a classic example here is the “extra bedroom for Grandma”—visits from Grandma are easy to imagine, but if she only comes a couple of days a year, spending tens of thousands more dollars for a house with an extra bedroom and bathroom for her is probably pretty stupid. You’d save money—and make her happier—by putting her up in the local five star hotel.
I’m going to buy a house with a room for “grandma”, and here’s why: While it might cost me less to put guests in luxury hotels, it’s going to cost me every time I have a guest over. I might be unusual here, but I know that both the cost and the slightly more difficult choice (“Should I save the money by not inviting them to stay?”) is going to make me unhappy every time I get a guest.
From a purely economical view point this line of thinking might be irrational, but I’ve found that the action or prospect of paying has a real cost in happiness, so I prefer to do pay more once than less split over many instances.
There’s also the fact that, if Grandma is in a luxury hotel, then there will be a certain amount of commuting back and forth between your house and the hotel for as long as Grandma is there. It might not seem like much, but an extra commute is quite an inconvenience—unless of course you happen to pick a house across the street from a luxury hotel...
That’s fair, but it’s also worth considering whether the circuitry that causes unhappiness every time you put someone up in a hotel is something you can edit in the long run.
For example, if each time “grandma” visits and you put her up in a hotel you make a point of rehearsing in your mind all the additional amenities a hotel can offer “grandma” (maid service, etc.), or if you set aside a “bucket” of money into which the extra mortgage payments you aren’t making gets transferred every month and pay the hotel out of that slush fund (and maybe pay other costs of “grandmas” visit out of it as well, like paying for cabs rather than picking her up at the airport, or paying for fancy dinners for her, or whatever makes you and her happy), or whatever, you might discover after a year or two that you no longer feel that way.
I’m going to buy a house with a room for “grandma”, and here’s why: While it might cost me less to put guests in luxury hotels, it’s going to cost me every time I have a guest over. I might be unusual here, but I know that both the cost and the slightly more difficult choice (“Should I save the money by not inviting them to stay?”) is going to make me unhappy every time I get a guest.
From a purely economical view point this line of thinking might be irrational, but I’ve found that the action or prospect of paying has a real cost in happiness, so I prefer to do pay more once than less split over many instances.
There’s also the fact that, if Grandma is in a luxury hotel, then there will be a certain amount of commuting back and forth between your house and the hotel for as long as Grandma is there. It might not seem like much, but an extra commute is quite an inconvenience—unless of course you happen to pick a house across the street from a luxury hotel...
Why not purchase an air mattress or a pull-out couch?
That’s fair, but it’s also worth considering whether the circuitry that causes unhappiness every time you put someone up in a hotel is something you can edit in the long run.
For example, if each time “grandma” visits and you put her up in a hotel you make a point of rehearsing in your mind all the additional amenities a hotel can offer “grandma” (maid service, etc.), or if you set aside a “bucket” of money into which the extra mortgage payments you aren’t making gets transferred every month and pay the hotel out of that slush fund (and maybe pay other costs of “grandmas” visit out of it as well, like paying for cabs rather than picking her up at the airport, or paying for fancy dinners for her, or whatever makes you and her happy), or whatever, you might discover after a year or two that you no longer feel that way.
Or, then again, you might not.