迷你播客：现在是不是该禁止不必要的圣诞礼物了？距离圣诞节还有100天，马丁分享减轻开支与压力的实用建议

这个BBC播客在英国以外的地区由广告支持。

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside The UK.

欢迎来到幽灵图书馆。

Welcome to the haunted library.

你是来找故事的吗？

Have you come in search of a tale?

这个播客邀请你在书架间漫步，寻找那些在你离开后仍会久久萦绕的故事。

This podcast invites you to browse the shelves and find stories that will linger long after you've left this place.

从哥特式杰作到廉价惊悚小说，我是科林·摩根，每周两期新节目，和我一起探索吧。

From gothic masterpieces to pulpy penny dreadfuls, join me, Colin Morgan, with new episodes twice a week.

无论你在哪里收听播客，都能找到《幽灵图书馆》。

Find the haunted library wherever you get your podcasts.

全年都有很多银行会付钱让你换到他们那里。

Right across the year, there are many banks that will pay you to switch to them.

现在是抓住免费银行换户现金的好时机。

This is a perfect time to grab the free bank switching cash.

有时候最好的礼物，可能就是让别人不用再费心给你买礼物。

Sometimes the best gift may be releasing someone from the obligation of having to buy for you.

我建议大家达成共识，搞一个‘无必要礼物’约定。

When I suggest people agree, a no unnecessary present pack.

低调。

Humble.

大家好，吼吼吼。

Hello and ho ho ho.

我是马丁·刘易斯，欢迎收听这个巧妙命名的《马丁·刘易斯播客》。

I'm Martin Lewis, and this is the cunningly named the Martin Lewis podcast.

我也好奇这期会讲什么。

I do wonder what that's gonna be about.

这是我们的大主题特辑，每周我们都会聚焦一个主要话题，帮你省钱。

And this is our big topic episode where each week we lead on one main subject to help you save.

通常这个环节来自我和阿德里安·查尔斯一起主持的BBC广播五台直播节目，但今天不一样。

Now normally, it comes from my BBC Radio five live show with Adrian Charles, but not today.

哦，不。

Oh, no.

这期是播客独有的圣诞前准备特别节目。

This is a pod only pre Christmas preparation special.

现在做这些事情，能帮你省钱，更重要的是，能让你在圣诞节当天少些压力。

A host of things that if you do them now should save you cost and more importantly stress on the big day.

本期播客中，只要换家银行，就能在圣诞节前免费拿到240英镑。

In this podcast, a free £240 in time for Christmas just by switching bank.

现在有很多玩具促销，虽然早了点，但往往是最适合提前为圣诞采购的时机。

Then there are a host of toy sales on right now, the early ones but often the best time to buy in time for Christmas.

接下来是重头戏：现在是不是该禁止不必要的圣诞礼物了？

Then the big one, is this the time for you to ban unnecessary Christmas presents?

让我们把圣诞节去商业化，回归它本来的意义。

Let's decommercialize Christmas and bring it back to what it's meant to be.

然后我们继续聊聊怎么玩“虚张声势”这个游戏。

We'll move on then to how to play basket bluff.

不是。

No.

这不是圣诞节当天玩的游戏。

It's not a game for Christmas day.

这是一种可以操控在线商店，让他们给你折扣券的方法。

It's a way you can manipulate online stores to get them to give you a discount voucher.

我还想提醒你，要小心礼品卡和优惠券。

I also want to talk you through why you should beware of gift cards and vouchers.

还有很多很多内容。

And there's lots, lots more.

播放主题曲。

Play the theme tune.

哇，等等。

Woah there.

这是关于提前准备，而不是提前庆祝。

This is about early preparation, not early celebration.

九月份没人需要听铃儿响叮当。

Nobody needs jingle bells in September.

放正常的主题曲吧。

Play the normal theme.

大家好，欢迎收听本周的播客。这次只有播客，不过我有播客制作人马特一起。

Hello, and welcome to this week's podcast, and it's pod only this time, but I'm joined by podcast producer, Matt.

你好，马特。

Hello, Matt.

你好。

Hello.

马特刚从《问答时间》播客那边过来。

Now Matt is fresh from the Question Time podcast.

从《问答时间》播客过来这边路上怎么样？

How was your commute from Question Time podcast over to

到《大问题》播客？

the Big Issues podcast?

又长又辛苦。

Long and arduous.

是的。

Yes.

我的意思是，我就坐在同一个演播室里，我们是一个接一个录的。

Mean, I sat in the same studio, we're recording one after the other.

所以应该都没问题。

So it should all be fine.

今天我们要聊圣诞节。

And we're gonna be talking Christmas today.

你是个很重视圣诞节的人吗？

Are you a big Christmas doer?

圣诞节怎么样？

How about Christmas?

