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Buying overpriced indulgences may feel good in the short term, but you pay the price later. Or at least that’s the conventional wisdom.
But a study by a couple of business-school professors says splurging now makes you happier later. Even more surprising: Not splurging now gives you pangs of regret later.
Anat Keinan, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, and Ran Kivetz, a professor of marketing at Columbia Business School, make their case for the vice lifestyle in an article in the Harvard Business Review.
One of their studies polled college students and alumni on the subject of spring breaks. Regret about not having spent more money or traveling during breaks increased with time, whereas regret about not having worked, studied, or saved money during breaks decreased with time.
The authors write: “We saw a similar pattern in a study of how businesspeople perceived past choices between work and pleasure. Over time, those who had indulged felt less and less guilty about their choices, whereas those who had been dutiful experienced a growing sense of having missed out on the pleasures of life.” (As the old saying goes, nobody dies saying “I wish I’d spent more time at the office.”)
The authors also did a study of mall shoppers, asking about their regret about buying an expensive item of clothing. Those who anticipated short-term regret bought less-expensive items, while those who anticipated long-term regret splurged. “Thinking about short-term regret drives consumers to be virtuous, while thinking about long-term regret leads them to be extravagant,” the authors write.
Luxury-goods makers, of course, will eat this up. I can see the slogan now: “Luxury: It’s Good for Life.” Or “Cartier: You’ll be sorry you didn’t.” Whether luxury is good for your finances is another matter. (Nobody goes bankrupt saying “I wish I’d spent more on Gucci bags).
Wealth Report readers, what do you think? Do the long-term benefits of indulgence outweigh the short-term risks of regret?
出手阔绰地购买奢侈品，短期内可能你的自我感觉还不错，可好景不长，不久后你就会为自己的一掷千金付出代价。果真如此吗？也许这只是传统看法。
几位商学院教授进行的研究发现，当下挥金如土能增加你日后的幸福感�；褂懈庀氩坏降难芯拷峁喝绻衷诓簧莩抟话�，往后会令你追悔莫及。
哈佛大学商学院(Harvard Business School)助理教授阿奈特•凯南(Anat Keinan)与哥伦比亚大学商学院(Columbia Business School)营销学教授瑞恩•科维茨(Ran Kivetz)在《哈佛商业评论》(Harvard Business Review)的一篇文章中证明了这一“堕落”生活方式的确有如此功效。
他们就春假的话题对在校大学生和毕业的校友进行了调查。调查发现，对于在春假期间未能花掉更多钱或是未能出门旅游的受访者，他们的后悔情绪随着时间的推移与日俱增，而那些当初后悔没能在假期好好工作、学习或是存钱的人，这种感觉则随着时间慢慢淡化。
凯南和科维茨在文章中写道：我们在研究商务人士如何看待自己过去在工作和娱乐之间作出的选择时也有类似发现。随着日子一天天过去，那些曾经沉溺于吃喝玩乐的生意人，他们的负罪感会越来越弱；而那些一直兢兢业业工作的人，他们心中因失去享受生活乐趣而产生的后悔感会越变越强�；辜堑媚蔷淅匣奥�？没有哪个即将离世之人会说出“我希望能再加加班”这样的话。
两位作者还对商场购物者的心理进行了研究，询问他们购买一件价格不菲的衣服后的后悔情绪。结果表明，那些觉得自己短期内会后悔的人买下了价位适中的衣服，而认为自己很长时间后会后悔的购物者则出手大方。他们写道：前一种情绪刺激了消费者的节约动机，而后一种情绪则将购物者推向奢侈浪费。
当然，奢侈品厂家对人们的这种心理也是谙熟于心。我可以想像这样的标语：“奢侈品：有益人生”，或是“卡地亚：不拥有它将是你的憾事”。不过奢侈品是否有助于你的财务状况，这一问题就另当别论了。（没有人会在破产时说“我真后悔没多买几个古奇包”。）
读者们，你们怎么看？奢侈带来的长期益处会让你甘于承担短期后悔的风险吗？
