Opportunity Cost

     The dictionary defines opportunity cost as "the opportunities forgone in the choice of one expenditure over others."  It means that if you do one thing you can't do another.  If you have $10 and you buy a Kindle book for $10, you cannot use that same $10 to buy two cups of coffee.  So in that example, the opportunity cost of the Kindle book is two cups of coffee.  This was one of the best concepts that I learned in economics.  I also had a professor who helped me all through college and he talked about this idea a lot.
     The idea works for time, not just money.  Earlier today, my baby girl wanted to have a picnic on the living room floor.  If I had a picnic on the floor with her, I could not write my blog then.  So the opportunity cost of that picnic was blogging then.  So I had the picnic then and I am blogging now.  But now, since I am blogging, I cannot read a Kindle book with this same time.  There is an opportunity cost for each choice I make.  Just like you taking the time to read my blog- you are giving up anything else you could be doing with your time.  So, thanks for making my blog a priority for you.
     The opportunity cost of some things could be one's health.  If one eats food that is not good for him all of the time, if he smokes, if he consistently doesn't get enough sleep, if he drinks too much, then the opportunity cost would be his health. 
     When I am trying to make a decision about what I should or what I should buy, I try to think about the opportunity cost.  What am I giving up so that I can have _______?  Is it worth that cost?  Is it worth giving up that opportunity so I can have this?  Sometimes when I ask myself, the answer is "yes, it is."  But sometimes it is "no."  If it isn't worth the cost, I need to figure out what is worth the cost.  Then, I do that.  :-)  What are the opportunity costs of the decisions that you make with your time?  Your money?  Your health?  Thanks for reading.  :-)