因为你没有孩子，所以没孩子的人总是有点不一样。

Because you don't have kids, so it's always slightly different people who don't have kids.

那你呢，圣诞节对你来说是一年中的大日子，还是就普通一天？

Where are you in the is it big big time of the year for you or is it just a day?

圣诞节当天对我来说挺重要的。

Christmas Day itself, yes.

但我不喜欢圣诞前的那些准备。

I don't like the run up to Christmas.

我不喜欢冬天。

I don't like winter.

太冷了。

It's too cold.

天太灰了。

It's too gray.

天黑得太快了。

It gets dark too quickly.

但圣诞节是个不错的庆祝时刻，能见到家人。

But Christmas is a nice bit of like celebration seeing family.

所以我喜欢圣诞节当天，也喜欢节礼日。

So I like Christmas Day and I like Boxing Day.

所以，我是说，很高兴你能来，因为在这里我总得说一句，我是过光明节的，不是过圣诞节的。

So, I mean, glad we got you here because I should always say at this point, I'm a Hanukkah man, not a Christmas man.

我其实不怎么过圣诞节，但我们过光明节，而且很多规矩都挺相似的。

I don't really do Christmas, but we do Hanukkah and a lot of the rules are very similar for that.

而且它也在一年中差不多的时候。

And it comes at a similar time of the year.

不过光明节是按农历算的，所以每年日期都会变。

Though Hanukkah is on the lunar calendar, so it moves each year.

通常是在十二月中旬到一月中旬之间，而且经常跟圣诞节时间差不多。

It's normally sometime between mid December and sort of mid January, and often can be around the Christmas time.

它也是一个类似的、欢乐的冬季节日。

And it's a similar jolly winter festival.

所以你看，今天的目标，就像我刚才说的，是提前准备，不是提前庆祝。

So look, the aim today, as I've already mentioned, this is about early preparation, not early celebration.

所以对于那些庆祝圣诞节和其他节日的人来说，这总是一笔不小的开销。

So for those who do celebrate Christmas and other festivals, it is always a significant financial event.

这意味着需要提前规划和准备，而不是临时抱佛脚，那样往往只会导致额外的花费和压力。

And that means it needs planning and preparation rather than a last minute grab and dash, which only tends to lead to sort of extra expenditure and extra stress.

所以今天我想做的，是我列了一份圣诞节准备的小贴士清单，想逐一过一遍，有些很实用，有些则更偏哲学一点，可能还有点争议。我们到时候再说那些有争议的。

So what I want to do today, I've got a list of Christmas preparation tips I want to go through, some practical, some a little bit more philosophical and perhaps controversial, We'll get to those when we get to them.

我可能会用那个来给这期播客起标题，因为这样更多人可能会来听那些有争议的部分，不过也有很多实用的内容。

I'll probably title the pod on that because then more people will probably listen when they listen to the controversial bits, but lots of practicals too.

为了让这期播客顺利进行，我已经给你列了一份清单。

And to do this nice and smoothly as it's pod only, I've given you a list.

你拿到清单了吗？

Do you have the list?

我能看到清单。

I can see the list.

因为你在这里，马特。

Because you're here, Matt.

我在这儿。

I'm here.

我可不想让你对今天这个角色太兴奋。

And I don't want you to get all overexcited about this role that you've got today.

要点列表非常重要。

Bullet points are very important.

没有要点列表，你就没有故事。

Without a bullet point, you wouldn't have a story.

没有要点列表，什么都不会推进。

Without a bullet point, nothing would come forward.

所以你给我一个主题，然后我就围绕那个主题即兴发挥，就像我们是一个金融爵士乐节目一样。

So you're gonna give me a subject, and then I'm gonna riff on that subject like we were some time of financial jazz program.

真让人兴奋。

How exciting.

就这样。

There we go.

那么，马特，你的第一个要点是什么？

So what is your first bullet point, Matt?

我的第一个要点是关于换银行拿免费现金的？

My first bullet point's on free cash from bank switching?

现在做这件事的原因是，全年都有很多银行会付钱让你换到他们那里。

So the reason for doing this right now is right across the year, there are many banks that will pay you to switch to them.

这实际上就是合法贿赂，吸引新客户来把银行账户转过去。

They are effectively legal bribes for new customers to come in and move their bank account.

所以，如果你很喜欢现在的银行账户，你可能就不想这么做。

So if you love your existing bank account, you might not want to do this.

但如果你觉得你的银行账户没什么特别的，也不喜欢它，那现在绝对是抓住这笔免费换行现金的好时机。

But if your bank account isn't special and you don't like it, then absolutely, this is a perfect time to grab the free bank switching cash.

而且换银行账户真的不是什么大事。

And it really isn't a big deal switching bank account.

