When a taco shop opened across the street from Stefanie O'Connell's New York City apartment, she figured it would be harmless to go there a few times a week and grab a quick dinner. [td]当斯蒂芬妮・奥康奈尔(Stefanie O'Connell)的纽约公寓对面开了一家墨西哥玉米卷饼店的时候，她想一周到那儿去吃几次快餐也没什么大不了的。

But before she knew it, the actress and freelance writer was dropping $10 to $15 a week on tacos-that comes to more than $500 a year, or just about enough to pay for a round-trip ticket for her dream trip to Amsterdam. [td]可是在她还未明白是怎么回事之前，这位演员兼自由撰稿人一周在玉米卷饼上花的钱就已达10到15美元（约合人民币61-92元）――那样算下来一年会超过500美元（约合人民币3,053元），换言之，这差不多足够让她买一张往返机票去实现她到阿姆斯特丹的梦幻之旅。

'Dining out has always been a budget buster of mine,' she admits. [td]“在外就餐一直就是我的预算杀手，”她承认说。

Ms. O'Connell decided to rein in her taco habit and save for her trip by wrapping a picture of Amsterdam around her cash and credit cards. [td]奥康奈尔决定控制一下她吃玉米卷饼的习惯，攒钱去旅行。她在她的现金和信用卡外面包了一张阿姆斯特丹的图片。

So far, it's working. She hasn't had a taco in a month. [td]截至目前，这一招很管用。她已经有一个月没有吃玉米卷饼了。

Few of us will have our dreams thwarted by the cost of a couple of tacos, but there's one thing most financial advisers agree on: Americans spend way too much. [td]我们当中没有几个人会因为花钱买了几个玉米卷饼就让自己的梦想化为泡影，但是有一点是大多数财务咨询师都一致同意的：美国人花钱太过大手大脚了。

You may overspend because you're bored, you have no budget or you want to keep up with your neighbors. [td]因为无聊、因为缺乏预算或是因为你想和邻居攀比都可能造成你过度开支。

Or you might be letting your emotions dictate your financial decisions. [td]或者你是一个让你的情绪支配你的财务决策的人。

Whatever the reason, you may be setting yourself up for a financial disaster. [td]不管是什么原因，你都可能让自己陷入财政危机。

But fear not: There are a few ways you can rein in your spending before it's too late. [td]不过不用担心：有几种办法能够在为时过晚之前让你控制住自己的开支。

Tracking your cash flow and tapping into your feelings are two things financial advisers say you can do to curb your urge to spend. [td]财务咨询师说，跟踪你的现金流并发掘自己的情感是两件你可以用来控制消费冲动的事情。

'The spending choices you make now will greatly impact your quality of life later on,' says Patrick McDowell, a Miramar Beach, Fla., financial adviser. [td]“你现在所做的消费抉择会极大地影响到你今后的生活质量，”佛罗里达州米拉马尔海滩(Miramar Beach, Fla.)的财务咨询师帕特里克・麦克道尔(Patrick McDowell)说。

Get a Plan [td]制定计划

Financial planner Jorie Johnson once met with clients who had more than $50,000 in credit-card debt. The Manasquan, N.J., planner asked the couple where the boat or pool or RV was that they purchased to incur such a debt. [td]理财规划师乔里・约翰逊(Jorie Johnson)曾经遇到过信用卡债务超过五万美元（约合人民币30.5万元）的客户，纽约州马纳斯宽市(Manasquan)的这位规划师问那对夫妇，他们大幅举债是不是买了游艇、泳池或房车？

'They couldn't even remember one thing they bought,' Ms. Johnson says. [td]“他们甚至都想不起来自己买过的任何一件东西，”约翰逊说。

Ms. Johnson found out later that all of their debt was from many purchases of under $100 which compounded over time when they paid their credit-card bills late. The wife also had a 'penchant for Target and Old Navy,' Ms. Johnson says. [td]约翰逊后来发现，他们所有的债务来自很多不到100美元的东西，当他们逾期还款时，这些债务就日积月累起来。那位妻子还有“逛塔吉特百货(Target)和老海军服装店(Old Navy)的嗜好，”约翰逊说。

