Cheap living always starts with keeping the big expenses small. For most of us, that means housing. Amid the real-estate crisis, Mariana and three friends were able to lease a four-bedroom apartment in the upscale Park Slope section of Brooklyn for $3,100 a month. Mariana then volunteered to take the tiniest bedroom (plus a small studio so she could paint)， so her share came to only $750 a month。

　　她的第二大開銷是吃。她加入了附近的一個食品合作社，以便減少食品開銷。當她出去吃飯時，會選擇便宜的飯館。有一次，她在當地一家以份量大、價格低出名的燒銬連鎖店點了一整只雞，只要9.99美元。然后她把雞骨頭打包回家，做成了湯。

　　Her next biggest expense was food. She joined a nearby food cooperative to slash her bill. When she did go out, she'd hit cheap restaurants. Once she ordered a $9.99 whole chicken at a local BBQ chain renowned for its big portions and cheap prices. She then took the chicken bones home and made soup out of them。

　　瑪麗安娜說，有那么幾次，她發現當地一家市場正在扔掉包裝很好的大袋面包，她還把面包揀了回去。不過大部分時間，她的省錢之道都是從食品合作社買大量全麥、豆子、小扁豆、花生醬和新鮮蔬菜來吃。她每周會吃幾次肉。

　　A couple of times, Mariana says, she did some Dumpster-diving when she spotted a local market throwing out 'big bags of bread perfectly packaged.' But for the most part, she saved money by eating lots of whole grains, beans, lentils, peanut butter and fresh vegetables from the food co-op. She ate meat a couple of times a week。

　　年輕人常常在娛樂上花很多錢。與此相反，瑪麗安娜說她在紐約的大部分時間都是去享受免費的東西。她會去建議參觀者捐款的博物館，而不是有固定門票價格的博物館。

　　Young people often spend big bucks on entertainment. By contrast, Mariana says she spent most of her time in New York doing things that were free. She went to museums that have suggested donations, not a fixed admission price。

　　她說，我最享受的一些東西并不非常貴，我最喜歡在紐約四處閑逛。

　　'The things I enjoy most aren't very expensive,' she says. 'The thing I love most about New York City is walking around.'

　　當她和朋友出去玩時，她會慫恿朋友們在出去之前先喝瓶葡萄酒，這樣她在夜店里就不會太想喝酒了。不錯，有幾次她把葡萄酒藏在外套里偷偷帶進了夜店，而不是在那里買酒喝。夜店店主們：我向你們道歉。這就是我養大的女兒。

　　When she did go out with friends, she would encourage friends to share a bottle of wine before so she wouldn't feel like drinking much at the club. And, yes, a couple of times she smuggled in a bottle of wine under her coat instead of buying drinks. Nightclub owners: You have my apologies. This is the daughter I raised。

　　瑪麗安娜這樣節儉地度日會感到缺少點什么嗎？沒有。她甚至還進行了兩次旅行，一次是去荷蘭，一次是去俄勒岡州波特蘭市，兩次都是住在朋友家里，一共花了她2,000美元。

　　Did Mariana feel deprived by living on the cheap? Not really. She even managed to take a couple of trips, one to the Netherlands, the other to Portland, Ore., staying with friends both times. The two trips cost her a total of $2,000.

　　我雖然對瑪麗安娜的節儉引以為豪，卻并不想讓大家把她當作榜樣。由于獎學金豐厚，加上父母的資助，她大學畢業的時候無債一身輕。而很多年輕人必須借錢才能完成學業，這就意味著他們畢業的時候必須賺更多的錢。

　　While I'm proud of Mariana's thrift, I'm not trying to hold her up as a model for the masses. She came out of college with no debt, thanks to some big scholarships and help from Mom and Dad. Many youths can only get through by borrowing money, and it means they have to earn more money when they graduate。

　　其他一些同齡的年輕人已經結婚生子了，而瑪麗安娜的游戲計劃對他們也不適用。不管怎么說，她節儉度日的能力讓她有更大的自由來做自己想做的事。

　　Other young adults her age already have started families, and Mariana's game plan wouldn't work for them either. Nonetheless, her ability to live cheaply gives her more freedom to do what she wants to do。

　　或許她的自由太多了。幾個月前，瑪麗安娜知會我們她打算辭去出版工作，這樣她就能搬到北卡羅來納州埃什維爾了，在那兒她仍是與一個朋友合用一個房間。她的房租每月只有350美元。她發現，通過做兼職和動用積蓄，她能把更多的時間放在自己新的愛好──畫畫上。她認為，在埃什維爾比在競爭高度激烈的紐約藝術圈更容易展示自己的才能。

　　Perhaps too much freedom. A couple of months ago, Mariana informed us she planned to quit her publishing job so that she could move to Asheville, N.C., where she will share a room with a friend. Her rent: just $350 a month. She figures by working part-time and drawing on her savings, she can devote more time to her new passion: painting. And she thinks it will be easier getting showings in Asheville than in the hypercompetitive New York art scene。

　　我和妻子都告訴她，在衰退正當頭之際辭去一份有健康保險的工作是瘋狂的做法。不過，瑪麗安娜再次追隨自己的夢想。事情就是這樣。孩子們要過他們自己的生活，而不是我們希望他們過的生活。

　　Both my wife and I told her it was crazy to quit a job with health insurance in the middle of the recession. But once again, Mariana is following her own star. That's the way it goes. Our kids live their lives, not the ones we want them to live。

　　至于瑪麗安娜，自12月初辭職以來，她只有一個變化。她說，因為沒了收入，我過得更加節儉了。

　　As for Mariana, she has already made one change since quitting her job in early December. 'I'm living more cheaply since I don't have an income,' she says。

　　真不愧是我的女兒。

　　That's my girl。