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Squeezed by inflation, families are tightening their holiday budgets
通胀阴影笼罩美假日购物季，消费者不再“买买买”
Anya Remy, a human resources professional in Maryland, has felt the pain of high inflation in recent months. So, she asked her kids to cut down their Christmas lists and has been searching for the best deals.
安雅·雷米在马里兰州从事人力资源工作。近几个月，她感受到了高通胀对生活的影响。因此，她要求孩子们削减圣诞购物清单，并一直在比价。
"It's a lot less spending this year and a lot more budgeting and prioritizing," Remy told CNN. "It's a few items for the kids this year, as opposed to getting them all of the things on their list."
雷米告诉CNN：“今年我们的支出减少了很多，做了预算和排序。今年孩子们只能挑选几样礼物，我们不能满足他们所有的愿望。”
A November Quinnipiac poll found 47% of Americans have less in savings than they did just a year ago. The same poll found 42% plan to spend less on gifts this season and only 8% plan to spend more.
美国昆尼皮亚克大学11月的一项民意调查发现，47%的美国人储蓄比一年前少。调查还发现，42%的受访者今年购物季计划减少礼物支出，只有8%的受访者计划增加支出。
Overall holiday spending hasn't slowed yet, according to the National Retail Federation, but many families are making sacrifices to buy presents for their loved ones.
全美零售商联合会称，圣诞假期的整体消费还未放缓，但许多家庭已经在为礼物开支而让步。
Janette Duvall, a school bus driver in Maryland, is relying on coupons for the first time to afford gifts for her family. While inflation is squeezing her budget, she wants to make sure her kids have something to open on Christmas, even if she can't buy anything for herself.
马里兰州校车司机珍妮特·杜瓦尔第一次用优惠券为家人买礼物。高通胀限制了她的预算，即使不能为自己买任何东西，她仍希望孩子们在圣诞节能够收到礼物。
"I will do whatever I can, but I will, of course, look for something cheaper this year," she said. "Not everybody will have the same quality of gift they used to get."
杜瓦尔说：“我会尽我所能，但今年我肯定会选择更便宜的。并不是每个人都会得到与以往一样的礼物。”
In a Gallup poll this month, 55% of Americans said rising prices have caused financial hardship for their household, and 13% say that hardship is "severe."
本月盖洛普民意调查显示，55%的美国人表示物价上涨使他们囊中羞涩，13%的人表示经济“非常”困难。
Second-grade teacher Lindsay Cook said her family has been living paycheck to paycheck for the first time.
二年级教师林赛·库克称，她家第一次过上“月光族”的生活。
For months, she and her husband, a school security officer, have been dipping into savings and using credit cards to keep up with higher prices on food, gas, energy and more, as they take care of their two children.
库克的丈夫是一名学校警卫，家里有两个孩子。几个月来，为了负担上涨的食品、汽油、能源支出，他们一直在动用储蓄和信用卡。
Budgeting for the holidays, she said, has been daunting.
库克表示，制定假期购物预算令人头疼。
"How do you create a budget when you don't have any sort of extra income," she said. "I'm just trying to limit the amount of extra spending that I'm doing and try to pull from whatever savings I have left."
她说：“当你没有任何额外收入时，该如何制定预算。我只想尽量限制我的额外支出，并试图把我所剩的全部储蓄取出来。”
Recession concerns are also impacting family spending.
对经济衰退的担忧也影响着家庭支出。
Karissa Warren spoke with CNN in March when she could barely afford to fill her gas tank because of surging fuel prices.
今年3月，卡里莎·沃伦曾接受CNN采访。当时由于油价飙升，她几乎没钱加满油箱。
With gas prices down, and after receiving a raise at work, Warren felt more secure heading into the holidays. Then she received news that she's getting laid off from her job.
随着天然气价格的下降，以及获得加薪，沃伦以为自己可以安度假期。但现在，她收到了被解雇的消息。
"It just kind of blew everything up," she said about her budget. "Now, it's like, anything extra is out of the question."
谈到购物预算，沃伦称：“这简直是把一切都搞砸了。现在，任何额外支出都是不可能的。”
来源：CNN
编辑：董静
本文转载自中国日报网，如有侵权，请联系我们删除。
