Potrošiti pare na stvar ili na neku aktivnost?

Mislim da ćemo se ovde verovatno svi lako složiti oko toga da nas neki doživljaj poput putovanja čini srećnijim nego materijalna stvar za iste te pare. Ali evo to potvrđuje i istraživanje:

http://moneyland.time.com/2011/07/21/want-happiness-dont-buy-more-stuff-%E2%80%94-go-on-vacation/

Want Happiness? Don’t Buy More Stuff — Go on Vacation

When it comes to spending money on things or experiences, the research is clear: Doing brings more happiness than owning.

Given that it’s vacation season for many folks, we thought it a good time to devote this Mind Over Money post to a brief discussion of what personal finance is ultimately all about. Some people, of course, really enjoy counting their money, deriving great satisfaction simply from watching their bottom line grow, often quite removed from any thought of what they might do with their riches. But for most of us, money is just a token for what we can do with it — pay the mortgage or rent, send kids to college, buy a TV or travel to Italy. And for nearly all of us, money is finite; there isn’t enough to do all we want, so we must be selective. That raises a crucial question: If we want to maximize the happiness or satisfaction we get from our money, how should we spend it?

There’s been a lot of recent research on this subject, much of it conducted at Tom’s home institution, Cornell University (a lot of it by Tom). And the answer is clear. If you’re conflicted about whether to spend money on a material good (say, a computer) or personal experience (say, a vacation), the research says you’ll get much more satisfaction — and for longer — if you choose the experience. Most of us, it turns out, get more bang from the experiential buck. Indeed, when people are asked to recall their most significant material and experiential purchases over the previous five years, they report that the experience brought more joy, was a source of more enduring satisfaction and was more clearly “money well spent.”

This might seem counter-intuitive. After all, when faced with a trade-off between doing and buying, many people opt for the material good because “it will still be there” long after the experience would have been enjoyed. In one sense that’s correct: The material good lasts while the experience is fleeting. But psychologically it’s the reverse. We quickly adapt to the material good, but the experience endures in the memories we cherish, the stories we tell and the very sense of who we are.

Experiences are often also more satisfying because we tend to evaluate them on their own terms, not in comparison to what others have. Imagine that you’ve just bought a new computer and are psyched to discover what it can do. Then you hear that a pal just spent less money to buy a computer that has more memory, is faster, and has a longer warranty. How bummed would you be? (We’re guessing plenty.) Now imagine you’ve just come back from 10 days in Tuscany, only to learn that a neighbor spent less for a full two weeks there at a nicer villa. This wouldn’t be pleasant to hear either, but it’s likely you’d get over it quickly. After all, you’ve still got your memories, your photos and your time with loved ones — experiences you’d be unwilling to trade for your neighbor’s trip.

This is where a primary concept in behavioral economics — the endowment effect — comes into play. The endowment effect says we’re likely to value something more highly simply because its ours. This is true of many things — including babies, which is probably why we evolved the bias — but it’s especially true with unique experiences. I may think my computer is better than yours because it’s mine, but I’ll almost certainly believe my sojourn in Italy was more ideally suited for me than yours, whatever its cost.

Obviously, we’re not recommending you forgo creature comforts. Many material purchases are essential and/or provide immense satisfaction. But other research shows that people’s most common regrets about material goods are those of action — buying something that later seems unwise or impulsive. Their biggest regrets about experiential purchases tend to be regrets of inaction — not pouncing on an experience that was there for the taking.

This, by the way, is one post we hope will be read by policy-makers, philanthropists and other types who make decisions involving public money. It’s hard for people to have the kinds of experiences that do so much to promote well-being if there are no trails to hike or ride, and if local and national parks are run down or shuttered.

Material things grow familiar, become obsolete or break. Memories have very long warranties.

Tekst možda odgovara i nekoj temi poput "zašto putujem", ali evo neka bude zasebna tema.

Zašto ipak ljudi više troše na materijalne stvari, a ne na aktivnosti ili doživljaje (kao npr putovanja?) Kako ih navesti na suprotno?

Ima mnogo primera gde neko ne trepne da kupi neku stvar, ali mu je skupo da slične pare izdvoji i skokne negde na vikend ili ode jednom godišnje na odmor? Da li je u pitanju samo navika ili nerazmišljanje i nekreativnost?