大多数人都告诉我，这很简单，没什么麻烦。

Most people tell me it's easy and hassle free.

你需要通过一个不算太严格的信用检查。

You do have to pass a not too harsh credit check.

通常没有信用卡的信用检查那么严格。

It's not as harsh as a credit card credit check normally.

而且你必须使用他们所说的新银行的七个工作日转账服务。

And you must use what they call the seven working day switch service of the new bank.

实际上，七个工作日大概相当于十天。

Now, seven working days is in practice about ten days.

这个服务会帮你关闭旧银行账户，转移余额，所以账户里的钱会自动转过去，还会转移你的定期付款和直接借记。

What this does closes your old bank account for you, moves over your balance, so any money in it is automatically moved over, moves over your standing orders, moves over your direct debits.

所有这些都会帮你处理好，而且任何付到旧账户的钱都会自动转到新账户。

All this is done for you, And any payments made to the old bank account are automatically forwarded to the new one.

虽然你需要告诉别人你的新账户信息，但这只是意味着你有时间去做，因为钱不会丢。

Though you would want to tell people your new bank account details, but this just means you've got time to do it because the money wouldn't be lost.

你知道，如果他们付钱给你，你仍然会收到。

You know, if they pay you, you'll still get it.

现在这种优惠特别多。

There are loads of them at the moment.

我给大家详细说说几个给钱最多的，然后快速过一下其他的。

I'm gonna give you a bit more detail of the few top payers and then just run quickly through the others.

不过即便如此，因为做播客不能太啰嗦，我不会把每个细节都讲得特别细。

Now even then, because it make very bordering podcasting, I'm not gonna dot every I and cross every t.

你们还是得自己去查完整的资格条件。

You do need to look up the full eligibility criteria.

通常，你需要转几个直接借记过去之类的才能符合条件。

Normally, you need to move a couple of direct debits across and stuff to qualify.

那我们就快速过几个吧，我会告诉你们付款日期，前提是你们在最快时间内满足所有条件，就在我们发布播客的当天，也就是周五，你们能收到钱的日子。

But let's just try and run through a few, and I'll tell you when I give you a payment date, that is if you fulfilled all the criteria as quickly as possible today on the day we're putting the podcast out, which is a Friday, the date that you would be paid by.

开始吧。

Here goes.

目前给现金最多的是桑坦德的Everyday账户，给240英镑。

So the biggest payer of free cash at the moment is the Santander Everyday that's giving you £240.

要符合条件，你需要在六十天内总共存入一千五百英镑。

To qualify it, you need to pay in a total of £1,500 within sixty days.

也就是说，你的账户里要有这么多钱进账。

That literally means you have that amount going in.

如果你存一百英镑，可以取出一百英镑，然后再存更多的钱。

Now if you put a £100 in, you could take a £100 out, and you could put more money in.

关键是进账的钱，而且你还需要向关联的8%定期储蓄账户存入超过两百英镑。

It's just the money going in that counts, and you also have to fund its linked 8% regular savings account with over £200.

同样，这笔钱也可以取出来。

Again, that can be withdrawn.

如果你今天完成所有这些操作，最快能在十二月十七号拿到这笔现金。

Do all that, and the quickest you could have the cash paid if you did it today would be the December 17.

接下来是其他几个，记住这些都是针对新客户的，所以如果你已经有一个，可以换到另一个。

Next top, and they're all for newbies, remember, so if you've got one of these, you can move to a different one.

汇丰银行免费给你两百二十英镑，但你需要总共存入两千英镑。

HSBC is giving you £220 for free, and you need to pay in a total of £2,000.

同样，你可以分次存入，然后在它的借记卡上消费500英镑。

Again, you can do that in bits and bobs, and put £500 on its debit card.

这样做就行。

Do that.

现金最快可能在11月24日到账。

The cash could be paid by the November 24.

First Direct，这是一个各方面都不错的账户。

First Direct, which is a good all rounder account.

它免费给你210英镑。

It gives you £210 for free.

它的服务评价很高。

It's top rated for service.

它有一个关联的7%利率的定期储蓄账户。

It's got a 7% linked regular savings account.

大多数人能获得2000英镑的透支额度。

Most people get a 2000% overdraft.

它还有一张很棒的境外消费借记卡。

It's got a top overseas debit card.

要符合条件，你只需要总共存入一千英镑。

To qualify for that, you just need to pay in a total of a thousand pounds.

同样，你可以分几次存，然后进行至少五笔借记卡交易，并登录网上银行。

Again, you can do it in bits and bobs and make five or more debit card payments and log into its online banking.

这样你就能在10月20日前拿到这笔现金。

Then you could get the cash paid by the October 20.

然后还有Club Lloyd's的新账户，能免费拿200英镑。

And then you've got a new account from Club Lloyd's, which is a free £200.

