caravan psychology and economics 101
Living in a caravan for a couple of weeks can teach you a lot about human nature, apparently.
(Oh sorry did I not mention that we’ve just got back from a holiday in the South of France? 🙂 )
Rather than string it out into 2 separate posts on the subject 1 I’ve just plopped my casual observations into one.
false economies
We stayed in 3 caravans, the first and last were really nice ones (we even, shock horror, paid slightly extra to upgrade them from the bog standard models for a bit of a treat). The middle one was a bit of a tin can on stilts, with decor straight out of the 70’s. Everything was very brown and looked very, very old.
It was fine to “slum it” in this ‘van for a few nights and we had a lot of fun still so there were no issues there, but the thing was so damn small and just not very pleasant to sit around in we found ourselves eating out a lot more than we had done at the other two nice caravans.
The obvious point that came to my mind here is that scrimping on the cost of the middle ‘van was a false economy.
We probably saved £50-100 on the cost of the ‘van for 3 nights, but spent over that on an extra couple of lunches and evening meals out in the time we stayed there.
It may not be the best example of this phenomenon, i.e. sometimes it’s nice to go out instead of eating in all the time when you are abroad so it made sense to scrimp on the ‘van in this case.
But it’s definitely something we should think about more when purchasing “cheaper” items that will ultimately cost us more in the long run, when they break or we decide we wish we’d bought a slightly better item in the first place and end up buying twice.
happiness = expectations vs reality
Our expectations were raised by the first ‘luxury’ caravan, and subsequently the reality of the second one seemed much worse when we arrived there.
This also points to our good friend we are all well acquainted to in the FIRE world: hedonic adaption
We were amazed by how nice the first caravan was when we got there, but by the end of the week I suppose we just got used it, adapting just like our hedonic little brains typically do!
Of course the good news is that this effect worked in reverse when we went to the third caravan which was bigger and nicer and we really appreciated this one much more than we would have done if we’d have gone straight from #1 to #3.
I guess the moral of the story is that even when you have money and success and can afford to always buy the best, it is good to deliberately expose yourselves to things that are not so good, or situations that are not so great, in order to really appreciate what you have. As we all know gratitude can go a long way to helping you achieve long term happiness.
People who swan around the world and only surround themselves with luxury are really missing out on one of the best aspects of travelling which is seeing how the other half (or more accurately 99%) live and gaining some life altering perspectives on how lucky they actually are!!!
Notes:
- Which would really be a bit of a stretch anyway! ↩
Wise words TFS. This is why lifestyle inflation is so hard to come back from. Better to nip it in the bud early, then you won’t feel the hit so much.
It’s actually crazy how much perspective and recent experiences alter your mood in the present/future (as we see from the ups and downs of EWB).
I think practicing mindfulness is a lot more important than most people think.
SavingNinja recently posted…Thinking About the Future
A very good point Saving Ninja!
I feel we are far too down the line of lifestyle inflation now to go back to a level of frugality you and Mrs Ninja are at, but I’m comfortable where we are and that we are not too wasteful in our overall expenses.
I’m signed up to a mindfulness starter session at work next week actually. Out of 100+ employees I think only 2 people signed up to it… haha.
I thought that sort of thing was all the rage nowadays, but it shows how much the general population actually give a rats arse about it… shame really. I will report back on it once I’ve done it anyway, hopefully be useful! 🙂
Ooo, exciting! Yes, please do 🙂
SavingNinja recently posted…Thinking About the Future
We found the same with your first example. We recently returned from a caravan / mobile home holiday in Whitby. Staying in a hotel or apartment would have cost way more than we wanted to pay. However, we found the caravan freezing during the night and early mornings. We weren’t allowed to leave the heating on overnight for safety reason (gas fire). As soon as we put the heating on during the day, it got roasting hot. We just couldn’t get the temperature right.
We just ended up staying out a lot, which isn’t a bad thing but we did end up eating out a lot more as well.
Maybe we will opt for an apartment next time. We’re not sure. There was still something quite charming about staying in a mobile home / caravan.
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Mobile homes / Caravans do take a bit of getting used to especially in the UK if the weather is not too great. We stayed in one at the start of April down in the New Forest, but it was a really swanky one (was a really cheap though due to time of year) so the cold/heating thing was never an issue.
Although we are used to it having stayed at the in-laws caravan on the Isle or Wight a number of times over the last few years (nice but definitely wouldn’t describe that as swanky) – you just need to wear extra clothes at night and blast the heating for 20 mins in the morning and switch it off or down to lowest setting as soon as it is warm enough because as you note, those things warm up pretty damn fast.
Good luck with your future ‘vanning adventures 🙂
It’s fortunate that you didn’t get the least desirable combo, imagine if the order of stay had been 3, 1 then finishing on 2, that might have put a bit of a downer to the end of your holiday! It really is all about appreciation and perception – perhaps the ultimate combo would have been to have started with caravan 2 – you could have all been giddy from starting and happy to be away from home!