Naravno ko se snašao pa može i jedno i drugo, još bolje 

I ja sam se sto puta zapitao o ovome. Imam prijatelje koji imaju skupe telefone, a "nemaju para" ni da naprave izlet do nekog obližnjeg sela... zapravo, ni ne razmišljaju o tome. Mnogim ljudima se putovanje ni ne javlja u mislima kao nešto što bi mogli da urade. Mislim da je to delimično zato što ne znaju da putovanje može da bude jeftino, ali u većoj meri zato što ne uspevaju da zadovolje svoje potrebe za materijalnim (ako pričamo o ljudima sa prosečnim primanjima u Srbiji). Nekome ko nema auto/telefon/kauč kakav bi želeo, uvek će ta "nedostajuća" stvar biti preča od kulturnog (i svakog drugog) uzdizanja. Pretpostavljam da mnogi od nas ovde nemaju fensi mobilne, ali ipak imamo mobilne kakve želimo, tj. zadovoljili smo svoju potrebu za njima. I zato možemo da razmišljamo o lepšim stvarima.... Nekome će potreba za "krovom nad glavom" biti zadovoljena garsonjerom na kraju grada, a nekome treba apartman u centru da se osećao "skućeno". Pitanje je koliko vam posle para ostane za putovanja...

Možda bi najbolje bilo ovde da prepričam kraći razgovor sa jednom Ruskinjom koji sam vodio prošle godine u Americi, povodom skakanja padobranom iz aviona. Cena je bila negde oko 250 dolara, i ona je pokušavala da nagovori mene i cimerku. Ja sam stvarno želeo to da uradim, ali sam u to vreme bio teži od 90kg, i po svakom kilu više od toga bih plaćao 100 dolara više, mislim da je bila ta cena. Ona, s druge strane, to nije želela da radi bilo gde drugde do u Americi, i na moje "da mislim da je to ipak puno para" (mene su tek čekala putovanja sa devojkom, pa nisam bio spreman na taj trošak), ona mi je odgovorila: "pare budu i prođu, i to je nešto za šta bih dala pare, jer je iskustvo više".

Ove godine sam žrtvovao letovanje na neki način, kupovinom profesionalnog aparata. Sa druge strane, to vidim kao investiciju u buduća, jer stvarno volim da fotografišem, i kada nekada ne umem nešto rečima da opišem, odmah tutnem sliku. Bilo je mnogo situacija prošle godine, u kojima sam želeo da imam profi aparat u ruci, jer mislim da bi jedino on izvukao nešto što trenutno vidim (recimo noću), a što sa običnim aparatom ne bih mogao. Sad neko može da mi kaže za aparat, kao što je svojevremeno bila priča sa telefonom da je njegova osnovna funkcija da zoveš i šalješ poruke, stoga davanje puno para na neki model je besmisleno, da i fotografisanje može i sa običnim.

Zavisi sve to od mnogo stvari, posebno od finansijskih mogucnosti, pa i od toga u kom je covek zivotnom dobu, npr kad imas 20-25 godina sve sto zaradis mozes spucati na putovanja, ali kad malo ostaris a nemas ni kuceta ni maceta, treba novac odvajati i za  resavanje nekih zivotnih problema, treba se skuciti, motorizovati, ozeniti, razmnoziti... A to sve kosta.

Kad sam procitao ime teme setio sam se jedne recenice Ilije Cvorovica: '' Mlad si, hoces da jedes, hoces, da jebes, a to kosta brate... Pa onda i ta droga... ''

Mnoga "zapadnjacka" istrazivanja prilicno gube na smislu kad se prenesu na zemlje poput nase. Iako smo sposobni na razna prilagodjavanja (poput minimiziranja cene putovanja), nije bas realno da razmisljamo poput zapadnjaka kod  kojih se uglavnom pretpostavlja da su obezbedjeni materijalno (pri cemu ne mislim na luksuz vec mislim da i srednja i niza klasa poseduje stan, auto, primanja sa kojima se ne brine za osnovne potrebe).

Ljudi u mom okruzenju uglavnom putovanja gledaju kao jos jedan o noge na putu ka normalnom zivotu (osim cuvenog zabod letovanja od 10 dana za koje svi zive...a koje je meni nebuloza teska).

Mnoga "zapadnjacka" istrazivanja prilicno gube na smislu kad se prenesu na zemlje poput nase.

Upravo tako, izuzev nekolicine nomada, hipika i nekih bas ortodoksnih putnika vecina ljudi koje srecemo na putovanjima je koliko toliko materjalno obezbedjena. Oni imaju: kola, stan ( ako ne svoj onda bar imaju dovoljno veliku platu da im bez problema pokrije kiriju i troskove ), namestaj, hranu... Visak novca koji im ostane mogu da biraju da li ce uloziti u putovanja ili u neku luksuznz spravu, neki bolji komad namestaja, kola... U tom slucaju definitivno bih izabrao putovanje tj '' dozivljaj '', ali problem nastaje kod ljudi koji nisu materjalno obezbedjeni, tj kod 95% mladih u ovoj drzavi.