Understanding Hyperopia: The Hidden Regret of Over-Saving
By Hal Hershfield, Ph.D., Consultant to Avantis Investors
Hal is a professor of Marketing and Behavioral Decision Making in the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research asks, “How can we help move people from who they are now to who they’ll be in the future in a way that maximizes well-being?”
It took approximately three years of living in New York City before I did any of the typical touristy things like visiting the Empire State Building, taking a double-decker bus or imbibing at some of the more iconic bars. But when I finally did, you might be surprised to learn that the main motivator was my imminent move from New York to Los Angeles.
In fact, I pretty much accomplished all those touristy things in one very whirlwind and very fun day with my wife and friends of ours who insisted we wear our tourist hats for just one day. The tendency to wait until you’re just about to leave a place before visiting classic landmarks isn’t unique to me.
In one fascinating research study, for instance, Suzanne Shu and Ayelet Gneezy found that about 60% of visits to landmarks happen when an out-of-town guest is visiting. Many adults said that a large portion of their visits to landmarks occurred within the six months prior to moving away from a city.1
But this article isn’t about visits to landmarks. Rather, I think these kinds of amusing and surprising findings represent a broader class of quirky behavior known as hyperopia. If you haven’t heard of it, first think about its opposite: myopia. That’s what occurs when we overly prioritize the present and devalue whatever outcomes may occur in the future.
Continue reading for 3 Smart Spending Tips: How to Prevent Hyperopic Regret