While there are plenty of people out there who take weeks or even months to plan out anything they might do, it seems a lot of folks have no problem picking up and doing, or buying, stuff on the spur of the moment. A new poll finds that 68% of Americans would describe themselves as spontaneous, with 71% of people who say they are very spontaneous describing themselves as very happy.
But being spontaneous isn’t necessarily good for the wallet. It seems the average person spends $144.25 a month on last-minute spends, which adds up to $103,860 over a course of a lifetime. Not that it really matters to folks, since 53% of people say their best purchasing decisions were spontaneous ones.
As for what decisions are the most spontaneous for people, 59% say it’s choosing a restaurant for dinner, while 24% say it’s their weekend plans. Other spontaneous decisions include deciding evening plans, or to go to a movie, wine tasting or music festival.
But even when something is spontaneous, people do consider the options when deciding whether to do something or not. When asked what the biggest factors that go into last minute decision making, cost is the biggest consideration (83%) followed by convenience (55%). So, what keeps people from attending a last minute event? Well, being too tired is the top reason (41%), followed by being sick (40%), and not wanting to be around people (30%).