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Haha! That would have been bad because the weather took a turn for the worse as well at the end. Bad weather + bad ‘van = miserable last few days! 🙂
It’s funny how being too frugal can end up costing us more. I’m sometimes surprised that I’ll still buy cheap tools from time to time…and then kind of laugh at myself when it breaks and I feel the urge to buy the cheap one AGAIN.
Buying it ‘right’ is a good strategy sometimes. Really hard to know up front whether you’re better off splurging or going frugal though…hindsight and all that.
We’re going to the south of France this fall (Paris, Nice, Lyon, then up to Geneva & Munich). We should connect and maybe share some tips!
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Haha yep I’ve done that with tools as well over the years, although am much better at this now I’ve done a few big DIY jobs, so I can justify buying at least half decent kit because overall I am saving (sometimes tonnes) of money by doing the job myself in the first place. It’s a good psychological trick so you don’t get the guilt of spending the money on good tools you would have otherwise!
Yea definitely hit me up if you want any suggestions. Not been to Lyon but have done Paris and obviously the areas surrounding Nice (but not actually Nice itself so depends on exactly where you are staying)
Cheers
Love hearing about your trips to France! I guess it can be enjoyed at many price brackets. As there are only two of us, we book cheap accommodation as we go along, and have surprised ourselves with some gems in touristy places (only a few downers!). My pet hate is improper cleaning and bad smells.
Food wise, we use Aldi and Lidl which appear more interesting in France. Salads with dressing for lunch and frying salmon on the camping stove for dinner.
We also use caravans, cottages, camping and airB&B. For us, it’s the Goldilocks principal. Avoiding what we hate and going for what we (sometimes peculiarly!) actually like. I’m with you on coping with the cold in caravans etc. We bring a small fan heater in case we get caught out. Also a camping stove, tin of chilli and instant rice etc. for “no decent supermarkets/cafes about” times.
It’s good to mix it up, as you say, the more basic experiences make the others feel a real treat.
Ah cool glad someone does and I’m not just boring everyone to tears with it.. haha 🙂
You can definitely get away with cheaper places and/or last minute bookings without kids, as there is not that extra “what if” factor at play and it’s much easier to just muddle through a bad pick with 2 adults.
Pan fried Salmon on the camp stove, living like kings! It’s a shame some people seem to need that sort of thing served up on fine china and charged 20 times as much to enjoy it.
Yea we did a few Lidl’s, I agree they do seem more exciting abroad.
The giant Supermarche’s are also very exciting but definitely more expensive, I have never seen so much choice of ice creams in my life! 7 different types of Mars ice cream?!!? How many do you really need!? 🙂
Thanks for your comment and sharing your experiences Rowan Tree
We just got back from our friends’ wedding at which we camped – the second time we have done so. The look of horror on some people’s faces when you say you’re camping is fantastic!!
A bit of exposure to discomfort is definitely a good thing. We come back from camping trips like this and really appreciate our house again! Hopefully this can be a way to really keep lifestyle inflation to a minimum – certainly working so far!
Couldn’t agree more that those swanning around the world in luxury are missing out on something. It’s the experiences with locals that really make most holidays for us and you only truly get that if you’re willing to mix in!
A Way to Less recently posted…The Skill of Life Design
Eating out is the killer on camping and caravanning, you can find that saving money costs you a fortune 😉
Seeking really good local suppliers can make eating in more fun when camping. While it probably won’t apply to you for some time, camping by yourself is massively cheaper in some ways. Mrs Ermine and I spend more than if I camp alone, because I just don’t eat out on my own, and I am prepared to rough it more to be able to go way for longer.
> Our expectations were raised by the first ‘luxury’ caravan, and subsequently the reality of the second one seemed much worse when we arrived there.
I did a big version of this experiment last year: moving out of a house with more space than we needed and into one which is, erm… cosier 🙂
There’s no denying that the new house is too small (we’re currently planning the extension) but it really did feel like a massive ‘downgrade’ because we’d got used to a 20 foot long kitchen.
Like you said I suppose – it’s the programmed expectation which is the problem, not the ‘new thing that’s not as good as the old thing’.
> …we really appreciated this one much more than we would have done if we’d have gone straight from #1 to #3
In my more religiously frugal days, I used to take a packed lunch to work every day. Now I take a packed lunch most days.
The days on which I buy a nice sandwich and the nights when I sit down at 8:30 after washing up rather than making my lunch for the next day and sitting down at 9 (maybe once every week) actually feel like some crazy rich person luxury to me… because of my longstanding low expectation of making my own lunch come what may.
I find hedonic adaptation is a bit of a balancing act. I like the occasional ‘treat’ (which most spendy people wouldn’t consider a treat) but I know that I can’t experience that too often, lest it lose its effectiveness and make me want to give myself a bigger treat.
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