Do you often complain about your wages seeming to disappear as soon as they enter your bank account? For many of us, living from month to month in terms of spending is a common occurrence. But have you ever wondered how much you could save if you really budgeted?Michelle McGaghdid just that and managed to save up a massive $23,000 in a year by forgoing luxury items and sticking to the necessities. Don’t think it’s possible? Think again!
你是不是也经常抱怨你的薪水似乎刚一入账就噌的一下消失了呢？对我们大多数人而言，靠每个月的薪水支出为生是一种非常常见的情形。但是，你有没有想过，如果你认真的编排预算，每个月能够省出多少钱呢？Michelle McGagh就这样做了，通过放弃奢侈品而只用生活必需品，每年竟然节省出23000美元。你不信？来看看吧！
The Story Behind The Experiment（试验背后的故事）
Michelle McGagh came across as an irony – she was a personal finance journalist for 10 years who wrote about how people could spend their money better, yet she wasn’t doing it herself.
Michelle McGagh简直就是一个讽刺。她做了10年的个人金融作家，主要写关于人们到底应该如何更好地花钱，但是她自己却没有像她所写的那样做。
She found she was caught up in the common belief that spending more would make her happier, and she believed that buying the latest products would enhance her life in countless ways.
她发觉自己深陷世俗价值观念之中，那就是花钱越多越快乐。她深信买最时髦的产品将会在无数方面提升自己的生活品质。
So, the idea was born to spend a whole year only buying necessities – no fancy dinners out, no getting the bus on a rainy or windy day, no excessive beauty products or holidays away.
因此，一个想法诞生了~一整年只买必需品，没有花哨的晚餐，哪怕风雨天也不乘坐汽车，不用过多的美容产品和也不去度假。
Instead, she stuck to cycling or walking to work, cooking cheap homemade meals, wearing only the clothes she already had in her wardrobe and only buying necessary items such as toothpaste, soap and shampoo. It was time for a massive change. It seemed an uncomfortable prospect at first, but changing her habits and mindset towards money was key in carrying out this experiment successfully. And so, the journey began.
相反，她坚持骑车或者走路工作。自己烹饪便宜但美味的食物。只穿衣柜里已有的衣服。只购买生活必需品。比如牙膏、肥皂、洗发水啥的。现在是做出重大改变的时候了，开始时，对她来说可能还不是很适应，但是生活习惯和对于金钱的态度的改变成为这项试验得以成功的关键。因此，旅行开始啦！
What She Learnt From Living Thrifty（她从简化生活中学到了什么）
By carefully cutting out daily coffees from the local café and making her own brew, cancelling her gym membership and exercising at home instead, and swapping expensive concerts for free gigs and exhibitions, Michelle learnt a new way of life. As she explains it:
通过将喝咖啡的场所从咖啡馆里移到家里自己煮，取消健身馆会员而选择在家进行锻炼，以免费的展览或演出代替高昂的音乐会。Michelle 掌握了一项新的生活方式。她解释到：
“I won’t pretend it was easy, though, especially the first months when I tried living my old life but with no money. Sometimes, I had an urge to forget all about it and lose myself in a shopping spree, get drunk in a bar, or just buy a bus ticket instead of climbing onto my bike again on a windy day. However, I understood something important: you don’t have to open your wallet every time you want to have a good time.”
我不会假装这一切好像过得很轻松。特别是刚开始的几个月，我想要回归到我原有的生活方式中，但是却没有钱。有时，我有种强烈的冲动想要忘记这一切，沉浸在购物中，迷醉在酒吧，或者是去买张票而不是在风雨天仍骑自己的自行车。但是，有一些事情我很清楚：不是每一种幸福都需要花钱获得。
While saving money was her ultimate goal, the most important lesson she learnt was the fact that spending money didn’t always equal happiness.
虽然，省钱是她的最终目标，但是她学到的最重要的一课却是钱并一定能够换来幸福。
A Difficult But Rewarding Journey（艰难但却值得纪念的经历）
Of course, it wasn’t all easy. Cutting out all her splurges and pampering expenditures was hard, and after a year, her clothes were starting to wear out, her hair was in desperate need of a hairdresser and she missed her takeout food and coffee dates with friends.
当然啦！这一切并不容易。断绝她过去用于各种奢侈品和挥霍性支出是非常艰难的。一年后，她的衣服磨损，头发也急需护理。而她也错过了和朋友一起外出吃饭喝咖啡的美妙时光。
However, she describes how she’s learnt to efficiently budget food and find the best bargains and even how to cook – skills she never would have gained had she not gone ahead with the experiment.
但她说：通过这项试验她学会了如何有效的进行食物预算，达成最佳的交易。甚至学会了自己从未想到的烹饪技巧。
The biggest bonus of all? She managed to save a whopping $23,000 that went towards her mortgage, which she had been convinced she would need to spend the next 25 years paying for.
那么最大的奖励又是什么呢？她最终设法省下了高大23000美元抵偿自己的贷款，曾经她认为她甚至还得花上25年才能还清的贷款。
“The most important result of the year for me was that I became more open for adventure and new people. I learned to say “yes” to all things new. And I also realised how little I need to be happy.”
这一年对我而言最重要的收获是“我变得对冒险和陌生人的走进抱以更加开放的心态，我学会了对新事物说yes。而且我意识到“变得快乐，其实并不需要拥有太多””。
So, if your bank balance isn’t looking how you’d like it to, think about what you really spend your money on. What could you cut out? Weed out the necessities from the luxuries and see how much money you can ultimately save.
所以，如果你的银行卡余额看起来不咋地的话，不妨认真考虑下你把钱都花在了什么地方？哪些是你可以砍掉的花销？将奢侈品和生活必需品分开，看一看你最终能够省下多少钱。
