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如何控制不必要的开销 We all buy stuff that we don’t really need or want – and this can be a big problem. You don’t just end up with the frustration of throwing away good money, or the annoyance of a lot of junk cluttering up your house; you can end up in serious debt problems. If you are in a relationship, this is often times the nucleus of stress and huge arguments. 我们都会买一些实际上并不需要或想要的东西，这可能会是个大问题。你不仅最终会因为浪费金钱而懊恼，或是因家中堆满了许多垃圾而感到厌烦，你还会最终陷入严重的债务问题中。如果你正在谈恋爱，这通常会成为压力和剧烈争吵的焦点。 Regardless of the economy and forgetting how much money you earn, wise spending should become a priority. Just because your debit card is smiling at you doesn't mean it needs to come out of your wallet. So. How do we end up spending money when we don’t really want something, let alone need it? And how can we stop? 不管经济方面的问题，忘掉你可以赚多少钱，明智地消费应该是优先考虑的事情。仅仅因为你的信用卡在对你微笑并不意味着钱要从你的钱包里出来。因此，我们是怎么在一些实际上不想要，更别说需要的时候花钱的？我们应该怎么停止这种行为？ Peer Pressure 同辈压力 When I was a kid, the phrase “peer pressure” was popular – kids and teens often do stupid things because their friends are encouraging them. Well, guess what, we’re not immune to peer pressure as adults either. If you’ve got colleagues who are always flashing around their new iPad or their 1.21 gigawatt Android phone, or if your friends all shop in expensive clothes stores, you may well end up matching their spending ... not because you really want what you’re buying, but because you want to fit in. 当我还是个小孩子的时候，“同辈压力”这个短语很流行，小孩子和青少年经常因为朋友的鼓动而做出一些愚蠢的事情。那么，猜猜怎么着，我们并不跟成年人一样受同辈压力的影响。如果你的同事总是炫耀他们新的ipad或是1.21千兆瓦的安卓手机，或是你的朋友总是在昂贵的服装店购物，你可能最终也会达到他们的花销水平……并不是因为你真的想要你买的那些东西，而是因为你想跟他们合得来。 If you’d never admit to buying something at a thrift store because you’re worried what your friends would think, or if you can’t imagine taking a packed lunch to work because of the reactions you’d get, then peer pressure’s got a hold on you. 如果你因为担心朋友的想法而绝不承认在旧货店买东西，或者因为害怕别人的反应而不敢想象上班时带自备午餐，那么同辈压力就对你产生了影响。 Crafty Advertising 狡猾的广告 Advertising is a huge business – devoted to making you buy stuff which you wouldn’t otherwise have bought. Whenever you see an ad online or in a magazine and think “I need that”, force yourself to think again. Do you really need it? After all, you were managing just fine before seeing that ad! Can you get a friend’s recommendation or second opinion? 广告业是种庞大的生意，致力于让你购买你并不需要或者已经购买的东西。无论何时当你在网上或杂志里看到一则广告并认为“我需要它”时，强迫自己再考虑一下。你真的需要它吗？毕竟，在你看到那则广告前你过得好好的！你能得到朋友的推荐或是听听别人的看法吗？ Pay close attention to advertising wording and images, too. Marketers will often imply that products will make you look younger, or make more money, or attract your dream partner ... when of course their product can’t do anything of the sort. 同时，密切注意广告的措辞和图像。卖家通常会暗示他们的产品会使你看起来更年轻，或者能赚更多的钱，或者能吸引你的梦中情人……当然他们的产品不可能做到一切。 Believing Expensive = Better 认为贵的就是更好的 With many products – particularly beauty ones – there’s not necessarily any significant difference whatsoever between a generic, cheap product and an expensive, top-of-the-range one. Studies have shown that we actually believe the exact same product is having more effect, when it costs more. (The book Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely has great information on this, and there’s a study linked to on his website.) 许多产品，尤其是美容产品，在普通廉价的产品和昂贵一流的产品之间不一定就有什么多大的差别。研究显示，我们实际上认为价格更高的完全相同的产品具有更好的效果。（丹·艾瑞里的《怪诞行为学》一书中有很多这方面的信息，在他的网站上也有相关研究。） Don’t buy into the hype. Try a blind taste-test (or equivalent) – you might find that you can’t tell the difference between cheap and expensive brands, and you might even find you prefer the cheaper one! When I was a teen, a group of us taste-tested different brands of cola and we found that the cheapest one was the most popular (even though we’d all have insisted on “real coke” before that taste test). 不要受宣传的影响而购买商品。尝试一下盲测（或同类测试），你可能会发现你说不出廉价品牌和贵重品牌的不同之处，你甚至可能会发现自己更喜欢便宜的那种！当我还是个少年时，我们一群人品尝评测了不同牌子的可乐，我们发现最便宜的那种最受欢迎（即便在评测之前我们都坚持“纯正可乐”）。 Impulse Buys 冲动消费 If you’re prone to buying on impulse, then set about breaking yourself of this habit. Some good ways to help yourself avoid impulse buys (which tend to be things we don’t need and are often overpriced): 如果你倾向于冲动消费，那么着手戒掉自己的这个习惯。以下是帮助自己避免冲动消费（自己不需要的东西或者通常定价过高的商品）的几个好方法： Always make a list before going shopping of what you need 总是在购物之前列出所需物品的清单 Don’t go into stores “just to look” if you know you usually end up buying something 不要因为“只是看看”而进商店，如果你知道自己通常会在最后买点东西的话 Never add items to your basket when you’re standing in line at the checkout: these products are deliberately chosen to encourage you to pick up something extra that you don’t need 决不在收银台前排队时往购物筐里添东西：这些商品是特意选来刺激你额外挑一些不需要的东西 Avoid clicking on adverts online and don’t “browse” on sites like ebay and Amazon 避免点击网上的广告，不要“浏览”易趣、亚马逊这样的网站 Uninstall shopping apps that you are hooked on 卸载掉让你上瘾的购物应用程序 Do you find yourself spending money on things which don’t really improve your life? Share your experiences and tips in the comments. 你发现自己在那些实际上并没有提升生活品质的东西上花钱了吗？请在评论中分享一下你的经历和建议。 Written on 3/15/2011 by Ali Luke. Ali writes a blog, Aliventures, about leading a productive and purposeful life (get the RSS feed here). As well as blogging, she writes fiction, and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing.
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阿里·卢克于2011年3月15日写下本文。阿里写了一篇博客Aliventures，关于如何创造充满创造力、目标明确的生活。除了写博客，她还写小说，目前她正攻克创意写作的文学硕士。
