1 / 5 Myth #1: Pay For Your Vacation After You Get Home...

...since you're getting a bonus next month anyway, right? Or, take advantage of the department store's buy-now-pay-later option on that beautiful rug for your living room, because it's an interest-free deal. But there's a psychological reason to pay ahead of time, says Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, authors of <em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/opinion/sunday/happier-spending.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0" target="_blank">Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending</a></em>. They've found research that suggests you'll enjoy your vacation more if you aren't sitting on the beach while thinking about what a huge bill you'll be facing once you get home. We get more happiness from things -- whether it's chocolate, a new book, or even a vacation -- we pay for, but don't use right away, than we do from goods we put on credit cards or deferred plans.

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