Years ago, my bank account was constantly near zero.

几年前，我的银行账户余额常常接近于零。

Every single day, I worried about paying rent and bills.

每天我都为房租和各项账单的支付发愁。

Strangely, I kept wasting money on small impulse buys.

奇怪的是，越是这样，我越容易把钱浪费在无意义的冲动消费上。

Later, I read about how scarcity affects human decision making.

后来我读到关于匮乏如何影响人类决策的科学研究。

When money stress is high, it occupies our mental bandwidth.

当金钱压力过大时，它会霸占我们大脑绝大部分的认知带宽。

The brain enters tunnel vision and cannot plan for tomorrow.

大脑陷入只顾眼前救火的隧道视野，无法计划明天。

I realized I was not foolish, my mind was just crowded.

我终于明白并非自己愚笨，只是当时的大脑被压得过于拥挤。

I cut fixed costs and saved a tiny emergency cushion first.

我精简了固定开支，先为自己存下一笔小小的应急备用金。

That small buffer gave my brain room to finally breathe.

正是那点微小的缓冲，让我的大脑终于有了喘息的空间。

With quiet breathing room, impulse buys naturally stopped.

当心智恢复余裕，冲动消费竟然奇迹般地自然停止了。

I began making calm choices for my long term future.

我终于能够平心静气地为遥远的未来做出理智的抉择。

Now, I always protect my mental space before deciding on money.

如今每当面对金钱问题，我都会先守护好自己心智的余裕。