它还送你12个月的Disney Plus，还有其他一些不错的福利。

And it also gives you twelve months Disney Plus has got some other good point perks too.

条件是每月最低存入2000英镑。

That is a minimum payment of £2,000 a month.

你可以在10月8日前拿到这笔钱。

You could get that by the October 8.

还有NatWest的奖励账户，能拿到200英镑，10月25号前到账。

You've got NatWest reward, which is £200 that could be paid by the October 25.

还有Nationwide的Flex Direct账户，能拿175英镑，10月5号前到账。

You've got Nationwide Flex Direct, which is a £175 that could be paid by the October 5.

如果你年收入超过10万英镑，那还有几个选择。

And if you earn over a £100,000 a year, then you've got a couple more out there.

汇丰的Premier账户能给你500英镑，NatWest的Premier Rewards也能给你500英镑。

HSBC Premier that'll give you £500 and NatWest Premier Rewards that will give you £500 too.

如果这些听起来不错，就去查查看吧。

Go and look all those up if they sound interesting to you.

但我现在想说的重点是，嘿嘿嘿，只要换个银行，就能拿到免费的钱，为圣诞节添点资金。

But the big message from me at the moment, ho ho ho, free cash to boost your coffers for Christmas just by changing your bank.

谁能拒绝这个呢？

Who could say no to that?

嗯，很多人可能会拒绝，因为……

Well, loads of people who

喜欢他们现在的银行，但这只是一个你可能想做的想法。

like their existing bank, but it's just an idea that you might want to do it.

你的下一个要点是什么？

What's your next bullet point?

下一个，玩具促销现在开始了。

Next one, toy sales are now on.

是的，人们常常觉得好笑，我们现在是九月，玩具促销就开始了。

Yeah, people often think it's quite funny that we're in September at the moment and toy sales are on.

这些是省钱达人会关注的早期圣诞促销。

These are the early Christmas sales that money savers tend to go for.

所以那些知道自己想给孩子买什么的人，现在是去囤货的好时机。

So those people who know what they want to buy their children, this is a good time to go and stock up on those toys.

Argos有高达50%的折扣。

You've got Argos is up to 50% off.

我们随机挑了10件商品来测试这个促销的力度。

Now we did 10 random items on this to see how good the sale is.

因为他们说最高打五折，那到底是什么意思呢？

Because when they say up to 50%, what does that mean?

我的意思是，可能只打一折也叫最高打五折。

I mean, it could be 1% is up to 50%.

所以我们随机挑了10件商品。

So 10 items picked at item.

对。

Yes.

随机挑的10件商品平均折扣是29%。

10 items picked at random had an average discount of 29%.

阿斯达也有最高五折的优惠，随机商品便宜了30%，而乐购的大卖场有五折优惠，截止到11月1日周日。

Asda also has an up to 50% off and random items there were 30% cheaper and Tesco larger stores has a 50% off that ends on Sunday, November 1.

所以如果你在这些地方购物，想买玩具的话，现在是个不错的时机。

So if you shop in any of those places, you're looking to buy toys, this isn't a bad time to do it.

下一个要点。

Next bullet.

下一条。

Next bullet.

看来你是说还有时间分摊成本，减轻负担。

Apparently, you say there's still time to spread the cost to ease the pain.

对，我们开始进入正题。圣诞节的问题在于，对人们来说，通常要花700英镑。

Yeah, so we're starting to get into Look, the problem with Christmas is it's a typical cost of £700 for people.

如果不提前规划，这笔钱就得从十二月的收入里出。

And if you don't plan, that has to come from December's income.

这可不是一笔小数目。

Now that's quite hefty.

大多数人暑假都不会这么花钱。

I mean, most people wouldn't do that on the summer holiday.

他们会提前存钱来支付暑假的费用，圣诞节也应该这样。

They would have money put aside to pay for the summer holiday, and Christmas is akin to that.

所以如果你还没存钱，可以从九月的工资里挤出四分之一，十月的工资，十一月的工资，再加上十二月的工资，钱就够了。

So if you haven't put any aside yet, you could trans squeeze a quarter of what's needed from your September pay, your October pay and your November pay too, then coupled with the December pay, you have the money.

你可以把钱存进高收益储蓄账户，比如Spring现在给5%的利率，最高可存5000英镑；Kahoot也给5%，最高3000英镑。这样你还能赚点利息。

You can put it into top savings like Spring is paying 5% and up to £5,000 or Kahoot is paying 5% and up to £3,000 in the meantime, so you gain a little interest.

但重点其实不在于赚多少利息。

But it's less really about the interest you gain.

更重要的是，你不想在圣诞节后每个月为之前的开销买单，还要额外付利息。

It's more that what you don't want to do is be paying each month after Christmas for what you've spent and having to pay interest on top.

