When we asked New York Times travel writer Seth Kugel one of the biggest mistakes traveler's make, he was quick to answer:
"Most budget-saving tips involve either a time or a comfort trade-off. People who research airfares will spend a whole night searching for airfares and setting up alerts and at the end of the day they save $50. To some people, that's worth it and other people would rather watch 'Breaking Bad' and read a story to their kids at night."
He hit Dunn and Norton's first point right on the head.
When you trade your time for some kind of monetary payoff (saving $20 on a flight or making $100 by working overtime), you could be sacrificing your overall happiness in the process. Now, if you get a high from saving five cents on a gallon of gas by driving 10 miles out of your way, then fine. But most people would be happier spending a little extra money to get home 20 minutes earlier for dinner.
"Research suggests that people with more money do not spend their time in more enjoyable ways on a day-to-day basis," the authors write."Wealthier individuals tend to spend more of their time on activities associated with relatively high levels of tension and stress, such as shopping, working, and commuting."