Do you find that you spend money you happened to find differently than other money? What about time off that you were given just cause? There is something psychological that happens to our minds when it comes to freebies. We’ll obvious take the free mochachino sample being handed out at Starbucks even though we don’t necessarily want it, we’ll stuff our faces at a buffet and we’ll frivolously spend money we found in our pocket. There is no proven reason why we behave in this way – perhaps it’s because we don’t feel like we earned it and therefore don’t need to spend it responsibly, or maybe, in the case of the freebies, we feel like we are getting away with something and crave the rush.
If you were to win or find money how would you spend it? I suppose that depends on where you are and what you’re doing. Here are a few scenarios to exemplify my point:
1. Money won gambling:
Gambling is an addiction and a serious one at that. Few gamblers go home when their money is up. What usually happens is that they keep gambling it until they have nothing left. People who win money at the tables tend to put it right back down in the hopes of winning more.
2. Money won out with friends:
Of course it depends how attached to gambling you are, the night and who you’re with. If you’re out with a bunch of your buddies and are having a good time, you may take the 500 you just won on the slot machines and buy everyone dinner or a few rounds of drinks. When the winnings are relatively low they tend to get spent that night, or at least that week.
3. A dream vacation:
If suddenly you have found yourself with 1000 or some free time your boss gave you as a Christmas bonus you might choose to spend it all at once on something you can never quite fit into your normal budget. And that something might be a trip you’ve been meaning to take. A trip home to see your family, a hot air balloon ride, a weekend spa in the English countryside, doesn’t matter, book it and go.
People spend free money like gifts because that’s exactly what they are – pound notes that say ‘spend me however you like, spend me doing exactly what you’ve been wanting to do but haven’t been able to afford.’