最好是在圣诞节前每个月存钱，还能让他们给你利息。

Far better to pay each month before Christmas and get them to give you interest on top.

所以这只是一个提醒。

So it's just a little call.

如果你打算在圣诞节花钱，圣诞债务可是个噩梦，会导致巨大的财务后遗症。

If you are gonna be spending at Christmas, Christmas debt is a nightmare, leads to a huge financial hangover.

如果你还没考虑过，而且觉得从12月的收入里拿出这笔钱太多的话，那就尽量从现在开始存钱吧。

If you haven't thought about it yet and it's too much to pay out of December's income, start putting money aside now if you possibly can.

好的，那你面前清单上还有什么？

Okay, and what is on the list that you've got in front of you?

我知道，但不然的话，整场就我一个人在说了。

I mean, I know, but otherwise it'd just be me talking the whole way through.

现在是时候禁止那些没必要的圣诞礼物了吗？

Is it time to ban unnecessary Christmas presents?

是的。

Yes.

所以这是个大问题。

So this is the big one.

而且我们在这个时间点讨论它真的很重要。

And it's really important that we're doing it at this time of year.

很多年前，大概十五年前，我第一次写这个话题的时候，我特别紧张，还担心会遭到反对。

Now, years ago, fifteen years ago, when I first wrote about this, I was really nervous and expecting a backlash.

结果，回应来自那些松了一口气的人，他们觉得，这其实不是要立法禁止没必要的圣诞礼物。

Instead, the response was from relieved people who feel that on the back of this, this isn't about a law to ban unnecessary Christmas presents.

这其实是关于和你的亲朋好友们说，嘿，今年咱们能不能稍微放松一点？

This is about talking to your wider group of friends and family and saying, Hey, shall we just chill it a little bit this year?

我收到的反馈是，人们觉得这样能获得更多时间、更多空间、更多乐趣。

The response I got from people was that they get more time, more space, more enjoyment.

有些人联系我说，这让他们重新找回了圣诞的感觉，因为这让他们更接近圣诞的真正意义。

Some people have got in touch with me to say it's reinvigorated Christmas for them because it brings them closer to what Christmas is about.

现在，我们一开始就把话说清楚。

Now let's be very plain from the start.

我们说的不是父母、祖父母给孩子或近亲买礼物。

We're not talking about gifts from parents and grandparents for children or for close family.

我们说的是那些越来越大的朋友圈、同事圈和亲戚圈，我们觉得必须给他们买礼物。

This is about that ever widening circle of friends, colleagues, and relatives that we feel we need to buy for.

我在这里要传达的核心信息是，有时候最好的礼物可能是让别人不再有义务为你买礼物。

And my big message here is sometimes the best gift may be releasing someone from the obligation of having to buy for you.

所以现在正是时候，因为如果你拖得太晚，别人已经给你买了，那就来不及了，你也没法这么做了。

And that's why now is the right moment, because if you leave it too late and someone's already bought for you, it's gone and you can't really do this.

所以现在在九月做这件事，在大多数人开始进入圣诞购物高峰之前，绝对很重要。

So doing this now in September, before we started to get into the main shopping period for most people for Christmas gifts is absolutely important.

这背后其实有一套很深的道理。

And there is a big long philosophy behind this.

圣诞节送礼物，从人类学的角度来看，其实已经偏离了传统送礼的本意。

Christmas gift giving doesn't follow anthropologically the reason that we traditionally did gift giving.

说白了，我们就是互相交换礼物，然后觉得有义务回礼。

I mean, we simply swap presents and we feel an obligation to reciprocate.

其实，送礼在古代社会最初是一种社会储蓄的形式。

Now, the reason gift giving started in ancient societies was a form of social banking.

你可以这样理解：以前参加婚礼时，社区里年长、比较富裕的人会给年轻人送礼，帮他们开启新生活。

So if you think about it like this, when you would go to a wedding, older, more affluent members of the community would give gifts to younger members of the community to help them start off their life.

然后等这些年轻人年纪大了，变成年长、富裕的人，他们再把礼物送给新一批年轻人。

And then as those younger members of the community age, they would become the older, more affluent people and they would give it to the new group of younger people.

这样你就明白我说的社会储蓄是什么意思了。

And you can see what I mean by social banking.

但圣诞节送礼，其实是一场零和游戏。

But at Christmas, it's a zero sum game.

钱和物品都没有净流动。

There's no net movement of money or goods.

关键问题是，这可能导致人们花钱的优先级被搞乱。

And the crucial thing here is this can result in misprioritizing somebody's spending.

那我们这么说吧，马特。

So let's take it this way, Matt.

