I’ve been wanting to write about luxury for a long time, and take the opportunity to ask you a question.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but when someone buys a vehicle from a prestige brand, they often give all kinds of plausible explanations.
“I travel long distances, so I need a comfortable vehicle. »
“I have lower back pain. I wouldn’t be comfortable on the seat of a small Kia! »
“The safety of my family comes first to me. No compromise on that! »
Explanations which, if we don’t dwell on them so much, are full of common sense.
The problem comes when you dwell on it a little…
A few years ago, Norbert Schwartz of the University of Michigan and Jing Xu of Peking University looked into the question of the impact of luxury vehicles on people’s satisfaction. They asked a group of participants if they thought driving a luxury car would be a more enjoyable experience than driving a regular car. Result: the majority believed that driving a luxury car would be more satisfying.
But when researchers asked people to quantify how much fun they had driving during a recent car trip, and tabulated the responses, they found that there was no difference between the responses given by people who had a luxury vehicle and those of people who drove an ordinary vehicle.
In a word, we quickly get used to luxury, and we quickly return to the same basic level of satisfaction.
Which brings me to my question.
Imagine for a moment that a genie appears and offers you a vehicle. It’s your lucky day!
The genie gives you two choices. Option 1: You can have a high-end Audi, but with the bodywork and logo of an inexpensive Kia model. Option 2: You can have a cheap Kia, but with the body and logo of a high-end Audi. As soon as you accept the car, only you know the subterfuge, and you cannot reveal the secret to anyone.
Think about it: with option 1, you benefit from unrivaled comfort, the best braking technologies, and foolproof safety. But your neighbors, your colleagues, your friends and other parents at the soccer field on Saturday morning will see you arriving in a cheap Kia.
With option 2, you have a more standard interior and options. But everyone is convinced that you are the owner of an Audi of the year.
Which option will you choose?
Logically, people who have a prestige vehicle would choose option 1, right? After all, their backs and the safety of their loved ones come before such unimportant things as signaling to others that one is successful. Is not it ?
I like the reflections (and discomfort) that this type of exercise provokes.
Note that when it comes to bogus justifications, I don’t want to seem like I’m lecturing.
For example, I discovered an excuse at home that I was living with without realizing it.
For years, I have been impatient in the evening when my son goes past his bedtime. I have been told that I do not always use the right tone to express myself in these moments.
Where does this impatience come from? The “good” reason, the one I accepted without thinking, is that I want my son to sleep long enough to be in good shape the next day.
Now, if I’m spending the evening outside, or if I’m traveling for work, do I worry about my son’s bedtime? No way. However, logically, I should be worried about it. How does my absence change the importance of him getting a good night’s sleep?
I realized that the “real” reason is that at 8:30 p.m., I can’t wait to get some peace and quiet in the house. And every minute this calm is pushed back gets on my nerves.
I suspected it, but you confirmed it: you don’t like stock market falls.
Marcel writes: “Sometimes I feel like selling everything, or half, and placing it all in a guaranteed investment certificate. But my partner doesn’t want to, and I respect her opinion. My problem is that I don’t like to see that I’m losing money. »
Denis writes: “Of course it concerns me. I am retired and I am withdrawing amounts from my RRIF and LIF. For now, I have enough cash and dividend income to cover withdrawals for a few years. Hoping that the stock markets will recover in 2024 or 2025.”
The final word goes to Alain:
“Every stock purchase has always been followed by falls. Always ! To quote a poem by Paul Valéry:
These days which seem empty to you / And lost to the universe / Have greedy roots / Which work the deserts […] Patience, patience, / Patience in the azure! Every atom of silence / Is the luck of a ripe fruit! »
