Optimal Finance Daily · Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Colin Wright, author of "The Cost of Things," argues that the price of goods is often far less than their true cost. This includes opportunity cost, long-term monetary expenses like interest on debt, and the vast resource and sustainability costs of production and supply chains.
“Every single thing we buy has a price. And that price is typically far larger than we think while swiping our cards at the checkout terminal or one-click shopping online.”
“Opportunity cost, for example, is what we give up in favor of what we choose to buy, consume, or spend our time with.”
“If I buy a phone instead of paying off debt, the cost of that phone goes up because of the extra debt through my non-payment.”