SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/teen-opportunity-cost

You spend $40 on a game instead of saving it. What is the opportunity cost?

It is the next best use you gave up.

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  1. The $40 price of the game
  2. The next best use of that money you gave up ✔
  3. The tax added to the game

Why: Opportunity cost is not the sticker price. It is the value of whatever you would have chosen instead, such as saving the money.

Huh, didn't know that: The same idea applies to time as well as money.

The dad joke
My opportunity cost of sleeping in is a pancake.
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References

Answer: The next best use of that money you gave up. Opportunity cost is not the sticker price. It is the value of whatever you would have chosen instead, such as saving the money.

  1. CFPB Youth Financial Education Glossary www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/educator-tools/youth-financial-education/glossary
    Cost of the next best use of your money or time when you choose to buy or do one thing rather than another.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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Test yourself in the game

MoneyAt a new job, what does Form W-4 tell your employer?MoneyAfter you are hired, how long does an employer have to finish its part of Form I-9?MoneyOn Form I-9, which part do you, the new employee, fill out at the time of hire?

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