You may not realize it, but some things you do habitually¹ can make you lose money. Let’s see what those costing habits are and how we can reverse them.

也许你都没意识到，一些习惯性的事情也会不知不觉浪费钱呢。我们来看看一些浪费钱的小习惯，学习如何去改正吧。

1. You are a chronic² complainer

你是个负能量的抱怨者

If you always see the bad side, then you might not see the opportunities around you. When you miss opportunities, you inevitably³ lose money.

如果总是看到坏的那一面，那么就会失去很多机会，一旦机会都失去了，钱肯定就赚不到啦。

For example, if you are too busy complaining to yourself about how your co-worker sucks, you might not think that you would be a great fit for that new project that just came out. Yes, the one that would boost your resume and possibly lead to a promotion⁴. Opportunity lost.

比如你一直都抱怨同事们多么的没用，也许就想不到其实自己非常适合新项目。对，就是那个能展现你实力带来升职机会的新项目。可惜没咯。

2. You think you would never spend this much money, and then spend it

你觉得自己绝不会花那么多钱，然后花了。

My friend and NYT best-selling author Ramit Sethi likes making fun of people who think they will never spend, e.g. $30,000 on a wedding. But when time comes, and it’s their turn to get married, they spend it.

我朋友和《纽约时报》畅销作家Ramit Sethi喜欢取笑那些总觉得自己不会花那么多钱的人，比如花3万美元筹办婚礼。但轮到他们结婚的时候，似乎花的也不少哦。

I’m not criticizing spending money on your wedding here. I’m just saying that had you accounted for the “having a big wedding” scenario⁵, you might have saved more in the past, and hence not need to get into credit card debt.

我不是说不该在婚礼上花钱。我只是说如果你已经考虑了一幅“有个盛大婚礼”的场景，你就应该开始节约用钱，这样以后才不至于成卡奴。

3. You don’t negotiate

你不还价

From negotiating the price of your car, to negotiating your salary, you have a lot of potential to save thousands of dollars. Yet beware, negotiating is not something most people are skilled at. I recommend buying books and then spending 1000x more time actually practicing the books’ teachings with a friend.

无论是买车还是谈论薪资，你都有可能去省一大笔钱。要记住，讨价还价并不是大部分人都擅长的事情。我建议买本类似的书，然后和自己的朋友把书里的技巧默默练习几千次吧。

That’s how you’ll walk into a negotiation⁶ with confidence and ready to tackle anything that comes your way.

这样你就能自信的开始讨价还价，让一切都尽在你的掌控。

4. You think short-term vs. long-term

短期/长期计划

We often don’t really take into account the effect of our actions in the long run. For example, you not negotiating a $5k increase in salary does not just cost you $5k this year, but maybe next year as well.

我们往往不会考虑自己的行为在长远时期的影响。比如，你不会要求涨五千美元的薪水，也没有意识到今年不要求，明年也会没有。

In your next job interview, the employer will try to pay you according to your past salary. Your negotiating position will start from $5k less than what it could have.

你的下一个面试，老板也会试着按照旧工资来付薪水。你至少可以要求涨薪五千美金，这样才不会比本可拿到手的低。

5. You think “I can’t do it” instead of “How can I do it?”

你总觉得“我做不到”而非“我如何去做”？

You can make more money at your current job. You can negotiate more, or improve your skills and then ask for a raise. Or, you could make more money on the side. Or, you can start your own business.

你可以在现有的工作上赚取更多的钱。你可以沟通协商更多，提高你的技能然后要求涨薪。或者是可以干点副业，再或者自主创业吧。

The options are infinite. The more you’re stuck on “can’t”, the more you’ll be losing money that you could have earned had you not had this bad “can’t” habit.

选择是不定的。你被“不能”捆绑得越多，养成了“不能” 的习惯，那么就会失去越多本可赚到的金钱。

6. You avoid saying “no”

学不会说“不”

Your sister asks you for money. She never gives the money back, but you still just can’t say “no.”

你妹妹问你借钱，从来不还，你还是不会说“不”。

You keep lending money, or buying dinner for your friends, just because saying “no” is easier than paying. I’m not saying that “no” should come easy. But I am proposing to be conscious about why you do what you do.

你总是借钱或者请朋友吃饭，只是因为说不比付钱要简单。我不是说拒绝可以简单，我只是建议你需要意识到自己为什么要做这件事。

7. You confuse your account balance with your self-worth

你混淆了银行存款和自我价值

The balance on your account is just a number. Yet, we tend to be emotional with that number. When this balance is not up to our standards, we may feel shame and self-pity.

你银行的钱只是个数字，的确我们对那个数字有感情。一旦达不到一个标准就会觉得丢人和难受。

That’s exactly what overweight–or even thin–people feel when on the scale. The number on the scale feels like it describes their self-worth, when it doesn’t!

这就是那些称体重的胖子或瘦子们的想法。称上面的数字似乎显示了他们的价值，但实际并没有啊。

The result of this confusion is that you might be afraid to even open up those new bills. Or, you might avoid dealing⁷ with your debt because it’s just way too scary to do so. But the good news is that it’s just a number–it doesn’t have anything to do with who you are.

这样的混淆只会带来一个麻烦，就是你会害怕去花钱。或者只是因为你害怕而再也不想去处理欠款问题了。但其实，这个数字——真的跟你是什么人没有任何关系。

8. You buy stuff without understanding why

你总买些莫名其妙的东西

In Money: A Love Story author Kate Northrup urges us to understand what made us make each purchase. First, we look at our credit card statement. Were our purchases good ones, or are there any purchases that we would have been better off without?In Money:

金钱：一个爱情故事》的作者 Kate Northrup 要求我们对每一笔花销都心知肚明。首先我们要看看信用卡额度。我们是不是在买好东西，还是这些东西可有可无？

Once we complete this step, we move on to step two. How did we feel when we made each purchase? If you actually do this step, you might find out that the purchases you made while feeling bad, needy⁸, or lacking, are not the ones you are proud of.

一旦完成了这一步，就来到了第二步，买每一样东西的时候是什么感觉？如果你真的做到了这一步，也许会发现买这个让你有点难受、窘迫或者缺钱了，而不是让你骄傲。