Have you recently bought something you regretted? Do you wish you had spent a little more time thinking about buying that new car, or looking for a better deal on your latest smartphone?
Every single day of our lives we make a tireless number of decisions. Whether it’s the color of our outfit or the route we will take to work. By the end of the day, we have exhausted our decision making resources. At this point we end up making quick and easy decisions which aren’t always the best option for us.
Our poor decisions could be a result of decision fatigue. According to research conducted by Columbia University, we can suffer from decision fatigue especially after a long day at work or when we make a lot of choices. Your will power begins to fade , and your brain would rather make decisions which require less thought process.
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It’s also why personalities such as Mark Zuckerberg or President Obama spend little time on mundane decisions such as deciding what they are going to wear. In an interview with Vanity Fair, President Obama said:
“You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits,” he said. “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.”
Other times, our decisions are based on emotions or because we just don’t have time. How many times have we made an expensive purchase after a bad day or bought an over priced item because we were to lazy to compare? Therefore, to make better choices, we need to take a step back, spend more time and compare all our options. Especially if the decisions are with regards to big financial purchases such as a new car or a mortgage.
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UAE residents share a few instances with us of when comparing comes in handy:
“A couple of years ago I was shopping for a credit card that offered sky miles and discounts on travel. I was so focused on the offers and interest rates that I forgot to look at the annual card fees. Later I discovered that there were other credit cards with similar miles program offers but with much lower annual fees!” – Aisha, 35, Abu Dhabi.
“I never compare air fares. I just book with Emirates every time because I am obsessed with trying to reach the Silver membership. In reality I am still nowhere near and could have saved a fortune by flying with other airlines.”- Mike, 40, Dubai.
“When you send money back home, comparing forex rates at different exchange houses is important, since a few points here and there can make a big difference in the conversion you get. I have lost out in the past as I was too lazy to do the research.”-Laila, 29, Sharjah.
“I once bought really expensive headphones in haste. After I bought them, I found out I could have saved a few hundred dirhams if I had just walked two stores down.”-Rohit, 22, Abu Dhabi.
“My husband and I bought a car last year. We were so caught up in deciding which car we wanted that we forgot about the DSF sales. A week after we bought our car, the DSF sale started and the price of the same car went down by AED 6000,” Jill, 31, Dubai.
“When buying gold, you should always compare the making prices from jeweler to jeweler, since you can end up getting a similar design for much less. I once bought a heavy gold necklace from one store only to realize that at another the making charges were lower,” Vanessa, 38, Sharjah.