如果我送你礼物，咱们是朋友，而不是我们现在这种关系——我们是朋友，但也是同事。

If I gave you and we're mates, as opposed to the relationship that we have at the moment, which we are friends, but we're colleagues.

对。

Yes.

如果我送你一条40英镑的围巾，你会觉得你需要做什么？

If I gave you a £40 scarf, what would you feel you needed to do?

回送你一份40英镑的礼物。

Return a £40 gift to you.

没错，没错。

Exactly, exactly.

而且你连要点都没列，就直接做到了。

And without even the bullet points, you did that.

确实。

That is.

有人会觉得，我工作干得不错。

Someone's like, I'm good at my job.

对，所以你得买回差不多价值的东西回礼，这是社交惯例。

Yeah, so you would have to buy back something of similar value, that's what the social convention is.

如果双方都负担得起、有时间，那没问题。但如果你觉得，我要大方一点，送东西给一个正在困难中的人，他们还是会觉得需要回礼。

And while that's fine if both people can afford it and they've got the time, If you're feeling, I'm gonna be generous and to give to somebody who's struggling, they will still feel that need to reciprocate to you.

这实际上可能意味着他们为你送的礼物花了40英镑。

And that could effectively mean they're spending £40 on the gift you gave them.

就是那条围巾的40英镑。

So £40 on that scarf.

而他们可能更愿意把这40英镑花在给孩子买吃的或付账单上，而不是给你回礼。

And whereas they might have preferred to spend £40 on feeding their children or paying the bills than giving that gift to you.

所以很多人跟我聊起送礼这件事的时候，

So when many people talk to me about what about the gift of giving?

我就会回到那句话。

This is why I go back to that phrase.

有时候，最好的礼物就是让对方不用再为你破费。

Sometimes the greatest gift is releasing someone from the obligation of having to buy for you.

而且，这种礼尚往来的送礼方式，导致太多人最后收到的都是些没用的、不想要的东西。

And and we add to that that this tit for tat nature of giving means far too many people end up with tat, you know, unwanted, unused gifts.

我不是想扫了节日的兴，但大家只是为了买而买，打乱了别人的财务安排，最后还弄出一堆只能扔进垃圾场的破烂，这对谁都没好处。

I don't wanna stop the festive fun, but when people are just buying things for the sake of it, misprioritizing other people's financing and ending up with a load of crap that just needs to end up in the landfill, it isn't good for anybody.

所以这就是为什么我建议大家每年这个时候，都约定好不买不必要的礼物，就像婚前协议一样，来个圣诞前的协议。

So this is why this is the point of the year when I suggest people agree a no unnecessary present pact, a pre Christmas nup, a pre nup.

不买不必要礼物的约定。

No unnecessary present pact.

对。

No.

好的。

Okay.

谢谢，马特。

Thanks, Matt.

和你的朋友或家人群体约定一个“不买多余礼物”的协议。

No unnecessary present pact with your wider group of friends or family.

大多数人告诉我，他们提起这件事时其实很害怕，但一旦聊开了，大家都会松一口气。

Most people tell me they broach it and they're scared to do so, but then there is a collective sigh of relief when they talk about it.

如果“不买多余礼物”的协议太严格，可以试试有金额限制的“秘密圣诞老人”，或者约定一起花时间做礼物，或者捐钱给慈善机构。

If a no unnecessary present pact is too hardcore, secret Santa will work with a spending limit, agree to spend time together to make gifts instead, or to give money to charity.

这些方法都行得通。

All of that works.

我觉得现在正是时候，尤其是很多人面临压力的时候，我们需要稍微想一下，稍微退一步，问问自己：我的圣诞礼物范围要铺多大？

And I just think this is the time of year, especially when many people are facing pressure at the moment, that we need to be a little bit thoughtful, a little bit of step back on this and a little bit of saying, how wide am I going to spread the net of Christmas giving?

记住，你不能单方面决定减少圣诞礼物，因为别人还是会回赠给你，所以现在谈这件事是个好主意。

And remember, you can't unilaterally decide to reduce your Christmas giving because other people will give back to you, which is why it's a good thing to talk about right now.

我很乐意让你把责任推到我身上。

I'm very happy for you to blame me.

我很乐意让你来开启这个话题。

I'm very happy for you to open the conversation.

就说，我听了马丁·刘易斯聊过这个。

Say, I was listening to Martin Lewis talk about this.

你觉得怎么样？

What do you think about it?

如果他们反应是，哦，这主意太糟了。

And if they go, oh, terrible idea.

那他说的完全对。

And he's an absolute right.

那也没关系。

That's fine.

我不介意，如果这样能帮你打开话题的话。

I don't mind, but if that helps you open the conversation.

如果你和家人朋友聊过关于不送不必要礼物的话题，我们很想知道你的经历。

And if you've had this conversation with your family and friends about not giving unnecessary gifts, we'd love to hear from you.

