Help! My Wardrobe is Making Me Broke!

Although women have held on to jobs betterthan men have during recent economic down-turns， women are still more likely to fall intodebt traps. Here's a look at why:

Reason # 1: Women spend almost $ 300 morea year than men on clothes， according to theConsolidated Credit Counseling Services inFlorida， which examined the profiles of 40，000clients and found that getting dressed for theoffice pushed more women into debt than men. Aguy can buy two suits and a couple of ties andhe's set. Women don't have it so easy. Peoplenotice if you wear the same top every day.

Reason # 2: Shoe sale! About 24 percentof women versus 5 percent of men say they can'tresist bargain shopping， and Iowa State Uni-versity study reports.\"Most men are on thehunt for something specific. Once they findit， they're done.\" \"Women tend to be gather-ers. They'll shop for stuff they need， stuffthey want--and staff they can be convinced toget.\"

Reason # 3: Women still make about 24percent less than their male counterparts， mean-ing less checkbook wiggle room to avoid debt.

Bottom Line: Shop for classic clothesand buy just a few trendy pieces each season.Then knock your boss dead with your brains andyour confidence-two assets than never go outof style.

(Quoted from US Weekly March 24， 2003)

[译文]

帮帮我吧!我的衣柜使我身无分文!

在当今经济走下坡路(downturn)之际，虽然女性比男性更能守住现有的工作，但女性仍然深陷债务之中。其原因为：

一．根据(according to)佛罗里达的联合信用卡咨询服务中心统计，女性每年比男性多花费几乎3 0 0多美元购置衣服。该公司仔细审核(examine)了40000个客户资料(profile)，发现进行职业性装扮迫使女性比男性更易负债。男人买两套西装，几条领带，就足够了。妇女可不这么容易。如果每天穿同样的上装，人家会注意到的。

二．鞋子减价了!大约24％的女性，相对于5％的男性说她们无法克制削价购物的欲望。美国依阿华州立大学的研究报告显示，“大多数男性购物时寻找(hunt)特别需要(specific)的东西，一旦找到了，就结束购物。”“而女性倾向于成为收集者，她们购置急需的物品、想要的物品及说服自己认为值得买的物品。”

三．妇女的薪水仍然比男性同事少24％，也就意味着存折上可应付(avoid)债务的空间也小。

挽救底线：购置雅致而传统的套装，每个季节只买几件时尚(trendy)的衣饰。用您的智能(brains)及信心(confidence)来征服(knockdown)您的老板一两件永远不会过时的法宝。