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- [Tyler] Once you master 
the economic way of thinking,

you'll see the world 
in a very different way.

Two fundamental economic concepts 
are everywhere you look --

opportunity cost,

and tradeoffs.

Let's start with opportunity cost.

At this busy coffee shop,

opportunity costs lie 
behind every decision.

Like for Jenny -- she's here 
for her third date with Adam.

Was that a good decision?

After all, economics is 
all about studying decisions.

Making a good decision is 
about comparing the benefits

of that decision to the costs.

The obvious costs for this date,

for Jenny, were the Uber ride
she paid for to get here,

and her grande chai tea latte
with whole milk.

But what's missing?

Her opportunity cost.

Opportunity cost means the value 
of the next best alternative.

For instance, instead of going
on her third date with Adam,

Jenny could've been binge watching
her favorite tv show.

She might've been 
on a first date instead,

with Roman.

Or she might've been 
having breakfast

with her very sweet sister.

Let's say her next best option

would've been 
breakfast with her sister.

Does the benefit 
of this third date with Adam

outweigh the opportunity cost?

It might seem strange 
to think this way about romance,

and it doesn't mean that it's 
about calculating every decision

down to the last penny.

Nonetheless, Jenny's time, 
attention and energy --

those are scarce.

And if she doesn't consider 
the alternatives at all,

she might be wasting 
parts of her life.

There's another 
fundamental related concept

from economics -- tradeoffs.

Take these sprinklers 
in the ceiling of the coffee shop,

for example.

Adding sprinklers can 
make it safer during a fire,

but they also can cost 
a lot of money to install.

How much cheaper would 
the coffee be without them?

In a world of scarce resources,
one typically has to choose.

There's a tradeoff -- 
safer buildings cost more,

but that means the coffee can 
be more expensive.

The line is out the door here.

Perhaps the owner has considered
opening a second location.

As the building code, however,
becomes more stringent,

the cost of opening 
an additional location goes up.

It's not just the direct 
monetary costs of paying

for things like sprinklers.

It's also the opportunity costs
of the extra time and effort

to file permits, manage the work
and schedule inspections.

A more stringent building code 
means a higher cost

for opening up new businesses.

And in turn, 
that higher cost can mean

that fewer new businesses 
get opened.

What's the right tradeoff
between making buildings safer...

and making it easier 
to launch new businesses?

Once you see these tradeoffs,

you'll find them 
everywhere you look --

healthcare,

food,

the environment.

education.

One more decision to consider --

if you're a teacher, 
should you spice up

your economics class 
by checking out our free unit plan

that uses this video?

If you're a learner, 
should you watch another MRU video?

Well, YouTube is full 
of entertaining videos,

[cat meows]

but please, of course, consider
the opportunity costs.