把你的故事发给我们吧。

Send us your stories.

马丁·刘易斯播客，邮箱是bbc点co点uk。

Martin Lewis podcast at bbc dot co dot uk.

最后，给那些有小孩的听众一个提醒。

And a final note for those who have young children.

我做过一个实验。

I did an experiment.

天哪，这大概是十五年前的事了，我们去了一个小学，和一些大概一年级的孩子，差不多五六岁吧。

Oh gosh, this has got to be, and also about fifteen years ago, we went into a primary school with some, I think they were year one children, so about five or six.

我们给了他们一些包装好的盒子。

And we gave them boxes that were wrapped up.

我事先跟他们说，我要告诉你们，这些盒子里其实没有礼物。

And I said to them beforehand, I want you to know there really aren't any presents inside these boxes.

他们都看了看。

And they all looked.

然后我说，但如果你们想打开，你们可以打开。

And I said, But if you want to open them, you can open them.

他们就说，求求了，我们能打开吗？

And they were like, Please, can we open them?

你们确定要打开吗？

Are you sure you want to open them?

里面什么都没有，求求了，我们能打开吗？

There's no, please, can we open them?

于是我们给了他们这些盒子，这些又大又大的包装盒，孩子们特别兴奋，他们打开盒子，即使里面什么都没有，他们还是特别兴奋。

And so we gave them these boxes, these big, big wrap boxes, and the kids were so excited and they opened the boxes and they were so excited even though there was nothing in them.

然后他们把盒子变成了隧道，还有可以跳上去的东西，还有可以捣乱的东西，他们互相玩了起来。

And then they turned the boxes into tunnels and things to jump on and things to mess around and they played with each other.

他们用这些大空纸箱，以极高的兴奋度玩了五十分钟。

And they were playing with a huge level of excitement for fifty minutes with just big empty cardboard boxes.

我这么说，并不是让你圣诞节给小孩子送个空纸箱。

Now that is not me saying that you should give your young children an empty cardboard box for Christmas.

关键是，尤其是小孩子，他们可不在乎什么牌子。

What it is, there is young children especially, they're not retail snobs.

他们不会根据礼物的价格来判断好坏。

They don't judge your present by the cost.

我们大人呢，心理上总是觉得，花的钱越多，给的东西就越贵重。

We, as adults, psychologically judge how much we're giving them by how much we had to pay for it.

但孩子还小的时候，试着别这么想。

But while you have very young children, try and step away from that.

你没必要在那上面花大钱。

You don't have to spend a fortune on that.

等他们到了青春期，就会开始要名牌啊什么的，那时候如果你有钱，就得多花。

Once they're teenagers, they're gonna be demanding brands and other things, and you are going to have to spend more money if you've got it.

要是没钱，也别让圣诞节毁了你的新年。

If you don't, don't let Christmas ruin your new year.

但我觉得趁他们还小，退一步想想，别老想着——我听过很多人说，哎呀，我不能给他们买那个，因为才五镑十镑，不够。

But I just think while they're young, take a step back, stop thinking, and I've heard so many people say this, oh, I can't get them that because it only costs £5 or £10, that isn't enough.

他们小的时候不会这么想，你也不该这么想。

They don't think like that when they're young and nor should you.

好，下一个。

right, next one.

希望这个没那么哲学，更实用一点。

I hope you got something a little bit less philosophical and more practical.

什么是“篮子虚张声势”？

What's basket bluff?

好。

Okay.

这不是圣诞节当天玩的游戏。

It's not a game that you play on Christmas day.

好。

Okay.

这讲的是一个巧妙的小技巧，能帮你捡到便宜。

So this is about a nice sneaky trick get yourself a bargain.

我之前提过，但确实很管用，尤其是在这个时候。

I've talked about it before, but it does work really well, especially at this time of year.

所谓“购物车虚晃”就是，如果你从某个零售商那里想买东西，而且是网上零售商，你得有账户，尤其是这个时候，如果你要买圣诞礼物或者接下来几个月要用的东西，你肯定有时间。

So what basket bluff is about is if there's something that you want from a retailer, an online retailer where you've got an account, you've got to have an account set up, especially because you've got time at this time of year if you're buying something for Christmas or over the next couple of months.

去把东西放进网上购物车，然后什么都不做。

Go and put your shopping in the basket online and then don't do anything.

别去结算。

Do not complete.

你会让他们急得团团转。

You give them conniptions.

零售商们会坐在那儿想：怎么回事？

The retailers are sitting there going, what's happened?

这个人怎么还不下单？

Why isn't this person transacting?

我还以为他们会买呢。

I thought they were gonna buy.

你会惊讶地发现，很多时候，几天之内他们就会给你发那个购物车的折扣。

And you'd be staggered at the amount of times that within a couple of days, they send you a discount for that shopping basket.

