Prepaying for Happiness?

A while ago I posted a video by my favorite behavioral economist Dan Ariely about the pain of paying. Now I've come across an article by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton that is related to said video. In "Happier Spending", they argue that "...we derive greater happiness from goods we pay for immediately, but don't use for some time, than we do from goods we use now but pay for later." Or as I like to call it: prepaying for happiness :-)

There are mainly two reasons for why this works. First of all, it doesn't take away the pain of paying, which helps you to not overspend as you might be tempted to do if you can delay payment until after having used/enjoyed the purchased good/service.

Just as the sensation of burning tells you to pull your hand from the stove, the pain of paying can keep spending in check. This isn't just a metaphor. Paying high prices for goods and services activates the region of the brain associated with the anticipation of actual physical pain.

So in this case, the pain of paying is a good thing. The other reason prepaying makes you happier is because of the joy that the anticipation of whatever you have bought gives you.

...research shows that people frequently experience a happiness boost in the weeks before their vacation. Stuck in an office cubicle, the anticipation of the beach is almost as enjoyable as the beach itself. 

In one study a group of people got the chance to buy gift baskets full of treats. Some received them right away and were able to pay later. The others had to pay the full price before receiving the baskets. This second group then reported higher levels of joy and contentment than those who had paid later. And if the wait between paying and receiving what you've bought is long enough, it can actually feel like you're getting something for free (which is always nice, right?).

That's it for today. I need to go pay for that cruise I'm going on next year... Yeah, I wish ;-) Which makes me wonder: Does it make people happier when they imagine things they would like to buy, but can't afford?