--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Money is all about opportunity cost…" description: "\"Money is all about opportunity cost. Every time you spend on something, that's something you can't spend on something else.\" — Dan Ariely" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/dan-ariely-1899_cost_money-is-all-about-opportunity-cost-ever_119123.png" --- # Money is all about opportunity cost. Every time you spend… ![“Money is all about opportunity cost. Every time you spend on something, that's something you can't spend on something else.” quote by Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/dan-ariely-1899_cost_money-is-all-about-opportunity-cost-ever_119123.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/dan-ariely-1899_cost_money-is-all-about-opportunity-cost-ever_119123.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/dan-ariely-1899_cost_money-is-all-about-opportunity-cost-ever_119123.png) > “Money is all about opportunity cost. Every time you spend on something, that's something you can't spend on something else.” [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Every expenditure represents a trade‑off; spending on one thing inherently for up the opportunity to spend on another. **In simple terms:** Spending = opportunity cost. Key Takeaway Resources are finite, choices matter. Themes economics decision making finance Mood analytical thoughtful Type educational When to use this quote - budget reviews - investment decisions - time allocation Key Concepts scarcity principle behavioral economics Practical Applications - Track all expenses to see trade‑offs - Prioritize high‑value uses Questions to Reflect On - How can awareness of opportunity cost improve budgeting? - When might a non‑monetary cost outweigh financial cost? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Money Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money-opportunity-1393256/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Opportunity cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity-cost/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Spend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spend/) [Spend Spend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spend-spend-1393255/) ## Related quotes > [I'm riding around and I'm getting it, I'm riding around and I'm getting it. It's mine, I spend it. It's mine, I spend it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2-chainz/i-m-riding-around-and-i-m-getting-it-i-m-riding-around-and-i-m/) [2 Chainz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/2-chainz/) > [I'm sayin', why spend mine when I can spend yours?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-kim/i-m-sayin-why-spend-mine-when-i-can-spend-yours/) [Lil' Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-kim/) > [We are going to tax and tax, spend and spend, elect and elect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/we-are-going-to-tax-and-tax-spend-and-spend-elect-and-elect/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [After all, time is not money. It is an opportunity to live before you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-c-peattie/after-all-time-is-not-money-it-is-an-opportunity-to-live-before-you/) [Donald C. Peattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-c-peattie/) > [I would love to play cricket today, with all - I am not just talking of money - the opportunity you get, the practice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-turner/i-would-love-to-play-cricket-today-with-all-i-am-not-just-talking-of/) [Glenn Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-turner/) > [Money is very difficult to think about. So, we think about money as the opportunity cost of money. So, we at some point went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/money-is-very-difficult-to-think-about-so-we-think-about-money-as-the/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Money are very difficult to think about. So, we think about money as the opportunity cost of money. So, we at some point went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/money-are-very-difficult-to-think-about-so-we-think-about-money-as/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [The problem with opportunity cost is that opportunity cost is divided among many, many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/the-problem-with-opportunity-cost-is-that-opportunity-cost-is-divided/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Obviously, consideration of costs is key, including opportunity costs. Of course capital isn't free. It's easy to figure out your cost of borrowing, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/obviously-consideration-of-costs-is-key-including-opportunity-costs/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Sure, you can choose the safety and predictability of the cage, forfeiting the adventure God has destined for you. But you won't be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/sure-you-can-choose-the-safety-and-predictability-of-the-cage/) [Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/) > [Tax and Tax, spend and spend, elect and elect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-hopkins/tax-and-tax-spend-and-spend-elect-and-elect/) [Harry Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-hopkins/) > [Life is like a coin,you can spend it anywhere but you only spend it once,,!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-like-a-coin-you-can-spend-it-anywhere-but-you-only-spend-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We shall tax and tax, and spend and spend, and elect and elect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-hopkins/we-shall-tax-and-tax-and-spend-and-spend-and-elect-and-elect/) [Harry Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-hopkins/) > [If you spend your own money on yourself, you care how much you spend and how well you spend it. If you spend your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/if-you-spend-your-own-money-on-yourself-you-care-how-much-you-spend/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [Corruption is a fact of life in America as in Afganistan, but as American citizens, if we are white, we tend to experience it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-chayes/corruption-is-a-fact-of-life-in-america-as-in-afganistan-but-as/) [Sarah Chayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-chayes/) ## More by Dan Ariely > [If you think of people as making decisions actively, every time we think about the cup of coffee, we say, "How much will I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-think-of-people-as-making-decisions-actively-every-time-we/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [ “\[..\] we human beings are ready and willing to steal something that does not explicitly reference monetary value - that is, something that lacks… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/we-human-beings-are-ready-and-willing-to-steal-something-that-does/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/it-is-true-that-from-a-behavioral-economics-perspective-we-are/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“Contrafreeloading,” a term coined by the animal psychologist Glen Jensen, refers to the finding that many animals prefer to earn food rather than simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/contrafreeloading-a-term-coined-by-the-animal-psychologist-glen/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [One of the big lessons from behavioral economics is that we make decisions as a function of the environment that we're in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/one-of-the-big-lessons-from-behavioral-economics-is-that-we-make/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Not all debt is bad. 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Rather, it shows that our sense of our own morality is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/this-result-suggests-that-cheating-is-not-driven-by-concerns-about/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“ONE OF THE main differences between standard and behavioral economics involves this concept of “free lunches.” According to the assumptions of standard economics, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/one-of-the-main-differences-between-standard-and-behavioral-economics/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [The people that lend you money basically give you an answer based on the risk that they are willing to take. But just because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/the-people-that-lend-you-money-basically-give-you-an-answer-based-on/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“Upton Sinclair once noted, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/upton-sinclair-once-noted-it-is-difficult-to-get-a-man-to-understand/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [If you get people to feel that they are putting something, that they are creating it and so on, their love for the project…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-get-people-to-feel-that-they-are-putting-something-that-they/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [If I gave you now, $10 as a gift, how happy would you be? Would you be happy, is the marginal $10, the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-i-gave-you-now-10-as-a-gift-how-happy-would-you-be-would-you-be/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Imagine you have six loans, small to huge. People want to close loans and because of that, they try to pay off the small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/imagine-you-have-six-loans-small-to-huge-people-want-to-close-loans/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“he started by selling his Porsche Boxster and buying a Toyota Prius in its place.4 “I don’t want to live the life of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/he-started-by-selling-his-porsche-boxster-and-buying-a-toyota-prius/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [When you get a checking account, you should have a savings account, and the number for the savings account should be one off of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/when-you-get-a-checking-account-you-should-have-a-savings-account-and/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) [Explore all 198 Dan Ariely quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) ## More Cost quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. 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It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) [Robbin Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbin-crosby/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I believe that government is too large, costs too much, spends too much, and has too much regulatory power in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-walberg/i-believe-that-government-is-too-large-costs-too-much-spends-too-much/) [Tim Walberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-walberg/) > [One reason for the tremendous increase in health-care costs in the U.S. is managerial neglect of the "hotel services" by the people who dominate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-reason-for-the-tremendous-increase-in-health-care-costs-in-the-u/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [They brought on someone who cost more than our stadium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-rodgers/they-brought-on-someone-who-cost-more-than-our-stadium/) [Brendan Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-rodgers/) > [When the government pays, health care's lack of affordability becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. 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