What kind of traveller are you?

Whether I’m heading away for three days, or three weeks, I’m a list person.  If I’m really honest, I’m a multi list person.  I have one for clothes and another for all the other stuff, like cables,  medical supplies, the dogs’ stuff, the list goes on.  Then of course if you are going camping there’s a list for that as well.

Friends of mine are more throw it in the bag as we are heading out the door and hope we have everything we need.  If we don’t there’s bound to be a shop that I can buy whatever I’ve forgotten.  I find it very hard to travel with these friends, as I find my self packing extra just in case.

I’ve been up in Auckland for the last week or so, house and dog sitting for a friend who has been overseas.  In the flurry of activity to get everything organised before I left home; Sorting out dog walkers for Jett, making sure Mum had support just in case.  I decided I didn’t need my list this time. I’m only going to Auckland, and I’ve done this trip lots of times was my rationale.

Then the inevitable happens.  I arrive in Auckland, go to set up my workspace, and there’s a gap where my laptop should have been.  I have the cables, the mouse, everything else I needed to work remotely, but no laptop.  I phoned Mum, and sure enough there it is on my desk in my office in Motueka. It wasn’t the end of the world; Mum popped it on a courier. I headed off and found a laptop on sale (Mum needs a new one, so she’s looking forward to her new toy when I get home).  I had a very relaxing weekend, and I was up and running on Monday morning as usual.

Then I realised.  I’d become a no list, buy it if you forget it traveller!

As I pondered this, I remembered reading about the psychology of travel, especially when it comes to how we pay for the experience. In Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter, Dan Ariely and Jeff Kreisler delve into the irrational ways we handle money, particularly when it comes to experiences like travel. This is a great book on Behavioural Economics and the stories they tell are very entertaining, well for me anyway.  One fascinating concept they explore is the idea of paying for a trip before you take it.

We can’t help it, we are human, which means we experience, what behavioural economists call the “pain of paying” – the discomfort we feel when handing over money. This pain is most acute at the moment of the transaction. Ariely and Kreisler argue that if you pay for a vacation well in advance, you’ll enjoy it more. Why? Because by the time you’re sipping cocktails on the beach, or skiing down the slopes, the financial sting of the expense is a distant memory. You can focus on the joy of the experience without being constantly reminded of its cost.

In contrast, paying as you go can lead to a fragmented holiday, where each dinner bill or hotel invoice brings a fresh wave of “payment pain.” This doesn’t just detract from the pleasure of the trip – it can make us more reluctant to indulge and enjoy ourselves.

I’ve seen that first hand on my own overseas trips, where the young honeymooners are arguing over the hotel bill as they are checking out.  Not the best way to end your honeymoon.!

Reflecting on my laptop-less weekend, I realised that, in some ways, the same principle applies to time as it does to money. By leaving behind my work tool, I paid in advance for my relaxation – the cost being the temporary inconvenience of not having everything I needed at my fingertips. And once the “pain” of that initial realisation was over, I was able to fully enjoy the freedom it afforded me, and I had a great weekend catching up with friends.

I’m heading back home today, I have printed my packing list, so I’m confident everything I brought with me is going back with me, plus a brand-new laptop for Mum!

So, next time you’re planning a holiday, consider two things: first, whether you’re a list person or a spontaneous packer, and second, how you handle the financial side of your trip. Maybe paying upfront for your holiday is the best investment you can make – not just financially, but for your peace of mind as well.