In high school I took AP Economics. Here’s what I remember learning:
- Alan Greenspan is the most powerful man in the United States…maybe the world. I think this information might be dated...
- Bridge. After the AP exams were taken for the last month of school we learned how to play Bridge.
- MR=MC. Marginal Revenue = Marginal Cost. This is the area of maximum profit. Then Mr. McCarthy told us, “Tattoo this on your left wrist.”
- Opportunity Cost. My paraphrase of the definition: you can make some things less expensively than buying it, but you have to consider your time and energy in actually making it. Are you saving money if you spend 100 hours to make something and it only costs a dollar more to buy it already made?
With simplicity, sometimes the idea of convenience is mistaken
for simplicity. Is it better to buy a
cup of coffee at a local coffee shop or gas station or make it at home? Does simplicity
loose its simplicity when just becomes a list of things I can and cannot
do? Does simplicity mean being green,
finding the fastest or most efficient way of doing stuff, or finding the
cheapest way to do something?
My area that I wonder if I make my life better or harder is
with baby food. I strive to make most of
it for X, like I did Alex. However I use
my time and energy to do so. I'm pretty sure I
save money, I feel like it’s healthier, and it’s something I can control as a
working mother. There’s something about
making it that makes me feel better. For me, the time and energy is worth the
opportunity cost instead of buying. So
part of my grocery bill was spending money on fresh sweet potatoes and five
pounds of chicken so I could make some baby food. Hey a kid’s got to eat! J
May 6: $69.79 Aldi—I stuck to the list (except for eggs),
probably one of my shortest trips there ever!
$50.60 Wal-Mart—Had to buy things that Aldi didn’t have,
like breakfast sandwiches, cilantro, another essential--ice cream, and
butternut squash for X. Again, I really stuck
to the list! No impulse chocolate buys or anything. Gold star for me! J
Total: $120.39. This
total is for a two week menu of breakfast, lunch and dinners. As I was planning, I really focused on using
what I already on hand. Aside from the
chicken for X, I didn’t buy any meat between Wal-Mart or Aldi.
May 7: none
May 8: $11.89 Gas at Speedway (it was only 3 gallons, but
probably enough to get me through a week.
Yes, I don’t travel much and yes, my car gets decent gas mileage! J)
$2.23 snack at Speedway (this was a temptation I couldn’t resist…)
Month total: $139.79
All I remember about economics class in high school is the teacher stapling a kid named Daren because the student kept bothering him!
ReplyDelete-Joe