新闻周刊:疫情下9项明智的投资(5)（在线收听）

GET HELP, WHERE YOU CAN

尽可能地寻求帮助

Sometimes, even in the worst of times, there are opportunities—and assistance when you need it the most. Here's how to take advantage of what's available now.

有时候，即使是在最糟糕的时候，机会还是有的——当你最需要帮助的时候。以下是如何利用现有资源的方法。

Refinance your mortgage. The one genuinely positive development to come out of the current crisis for homeowners: record-low mortgage rates. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage recently dropped to 3.29 percent, according to Freddie Mac, compared to a high of 4.85 percent as recently as November 2018.

抵押贷款再融资。对业主来说，走出当前危机的一个真正积极的进展是：创纪录的低抵押贷款利率。根据房地美的数据，30年期固定利率抵押贷款的平均利率最近跌至3.29%，而就在2018年11月，这一比例还高达4.85%。

"If you've been thinking about refinancing, there has never been a better time," says Jimmy Lee, chief executive of Las Vegas-based The Wealth Consulting Group.

“如果你一直在考虑再融资，现在是最好的时机，”总部位于拉斯维加斯的财富咨询集团首席执行官吉米?李表示。

The savings can be substantial, as long as you're going to stay in your home long enough to recoup the closing costs on a new loan (typically two to three years). For instance, you could save $1,500 a year if you cut a full percentage point off your current $300,000 mortgage with a 4.5 percent rate and 15 years remaining on loan. You'd recoup the estimated 2 percent you'd pay in closing costs in 40 months.

只要你能在你的房子里呆上足够长的时间来收回新贷款的成本(通常是两到三年)，你就能省下一大笔钱。例如，如果你现在的30万美元抵押贷款利率为4.5%，贷款期限为15年，那么每年可以节省1500美元。你将在40个月内收回预计的2%的关闭成本。

Lee recommends looking into refinancing if you can shave at least half a percentage point off your borrowing. To see if the numbers add up for you, there are plenty of online tools that can help, such as Discover.com's Mortgage Refinance Calculator.

李建议，如果你能将借款削减至少0.5个百分点，就应该考虑重新融资。要想知道这些数字是否符合你的要求，有很多在线工具可以提供帮助，比如Discover.com的抵押贷款再融资计算器。

Nabbing one of those record-low rates to buy a new home now is a riskier proposition. For most prospective buyers, the best time to commit to a new mortgage is not when the economy is in flux and your job could be at risk.

而现在，要想获得创纪录的低利率来购买新房，风险更大。对于大多数潜在的购房者来说，最好的抵押贷款承诺时间不是在经济动荡和你的工作可能面临风险的时候。

If you have a choice, sellers probably ought to put off a planned move too, given an anticipated softening of the housing market. Already, the National Association of Realtors expects a 10 percent decline in home sales next month compared to estimates before the pandemic. And a flash poll of their members found that about 20 percent said that buyer interest in California and Washington (two places that have been especially hard-hit by the coronavirus) has either decreased or decreased significantly.

如果你有选择，考虑到预期中的房地产市场疲软，卖家可能也应该推迟计划中的行动。全美地产经纪商协会已经预计，下个月房屋销售将较疫情爆发前的预估下滑10%。对其成员进行的一次快速调查发现，约20%的人表示，加州和华盛顿(这两个地方受冠状病毒的影响尤其严重)的买家兴趣要么下降，要么明显下降。

Get relief from your bills. Some 67 million American anticipate having trouble paying their credit card bills as a result of the coronavirus, according to a WalletHub survey. Fortunately, at least some issuers seem prepared to give a helping hand. Goldman Sachs/Apple has said it will allow cardholders to skip their next payment without accruing interest, if needed. Many other providers, including American Express, Capital One and Wells Fargo, have indicated their willingness to work with customers who are struggling financially as well.

从你的账单中解脱出来。根据个人理财网站WalletHub的一项调查，大约6700万美国人预计由于冠状病毒感染而无法支付信用卡账单。幸运的是，至少有些发行机构似乎准备伸出援手。包括美国运通、美国第一资本投资国际集团和美国富国银行在内的许多其他银行也表示愿意与同样陷入财务困境的客户合作。