什么是“僵尸債務人”？

每個月那點微薄的工資還了房貸利息就所剩無幾，上百萬的本金償還更是遙遙無期……如果你也深陷這種窘境，那么你不僅是房奴，還是zombie debtor（僵尸債務人）！

The term zombie debtor refers to someone who is unable to pay off the capital of the loan, and whose repayments only service the interest charge.

“僵尸債務人”是指無法償還貸款本金，只能償還利息費用的人。

In Britain, it is feared that 3.5m people will turn to payday lenders in the next six months but research shows that nearly two-thirds will regret the decision. Many will be unable to pay off the loan and risk becoming “zombie debtors“.

在未來的六個月內，英國350萬人將會申請發薪日貸款，然而研究顯示，三分之二申請貸款者會為這一決定后悔。許多人將無法付清貸款，有可能會淪為“僵尸貸款人”。

A payday loan is a small, short-term loan that is intended to cover a borrower's expenses until his or her next payday. It is usually accompanied with excessive rates of interest. It is estimated that payday loans cost Americans $4.2 billion a year in interest and fees. The experts commented: “Payday loans are not the best way to resolve debt struggles. We know that many who take them out find them to be a negative experience, often escalating financial troubles.”

所謂發薪日貸款，指的是在下一個發薪日前支付借款人開銷的短期貸款，通常伴隨著高利息率。據估計，美國人每年要花費42億美元用于支付發薪日貸款的利息和手續費。專家指出，“發薪日貸款并不是解決債務困境的最佳途徑。據我們所知，很多人申請了發薪日貸款后發現這是一種令人不快的經歷，它通常會加劇經濟困難。”

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（中國日報網英語點津 實習生蔡冬梅 編輯陳丹妮）