Let's see. I am not a Big Spender. I feel pain on spending on branded and luxury items, so I dun get them as I am really see the value in them.
I am definitely not an Experiencer. I think good food and travel are a waste. After all, whatever one eats, comes out the same. And travel holidays are not lasting nor materialistic.
I am definitely a Value-Seeker! I buy stuff during sales, when there is discounts, in bulk etc. I use discount coupons and look out for discount and savings opportunities.
---------------------------
The New Paper
20 Aug 2008
Big spender, small smile
Shopper, saver or gambler? Check out these findings
YOU walk into an Orchard Road Mall and buy yourself a $2,000 YSL Easy bag. But somehow, you still aren't happy.
Now research by a New York psychologist has shed some light on why people who spend big time are not happy shoppers.
It turns out the happiest shoppers aren't those who bag the biggest bargains, or those who spend whatever it takes to get the best items out there, or people whose wallets are gathering dust while they pinch their pennies.
The happiest shoppers are people who aren't hung up on money or things. They'd rather spend on experiences, like dining out or travelling.
Those people are 'experiencers,' as Dr Miriam Tatzel of Empire State College in New York calls them, reports AP.
Dr Tatzel asked 329 college students to complete surveys about their shopping habits and happiness. Those surveys showed four shopping personalities.
Big spenders: Buy everything full price and buy only the best.
Value seekers: Seek bargains on nice things.
Non-spenders: Don't spend much and don't want to.
Experiencers: Spend freely on experiences, such as good food or travel, but are not materialistic.
Conclusion: Experiencers are the happiest while big spenders are the least happy and have the most credit card debt, said Dr Tatzel.
Dr Tatzel then gathered information about well-being to gauge which types of spenders are happiest. The least happy are Big Spenders, who often have credit-card debt. The happiest are the Experiencers, she said.
She presented her findings in Boston at the American Psychological Association annual conference recently.
The discovery that Experiencers are happiest doesn't surprise Dr Tatzel.
She was quoted as saying in the US News and World Report: '... money spent on experiences tends to leave a stronger feeling of being happy than money spent on objects. Spending on travel, workshops or education, for instance, gives a happier feeling than spending on a car for these people'.
Impulse buying
You walk past a shop and see that really nice Ipod. You yield to impulse and the next thing you know you are a few hundred dollars poorer.
A study presented at the conference looked at negative emotions resulting from an impulse buy and how impulse buyers cope differently with each emotion. It found that people who felt guilty were better equipped to deal with what they had done while those who felt shame were not.
Researcher Sunghwan Yi, professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario, asked 222 college students how they felt after buying something on impulse and what coping strategies they used to handle the situation.
Said Prof Yi: 'Participants who felt guilty about the impulse buying used proactive coping strategies, such as adjusting budgets and planning to reduce impulse buying in the future. 'On the other hand, shameful buyers used more 'avoidant' emotion-focused strategies, such as denial and reframing the incident to be less injurious to the self.'
Savings: Closer the better
You try to save and each time you end up spending instead of saving.
Dr Leona Tam of Old Dominion University and Dr Utpal Dholakia, of Rice University conducted five experiments with 678 adults to find out why people have trouble saving. Those who plan to save a certain amount by the end of the year are less likely to save compared to those who plan to save a certain amount by the end of the month.
Said Dr Tam: 'This type of time frame helps people see steady progress along the way while not feeling too much pressure. 'This is similar to some of the dieting regimens that are not too close so you don't see progress but not too far away either so you don't get discouraged.'
I am definitely not an Experiencer. I think good food and travel are a waste. After all, whatever one eats, comes out the same. And travel holidays are not lasting nor materialistic.
I am definitely a Value-Seeker! I buy stuff during sales, when there is discounts, in bulk etc. I use discount coupons and look out for discount and savings opportunities.
---------------------------
The New Paper
20 Aug 2008
Big spender, small smile
Shopper, saver or gambler? Check out these findings
YOU walk into an Orchard Road Mall and buy yourself a $2,000 YSL Easy bag. But somehow, you still aren't happy.
Now research by a New York psychologist has shed some light on why people who spend big time are not happy shoppers.
It turns out the happiest shoppers aren't those who bag the biggest bargains, or those who spend whatever it takes to get the best items out there, or people whose wallets are gathering dust while they pinch their pennies.
The happiest shoppers are people who aren't hung up on money or things. They'd rather spend on experiences, like dining out or travelling.
Those people are 'experiencers,' as Dr Miriam Tatzel of Empire State College in New York calls them, reports AP.
Dr Tatzel asked 329 college students to complete surveys about their shopping habits and happiness. Those surveys showed four shopping personalities.
Big spenders: Buy everything full price and buy only the best.
Value seekers: Seek bargains on nice things.
Non-spenders: Don't spend much and don't want to.
Experiencers: Spend freely on experiences, such as good food or travel, but are not materialistic.
Conclusion: Experiencers are the happiest while big spenders are the least happy and have the most credit card debt, said Dr Tatzel.
Dr Tatzel then gathered information about well-being to gauge which types of spenders are happiest. The least happy are Big Spenders, who often have credit-card debt. The happiest are the Experiencers, she said.
She presented her findings in Boston at the American Psychological Association annual conference recently.
The discovery that Experiencers are happiest doesn't surprise Dr Tatzel.
She was quoted as saying in the US News and World Report: '... money spent on experiences tends to leave a stronger feeling of being happy than money spent on objects. Spending on travel, workshops or education, for instance, gives a happier feeling than spending on a car for these people'.
Impulse buying
You walk past a shop and see that really nice Ipod. You yield to impulse and the next thing you know you are a few hundred dollars poorer.
A study presented at the conference looked at negative emotions resulting from an impulse buy and how impulse buyers cope differently with each emotion. It found that people who felt guilty were better equipped to deal with what they had done while those who felt shame were not.
Researcher Sunghwan Yi, professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario, asked 222 college students how they felt after buying something on impulse and what coping strategies they used to handle the situation.
Said Prof Yi: 'Participants who felt guilty about the impulse buying used proactive coping strategies, such as adjusting budgets and planning to reduce impulse buying in the future. 'On the other hand, shameful buyers used more 'avoidant' emotion-focused strategies, such as denial and reframing the incident to be less injurious to the self.'
Savings: Closer the better
You try to save and each time you end up spending instead of saving.
Dr Leona Tam of Old Dominion University and Dr Utpal Dholakia, of Rice University conducted five experiments with 678 adults to find out why people have trouble saving. Those who plan to save a certain amount by the end of the year are less likely to save compared to those who plan to save a certain amount by the end of the month.
Said Dr Tam: 'This type of time frame helps people see steady progress along the way while not feeling too much pressure. 'This is similar to some of the dieting regimens that are not too close so you don't see progress but not too far away either so you don't get discouraged.'
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment