“我認識的人里，不欠債的不是富二代，就是和有錢人結了婚。”一名美國受訪者說。

"I don't know anyone who isn't in debt unless they're a trust-fund kid or married rich."

《紐約雜志》（New York Magazine）旗下的生活時尚雜志The Cut最近做了一項調查，采訪了102名讀者，了解他們的負債經歷——從怎么欠下債務，到還了多少。結果顯示，大多數人只能在債務的深坑中掙扎，難以自拔。

這項調查讓我們得以一窺美國人是如何在經濟并不寬裕的情況下依然大手大腳花錢的。這種超前消費的習慣，也從側面揭示了美國貿易逆差背后的深層次社會原因。

美國人深陷負債泥潭

調查顯示，關稅陰霾籠罩下，美國人民正面臨前所未有的債務壓力，信用卡債務已突破歷史新高，2024年總額高達1.2萬億美元。

"Tariffs are coming, a trade war is looming, and most of us are overwhelmed with more debt than we can handle. Credit-card debt is at an all-time high, hitting a record $1.2 trillion last year, and people are having a harder time paying it off."

受訪者的債務從5000美元到150萬美元不等，其中房貸是高額負債的主要來源。大約一半受訪者的債務在5萬以下，集中在2.1萬至5萬美元之間，多數為信用卡和學生貸款。

"Our readers reported a wide range, from as little as $5,000 to $1.5 million. The higher spectrum of debt, in the $200,000-plus range, often included mortgages. Roughly half of readers have $50,000 or less in debt, with most landing somewhere in the $21,000 to $50,000 range, either from credit-card debt, student loans, or both."

債務都是哪兒來的？

從吸脂到婚禮，從碧昂斯演唱會門票到戴森美發器，美國人的信用卡賬單正承載著沉重又五花八門的“現代生活成本”。幾名受訪者分享了自己欠下債務的經歷：

▌Three years ago, I got "lunchtime lipo." Put the purchase on two separate credit cards, $6,000 on one and $2,000 on another. I've gained all the weight back and currently have $1,500 dollars in interest on top of the original $8,000 payment. And I got botched.

三年前做了“午餐吸脂”，用了兩張信用卡，一張6000美元，一張2000美元。效果很失敗，體重回來了，利息也漲到了1500美元。

▌My wedding. I took out a $20,000 personal loan.

我的婚禮花銷。我申請了2萬美元的個人貸款。

▌$4,000 of my credit-card debt is from concerts and vacations. My friend and I bought Beyoncé floor seats for Renaissance — now I'm going to do it all again for Cowboy Carter.

信用卡上那4000刀欠債，都是看演唱會和度假旅游欠下的。我和朋友買了碧昂斯“文藝復興”巡演的內場票——現在“牛仔卡特”巡演我準備再沖一次。

▌I spent $600 on a Dyson Airwrap. Then I bought a Dyson vacuum. It seemed like the right thing to do.

六百美金的戴森卷發棒說買就買，后來覺得該配齊一套，又入了同牌吸塵器。反正刷卡的時候總覺得這錢該花！

也有許多人坦言，為了“像朋友們那樣”生活，不得不負債：

▌My personal credit card has about $25,000 in debt and most of that is from a combination of vacations, fancy dinners, clothes. All things I objectively don't need, but I want to feel like I'm able to afford the same things that my friends do. Even though I clearly can't.

我的個人信用卡上有2.5萬美元的債，大部分來自度假、豪華晚餐、買衣服。明知道這些我根本負擔不起，但我就是想看起來過得還不錯。

▌I accrue around $250 extra debt a month just by going out with friends a few times a week.

我每個月大概會因為和朋友出去聚餐玩樂，額外增加250美元的信用卡債務。

▌At least half of my debt is trying to keep up appearances.

我背的這些債，起碼有一半純粹是為了裝門面。

債務怎么還清？

許多欠債的受訪者坦言，自己仿佛陷入了一個無解的惡性循環。也有人表示通過嫁入豪門、回家啃老，或是尋找專業債務協助服務才緩解了債務困境。

▌I have paid off about $15,000 in credit-card debt over the years, but it always creeps back up.

這些年我好不容易還掉了1.5萬美元的信用卡債，可不知不覺又欠了一屁股債。

▌I paid off $20,000 in credit-card debt, then got $30,000 in debt right after.

我還清了2萬美元的信用卡債務，但很快又欠了3萬。

▌Luckily I married into a wealthy family, and my husband used some of his trust fund to pay off my student loans.

幸運地嫁入豪門，丈夫用信托基金還清了我的學生貸款。

▌Two years ago I moved back in with my family to save on rent. My parents live in a wealthy neighborhood where everyone wants to show each other how much money they have. I feel like my life is just this game of make sure everyone knows you have enough, dress like it, drive the car like it. I can keep up these appearances to an extent, but beneath it all, I'm drowning in debt.

兩年前，我為省房租搬回家。父母住在富人區，周遭人人攀比。我的生活成了維持光鮮表象的游戲——穿得體面、開豪車。表面風光，實則債臺高筑。

▌For the last two years I've been working with a debt-management company to get out of what I did. You make regular payments into a savings account with them and they negotiate your debt with creditors. Once they reach a settlement amount, they'll pay it off with what you've saved and take a percentage of what they settle. These debts still follow me and I'm throwing money at them, but I have a bit of relief that someone with more knowledge is handling them.

過去兩年與債務管理公司合作：定期向其儲蓄賬戶匯款，他們代表我與債權人協商。達成協議后，用我存入的儲蓄金還款并收取傭金。雖然債務仍在，但有專業人士處理讓我稍感輕松。

美國個人債務問題愈演愈烈，信用卡債務和學生貸款的激增讓許多美國人陷入難以擺脫的財務困境。隨著美國對全球發動關稅戰，物價上漲將進一步加劇民眾的償債壓力。普通美國人想要擺脫債務深淵，面臨的困境或將愈發嚴峻。

編輯：左卓

見習編輯：裴禧盈

來源：The Cut

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