To help her clients get back on track, Ms. Johnson recommended the wife shop only with a list and pay with cash. She also told her to get a part-time job. [td]为了帮助她的客户重回正轨，约翰逊建议那位妻子只照单购物，而且用现金支付。约翰逊还让她去找一份兼职工作。

'If you aren't earning money or sleeping, you're most likely spending,' Ms. Johnson says. [td]“如果你不是在挣钱或者睡觉，你最有可能去花钱，”约翰逊说。

Jeff Duncan says folks usually overspend because they have no budget. [td]杰夫・邓肯(Jeff Duncan)说人们往往因为没有预算而过度花钱。

'Money comes in and money goes out each month without any grasp of what their actual monthly overhead expenses are and what their actual monthly household income is,' says the Little Falls, N.J., financial adviser. [td]“在一点没弄清他们每月的实际固定开支和实际家庭收入的情况下，钱每个月就这么进进出出了，”新泽西州利特尔福尔斯(Little Falls, N.J.)的这位财务咨询师说。

In turn, Mr. Duncan says to create a budget. He also says to set up monthly automatic deductions from your checking account into an emergency savings fund or investment vehicle such as a 401(k) or individual retirement account. That way, the money is siphoned off before you have a chance to spend it. [td]邓肯转而提出要造预算。他还说要设立机制，每个月从你的活期账户中自动扣除资金，放入应急储蓄基金或者投入401(k)或个人退休金账户等投资工具当中。那样的话，钱在你有机会花掉之前就已经抽调走了。

Karol Ward, a New York psychotherapist, says to track everything you spend for a month using a small notebook or an app such as Wally or Mint. Doing that will help you see areas where you may be overspending, she says. [td]纽约的心理治疗师卡罗尔・沃德(Karol Ward)说，可以用一个小本或者用Wally或Mint那样的应用程序来跟踪记录你一个月内花钱买的东西。那样做可以帮助你看到自己可能在哪些方面开支过多，她说。

Understand Your Emotions [td]弄清自己的情感

Ms. Ward recently worked with a client who overspent at restaurants because he was always picking up the check for everyone at the table. [td]沃德最近接待的一名客户在餐馆的花销过多，因为他老是为桌前的每一个人买单。

The client felt insecure about his success and compensated by showing others that he was successful enough to buy dinner. But at the end of the month, he always struggled to pay his credit-card bill. [td]这位客户对自己的成功没有安全感，于是通过向他人显示他的成功足以请客吃饭而获得心理补偿。可是到月底的时候，他总是为偿还信用卡账单而苦苦挣扎。

'Overspending on others actually made him feel less successful because he never had enough money for himself,' Ms. Ward says. [td]在别人身上过多花钱实际上让他的成就感降低了，因为他花在自己身上的钱从来都不够，沃德说。

This client's need to keep up the appearance of success kept him in a perpetual state of anxiety and fueled his feelings of inadequacy, she says. [td]这位客户要维护面子上成功的需求使他长期陷入了焦虑状态，让他心生自卑，她说。

To make more-conscious spending decisions, says Chicago financial psychologist Marty Martin, ask yourself 'What need am I trying to fulfill?' or 'How will I react when the credit-card bill comes in the mail?' [td]芝加哥的财务心理学家马蒂・马丁(Marty Martin)说，为了能做出更清醒的支出决定，你得问自己“我这是要去满足什么需求？”或者“当信用卡账单邮寄来的时候我会如何反应？”

'The key is to be mindful about spending rather than engaging in the automatic behavior which is the goal of the marketers and merchandisers,' he says. [td]“关键是对花钱的行为要留有戒心，而不是只注意营销人员和商家期待的自动行为，”他说。

