Why Is Understanding Opportunity Cost Important?

 

It’s very difficult to achieve financial prosperity without puting the concept of opportunity cost to use in your spending.

It’s normal to have many wants competing for your money, which may not be enough to get all of them for you.  So, to get the best out of your spending, you must understand the value attached to the best alternative foregone.  This is opportunity cost.  

Understanding ande applying the concept of opportunity of cost to your personal finance, are going to help you achieve the following seven personal financial goals;

1.Spending  Within Budgetary Provision:

A good budget should be a financial plan that accommodates absolutely necessary expected spending within expected income.  Obviously, a good budget is not possible in the absence of opportunity cost as you wouldn’t be to put in the budget, only things which enhance personal financial health.  

So after the budget has been set up with the help of opportunity cost,  you would stay within your budgetary spending limits if you stuck to your budget.

2. Acquisition of Only Relevant Current Assets ;sm

This is possible with the aid of opportunity cost.  When the value of the best alternative is foregone, it means an alternative with a higher value is chosen.  When current assets like vehicles, and furniture are purchased on the basis of durability, most flexible usability and best maintenance option, then only relevant ones are chosen and acquisition of toxic assets are avoided.

3. Elimination of the Purchase of Toxic Assets:  

As mentioned above, the purchase of toxic assets is avoided when opportunity cost guides every purchase.

The elimination of toxic assets from your current assets is important as wasteful maintenance costs are eliminated.

Apart from the elimination of the leakages through wasteful maintenance costs, valuable space is saved for relevant current assets. And .more money is freed up to fund financial growth.

4. Money is freed up for savings:  

No money spent on toxic assets means more money saved.

As more and more potentially redundant assets are struck-off your spending list, more and more money is saved.

5. More Money Saved means significant: Capital (or equity) for investment in other streams of income.

What is the significant of this?

It gives financial health to your money because your saving begins to outweigh your spending..

6. Opportunity Cost is a good guide to good investment:

Opportunity cost if applied objectively and professionally, should help to narrow your options to the most viable investment opportunities available.  

You should be able to rank investment opportunities in terms of highest returns and quickest pay back periods then go for the one that best guarantees your investment.

7. Credit Rating / Worthiness Improvement:

A consistent application of opportunity cost to your spending should naturally help you to lower your indebtedness and consequently improve your credit rating.

Successful Investors: What's Their Number One Secret?

First, what according to 5 great investors, "The key to successful investment is?"

1.“If you double the number of experiments you do per year you’re going to double your inventiveness.” – Jeff Bezos

2. . "An nvestment in knowledge pays the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin.

3. "I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful." - Warren Buffett.

4. How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case." - Robert G. Allen.

5. You get recessions, you have stock market declines. If you don't understand that's going to happen, then you're not ready, you won't do well in the markets." - Peter Lynch

" The success template is already there. It is with those who are a success. If you are close to one learn from close quarters,  but if you are not close to one and  you can't figure out a way to have access then read and learn. Either way you are going to save yourself wasted years of having to wander, fruitlessly, in the woods. Focus on first learning everything you could about the business you wish to go into. But don't spend a life time just learning without taking the leap. Find out;

1. Is it going to fill a need?

2. Are you passionate about it? Because if you are not passionate about it, you may find it difficult to find the way when you run into a hitch.

3. If what you are passionate about is going to fill a need, where are those with this peculiar need? Can you reach them at the lowest of costs and easily too?

4. If you could take care of 1-3 above then get started and continue to learn on it.

Continue to study with greater emphasis on learning to know the habits of successful people in business. How many are in the business you want to go into? Learn from them and learn from successful people in other businesses too. Success has few fundamentals that are the same in all human endeavors. For instance Goodwill."- (From The Book,  "Answers  To Life's Frequently Asked Questions").