opportunity cost When determining the cost of something, the pertinent comparison isn’t with zero – but with what you’d do with the money if you didn’t do it.

Cost of renting a house, vs buying? Rent: $800/mo, say. Buying: $160,000, say. Break even point: after 200mos (18yrs)? But, you’d own the house, and never need to pay rent again, ever! (?) But if you had $160,000 you could invest it for $4800/yr, or $400/mo. So break-even point is really 400mos. Opportunity cost of buying a house includes the loss of potential investment.

how much does it cost to go to RU? $8800/yr tuition, fees, books, suppliestuition $10000/yr room and board, transport, expenses But the best answer also involves what you’d do if you weren’t in school. Get a job! How much does it pay? $8/hr * 40hrs/wk * 50wk/yr = $16,000/yr $24,800/yr So, factoring in the opportunity cost of getting a job, the real yearly cost of RU is:

“investing in lifetimes” But: after graduating college, you can get a better job. Lifetime earnings w/ High School degree: $1.2million ! Lifetime earnings w/ Bachelor’s degree: $2.1million !! So the cost of college is high, but the lifetime opportunity cost is a gain.