rbgarr
09-22-2009, 08:59 PM
Advice from today's NYT Freakonomics column:
:D
Q.
I have a mid-life crisis project that I would like to undertake. My estimated price tag of this project is $6,000. My wife says that it is too expensive, as she feels that it is quite silly. My response is: “well, it’s cheaper than a convertible car or a mistress.” Obviously, I haven’t done a good job laying out the true cost/value of spending this $6,000 on my project. How else can I present this? — Lenny
A.
Behavioral economists know that people are strongly responsive to the framing of a decision as a loss or a gain. (For instance, when spending $100 to snap up an item that is normally $150, is she spending $100 or saving $50?) Your disagreement here is similar. She thinks you are spending $6,000 on something daft. You think you are saving her money. You need her to frame the situation this way too. Bring home catalogs for expensive sports cars and leave them lying around. Push for the car, then withdraw to your original project (What is it? A dungeon? A miniature helipad? The mind boggles), ruefully saying that the sports car is just too pricey. Don’t mention the mistress — although if your wife is a Freakonomics blog reader, it may be too late for that piece of advice.
:D
Q.
I have a mid-life crisis project that I would like to undertake. My estimated price tag of this project is $6,000. My wife says that it is too expensive, as she feels that it is quite silly. My response is: “well, it’s cheaper than a convertible car or a mistress.” Obviously, I haven’t done a good job laying out the true cost/value of spending this $6,000 on my project. How else can I present this? — Lenny
A.
Behavioral economists know that people are strongly responsive to the framing of a decision as a loss or a gain. (For instance, when spending $100 to snap up an item that is normally $150, is she spending $100 or saving $50?) Your disagreement here is similar. She thinks you are spending $6,000 on something daft. You think you are saving her money. You need her to frame the situation this way too. Bring home catalogs for expensive sports cars and leave them lying around. Push for the car, then withdraw to your original project (What is it? A dungeon? A miniature helipad? The mind boggles), ruefully saying that the sports car is just too pricey. Don’t mention the mistress — although if your wife is a Freakonomics blog reader, it may be too late for that piece of advice.