受通脹危機影響，美國物價漲幅創(chuàng)下了四十年新高。曾經以消費主義著稱的美國人從“買買買”轉變?yōu)椤吧兑膊毁I”，許多人都加入了物品交換互助小組。

Prices in the US soared 7% last year - the biggest annual increase in nearly four decades. Now US consumers - whose spending powers the world's largest economy - are starting to signal they have had enough.

去年美國物價飆升了7%，創(chuàng)下了近四十年來年度漲幅新高。用買買買來撐起全球最大經濟體的美國消費者如今也開始表露出買夠了的跡象。

"I find now, that I'm constantly tracking the cost of certain items," Sevan Tavoukdjian says. "It's changed which items I buy."

34歲的演員塞萬·塔沃克德吉安說：“我現在發(fā)現自己不停地關注特定商品的價格，這種習慣也改變了我對商品的選擇。”

The 34-year-old actor moved into his own apartment in New York City last month and when he saw how much it would cost to furnish it, he was shocked at the prices being charged.

塞萬上個月搬進了自己在紐約市的公寓，當他發(fā)現裝修要花這么多錢時震驚不已。

So, he scrapped plans to buy furniture and instead sent a message to his neighbourhood “Buy Nothing” Facebook group, where people offer unwanted items for free.

因此他放棄了購買新家具的計劃，轉而在本地社區(qū)的“啥也不買”臉書小組里發(fā)了一條信息。這個小組的人將自己不需要的物品免費提供給大家。

The average American family had to spend roughly $3,500 more last year than in 2020 for the same goods and services due to inflation, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.

賓夕法尼亞大學沃頓商學院的研究人員指出，受通貨膨脹的影響，美國普通家庭去年購買同樣的商品和服務比2020年大約多花了3500美元（約合人民幣2.2萬元）。

Housing costs were up 4.2%, grocery bills jumped 6.3% and clothing prices were 5.8% higher. Living and dining furniture - like Mr Tavoukdjian was seeking - saw one of the biggest spikes, rising more than 17%.

住房成本上漲了4.2%，食品雜貨費用上漲了6.3%，服裝價格上漲了5.8%。塞萬原本打算購買的客廳和餐廳家具漲幅最高，超過了17%。

But salaries have not kept up with the increases, pushing people to forego purchases, substitute cheaper alternatives, or - like Sevan - hunt for something free.

但是人們的收入卻沒有隨之上漲，這迫使人們放棄購買一些東西，尋找更廉價的替代品，或者和塞萬一樣去搜尋免費的東西。

The situation has driven a surge in activity on neighbourhood exchanges such as the Buy Nothing Project, building on growth since the start of the pandemic.

這種情況促使“啥也不買”小組等平臺的社區(qū)物品交換活動激增。自從疫情暴發(fā)以來，這個小組的交易量就持續(xù)增長。

Membership in the group has more than doubled over the past two years to more than 5.3 million globally. It recently added an app to cope with demand.

“啥也不買”小組的會員數量在過去兩年翻了一番還不止，目前全球會員數量超過了530萬人。為了應付需求，最近該小組還新增了一款手機應用軟件。

At Freecycle, a similar site where participants typically offer up some 20,000 items each day, the number of posts each day has increased by about 15% in recent months, driven by the financial concerns, founder Deron Beal says.

在與之類似的Freecycle網站，會員每天能提供約2萬件物品。據該網站創(chuàng)始人德龍·比爾透露，由于人們對經濟狀況感到擔憂，近幾個月該網站每日發(fā)帖量增加了15%左右。

Mr Tavoukdjian says he's been amazed by what people are offering in his local Buy Nothing group: everything from never-been-used pillows and plates, to hand-me-down children's toys and clothes - and sometimes more off-beat items such as breast milk.

塞萬表示，本地的“啥都不買”小組所能提供的物品讓他大開眼界，從嶄新的枕頭和盤子，到二手兒童玩具和服裝，有時候還會提供一些不尋常的東西，比如母乳。

His own plea for help was amply answered. Within days, he had transformed his bare-bones New York City studio into a home, adding five chairs, two small tables, two lamps, a sofa, rug, microwave, toaster, several sets of dishes, paintings and half a dozen throw pillows.

他的求助得到了很多回應。僅僅數日，他就把家徒四壁的紐約工作室改造成了一個家，添置了五把椅子、兩張小桌子、兩盞燈、一個沙發(fā)、一張小地毯、一個微波爐、一個烤面包機、幾組盤子、幾幅油畫，還有六個抱枕。

But the shock of the prices from his initial search has lingered.

但是當初家具價格給他帶來的打擊仍讓他心有余悸。

When his vacuum cleaner broke recently, he didn't pull out his wallet for a new one. He headed to Buy Nothing for help.

最近他的吸塵器壞了，他沒有花錢買一臺新的，而是直接上“啥也不買”小組求助。

"They’ve made a massive difference,” he says. “It’s amazing what’s out there.”

他說：“這個小組讓我的生活發(fā)生了巨變。真的讓人受益良多?！?/p>

英文來源：BBC

翻譯&編輯：丹妮