你明白我的意思吗？

Do you see what I mean?

我手头有一份名单，都是人们报告说这招奏效的地方。

I've got a list in front of me of places people have reported it's been done.

Argos、Asda、Boden、Cotton Traders、Deliveroo、eBookers、Evans、Lloyd's Pharmacy、Morrisons、Ocado、Princess Cruises、Sainsbury、Sharp、Tesco Groceries、Very、Virgin Media、Virgin Wines、Waitrose、Dorothy Perkins、Emma Bridgewater、Furniture Village、JD Sports、Next，还有好多好多。

Argos, Asda, Boden, Cotton Traders, Deliveroo, eBookers, Evans, Lloyd's Pharmacy, Morrisons, Ocado, Princess Cruises, Sainsbury, Sharp, Tesco Groceries, Very, Virgin Media, Virgin Wines, Waitrose, Dorothy Perkins, Emma Bridgewater, Furniture Village, JD Sports, Next, and a whole lot more.

ASOS、Boohoo Man、Boo Avenue、Brand Alley、Buy Your Gift，我还能继续列下去。

ASOS, Boohoo Man, Boo Avenue, Brand Alley, Buy Your Gift, I could keep going on.

那我给你讲几个联系过我的顾客的案例吧。

So let me just give you a few case studies of people who've got in touch with me.

凯特在X上联系了我。

Kate got in touch with me on X.

嗨，马丁。

Hi, Martin.

我在Shark上试过这个。

I did this with Shark.

他们给我发了一个20%的折扣码，因为我购物车里留了一件商品，然后我就买了那个吸尘器。

They sent me a 20% discount for an item left in my basket and I then bought the Hoover.

所以我觉得你购物车里留的那件商品就是吸尘器。

So I think the item left in your basket was a Hoover.

看看我是不是个侦探。

Let's see what a detective I am.

哇。

Wow.

查理昨天在ASOS上看婚纱，加了一件到购物车，然后晚上就离开了网站。

Charlie was browsing ASOS's wedding dresses yesterday and added one to my basket, then left the site for the night.

今天早上，我收到了一封来自ASOS的惊喜邮件，提供20%的折扣，因为他们注意到我在浏览商品。

This morning, I had a nice surprise email from ASOS offering 20% off as they've noticed me window shopping.

我的婚纱省了37英镑。

Got £37 off my wedding dress.

CS Chamberlain在X上联系了我。

CS Chamberlain got in touch with me on x.

这是我最喜欢玩的游戏。

This is my favorite game to play.

我给它起了个名字叫“今年购物车虚晃”，现在它有名字了。

I've named it this year basket bluff, so it now has a name.

这是我最喜欢和Boden玩的游戏。

It's my favorite game to play with Boden.

把购物车放满几天不结账，每次都会收到一张10英镑的优惠券。

Leave a full basket a few days and a 10 pound voucher turns up in the post every time.

你喜欢这样吗？

Do you like that?

你试过吗？

Have you ever done it?

我喜欢这个。

I like that.

我在外卖应用上也这么干。

I do it with food delivery apps.

我会打开应用，随便看看，然后退出去，放一会儿，他们总会发个优惠码过来。

I will go on it, open it up, have a look around, go off it, leave it for a bit, and then they'll always send a discount code.

你看吧。

There you go.

对吧。

You see

购物车虚晃。

Basket Bluff.

购物车虚晃。

Basket Bluff.

我喜欢这个。

I like that.

我以后得多玩玩这个。

I'm gonna play it more often.

好了，就这样。

There we are.

还剩几个，对吧？

Couple left, haven't we?

你手里有什么？

What have you got?

对。

Yes.

你是说小心礼品卡和代金券？

Beware of gift cards and vouchers, you say?

这是我每年的季节性提醒。

This is my seasonal warning.

在英国，很多人不喜欢直接给现金。

Many people in Britain, we we don't like giving cash.

你会觉得直接给人现金很尴尬吗？

Would you feel awkward sending somebody cash?

我其实不太会这么做。

I don't really do.

我都是买礼物。

I buy gifts.

我喜欢送礼物。

I'm gift giver.

但大家更愿意送礼品卡，因为这样更得体，对吧，罗茜和伊莎贝尔？

But people do gift cards instead because it's more socially More socially acceptable, Rosie, Isabelle.

罗茜和伊莎贝尔，她们俩虽然没说话，但坐在角落里默默查证我说的话。

So Rosie and Isabelle, they're both saying, because they don't talk on her, they're sitting in corner silently fact checking me.

她们俩都说自己会收到现金。

They're both saying they get cash.

我觉得，如果是关系很近的家人给现金，那还是可以的。

I think there's still, I think cash from close family is fine.