Like the good patriots we are, D and I decided to stimulate the local economy with our stimulus check. This was fairly painful for me, as I would prefer to put windfalls toward savings or paying down debt. However, we had been talking for a long time about buying bicycles. My parents had long-since given away my old pink 10-speed mountain bike (not that I would want to ride it now!). Ask me why I got a mountain bike when I never rode on anything but sidewalk and pavement? Heck if I know! I'm not sure where D's old bike went, but regardless, we were both without two wheels to call our own.
Anyway, this entire episode really makes me think of
this book. My book club at school read it toward the end of the year, and it's made me rethink how I make decisions. Schwartz (the author) refers to people as "satisficers" or "maximizers"--satisficers tend to make decisions more quickly and to look for products that are "good enough" instead of perfect. Maximizers are the opposite--they like to review all options, they search for the perfect product, and they are ultimately less happy than satisficers. Most people are neither completely one or the other, and it may depend on the product that the person is purchasing. Schwartz suggests that trying to be more satisficer-like and less maximizer-like will ultimately make people happier.
I think I fall into the satisficer category more often than not, but now that I've thought about these methods of decision making, I've been trying to be more like a satisficer. That is, I'm trying to listen to my instincts about whether or not I like a product instead of worrying about whether a better product is "somewhere out there." So, when buying a bike, I took a couple of test rides, found one I was reasonably happy with (price and comfort wise) and went with it. I was a little regretful that we didn't get to the used bike store, but D had covered that option by checking their inventory online and finding that they didn't have what we were looking for. By the way, I think D is more of a maximizer. He did some online research on different bicycle brands and stores in the area and their reputations for service. I probably would have been happy not doing the rest of the research he did, but I am glad he checked the used bike store.
I think the thing that holds me back in making some high-priced decisions is that I just don't want to spend that much money in one place. I find it pretty easy to just go ahead and decide in the grocery store, but when it comes to buying cars, houses, bikes...I'm still working on trusting my instincts.
