Money Rules to Live By IV

Every money decision has a cost of its own
"Opportunity cost," very simply, means what we give up in order to get something else. In every choice, there's an opportunity cost. If you decide to go to university, for example, you're giving up the income you could have earned by working full-time during those years plus whatever you could have purchased with the money used to attend school. You also may take on loans to pay for school, which will have to be paid back with future income that could have gone for other purposes.
The good news, of course, is that even with opportunity costs, university is a slam-dunk for most people. Statistically, the average graduate makes 70% more over his or her lifetime than someone who stops with a "A-level" Certificate or Diploma.
If, however, you train for a career that has little demand and wind up making the same amount as a Diploma holder, or trailing huge amounts of student loan debt you can never repay, you may regret the money spent on school and the foregone income.
Understanding that our choices have opportunity costs, and examining what those costs are, should help us make better economic decisions.