they are partnered with a bank," Weisman explains. “So what you’re going to see is big banks and little banks that are legitimate¹³ financial institutions, but not necessarily the most savvy¹⁴ when it comes to computers or the Internet, they will partner up with other companies that may be doing some of the web material and other assistance, while the actual banking would be done through a bank with which it is connected.”
That collaboration¹⁵, he says, will change the way Americans save in the future.

1 cater   

vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务

参考例句：

• I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
• Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

4 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 allocate   

vt.分配，分派；把…拨给；把…划归

参考例句：

• You must allocate the money carefully.你们必须谨慎地分配钱。
• They will allocate fund for housing.他们将拨出经费建房。

7 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

8 accrue   

v.(利息等)增大，增多

参考例句：

• Ability to think will accrue to you from good habits of study.思考能力将因良好的学习习惯而自然增强。
• Money deposited in banks will accrue to us with interest.钱存在银行，利息自生。

9 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

10 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

11 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

12 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

13 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

14 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

15 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。