Seeking the counsel of a coach or minister to help you uncover your feelings about money can also help, Ms. Ward says. [td]向一名指导师或牧师寻求建议、帮助揭示你对金钱的感觉也会很有作用，沃德说。

Lauren Lindsay, a Covington, La., financial planner, recommends waiting 24 hours before making a purchase. And don't take your frustrations out by shopping online, either. 'Take a walk or bath,' she says. [td]路易斯安那州卡温顿市(Covington, La.)的理财规划师劳伦・林赛(Lauren Lindsay)建议买东西前等待24小时，也别通过网上购物来发泄心中的郁闷。“可以去散散步或洗个澡，”她说。

Know Your Hot Buttons [td]知晓对你的决策其起关键作用的因素

In addition, Ms. Lindsay says it's important to know your spending 'hot buttons.' [td]除此以外，林赛说了解在你的消费决定中“起关键作用的因素”非常重要。

For example, Ms. Lindsay says she can spend $100 in Barnes & Noble in about 20 minutes. [td]例如，林赛说她可以在20分钟左右的时间内在巴诺书店(Barnes & Noble)花掉100美元（约合人民币611元）。

Why? She loves to read, and she was very poor when she was young. Other kids owned books, but she had to borrow library books. Returning them always reminded her of her poverty. To this day, books are some of her most treasured possessions. [td]为什么？她热爱读书，而她小时候特别穷。别的孩子有自己的书，可她只能从图书馆借书。还书总是让她意识到自己的贫穷。直到今天，书是她的一部分最宝贵的财产。

In turn, she's set a monthly budget for books so she doesn't overspend. She recommends you do the same for your hot buttons. [td]相应地，她制定了每个月买书的预算，好让自己不会过度开支。她建议你对自己的消费关键因素采取同样的做法。

'Figure out what gives you joy so you can have it in moderation,' she says. [td]“找到愉悦你的东西是什么，这样你可以适度拥有它，”她说。

Constance Stone, a Chagrin Falls, Ohio, financial planner, says to keep a daily gratitude journal to focus on all the 'positives' in your life. This may help you lessen the feelings of 'not having enough,' she says. It could also prompt you to place more value on nonmaterial aspects of life, such as family and friends. [td]俄亥俄州沙格林福尔斯(Chagrin Falls, Ohio)的理财规划师康斯坦丝・斯通(Constance Stone)说，应该每天坚持写感恩日志，专门留意你生活中所有“积极的东西”。这或许能帮助你减少“缺东少西”的感觉，她说。它还能促使你更看重生活中非物质方面的东西，比如家人和朋友。

Prioritizing and setting a time table for buying big-ticket items can also help keep spending in check, says Ms. Stone. [td]按轻重缓急制定购买大件消费品的时间表，也可以帮助你把开支置于可控制的范围之内，斯通说。

San Diego financial planner Peg Eddy says to visualize a big goal, such as retirement-or a dream trip to Amsterdam-that you wish to save for, and recall a picture of it every time you're tempted to spend money on something that doesn't align with your goal. [td]迭戈(San Diego)的理财规划师佩格・埃迪(Peg Eddy)说，可以设想一个远大目标，比如退休――或者到阿姆斯特丹的梦想之旅――你愿意为之积攒资金，每次你禁不住诱惑想要把钱花在与你的目标毫不相干的东西上时，你就想想那个目标愿景。

'Sometimes it can help you understand that cutting back here and there can help underwrite some big goal,' she says. [td]“有时候这能帮助你意识到，处处削减开支可以助你获得实现某一远大目标的经济保障，”她说。

But if you're stuck in a cycle of overspending you may need to take more extreme action, like Ms. Johnson's clients with way too much debt and too little to show for it. Her advice: 'Cut up your credit cards.' [td]但是如果你周而复始地陷入过度消费，就像约翰逊那对身陷巨额债务却拿不出什么东西来的客户一样，你也许需要采取更极端的行动。对此她的建议是：“剪掉你的信用卡。”