你敢一年不買東西嗎? 英國一女子做到了!

A woman has saved tens of thousands of dollars after she vowed to buy nothing for a whole year.

一名女子在發誓一整年不買任何東西之後，省下了好幾萬美元。

It may sound extreme, but caught up in a consumerist society, Michelle McGagh thought it would change her relationship with money forever.

這聽起來可能有些極端，但身處這樣的消費主義社會，米歇爾·麥加認爲這段經歷將永遠改變她的與金錢的關係。

The personal financial journalist became a minimalist, and stopped cluttering her house with possessions and making unnecessary purchases. Now she is about $27,000 better off for it.

這位財經記者現在已經成爲了一名極簡主義者，她不再買雜七雜八的東西，然後亂糟糟地堆在家裏，也不再進行任何不必要的消費。而今她已經由此存下了2.7萬美元了。

The Londoner wrote in the Telegraph it was a mortgage she took out on a home in 2013 that led her to think more about her spending.

這位倫敦市民在《每日電訊》上寫道，2013年爲了借錢買房子，她借了抵押貸款，從那時她開始注意起自己的日常花銷。

Looking into minimalism on American websites, she stumbled across Buy Nothing Day, a time when people are urged to avoid shopping for a day. She then wondered if she could attempt to buy nothing for a year.

在美國網站瀏覽到極簡主義時，米歇爾偶然發現了“什麼都不買日”——在這天，人們會竭力不買任何東西。於是她開始思索自己是否可以一年都不買東西。

"Spending nothing for a whole year would do wonders for my wallet and stop me from refilling my empty shelves with more possessions," she wrote.

她寫道：“一整年都不買東西真的很神奇，不僅我的錢包變得充裕了，我本人也不再用買任何東西來填我的空架子了。”

"It sounds extreme, but I'd set myself budgets and spending plans in the past and they'd always fallen by the wayside on my next night out."

“雖然這聽起來很極端，在以前我總會給自己制定預算和支出計劃，但是這些計劃往往會在第二天就半途而廢。”

McGagh would pay for necessities — her mortgage, bills, insurance and charity donations. That all equated to about $2,200 a month.

日常的必需品，如抵押貸款、票據、保險金和慈善捐款，麥加還是會付錢的，這相當於每月約2200美元。

She'd then spend money on toiletries, cleaning products and groceries. Her food budget was only about $45 a week and she would cook in bulk so meals would last.

當然她也會在化妝品、洗滌用品、食品上花錢。她每週的食物預算只有45美元，爲此她會選擇自己多做些飯，以此使預算之內三餐正常供應。

"That meant no cinema trips, no nights in the pub, no takeaways or restaurant meals, no new clothes, no holidays, no gym memberships, not even a KitKat or cheeky cheesecake from the supermarket. And certainly no flat whites."

“這意味着不能去看電影，晚上不能去泡酒吧，不能吃外賣或者去餐廳吃飯，沒有新衣服，沒有假期，沒有健身房的會員卡，甚至連從超市買一個奇巧巧克力或者厚芝士蛋糕都不行，當然也沒有卡布奇諾。”

McGagh did not spend money on transport and began riding her bike from A to B and she refused friends and family who wanted to buy her things.

麥加沒有交通預算，她開始騎着自行車從一處到另一處，她也會拒絕想買東西給她的家人和朋友。