My Experience of how to Achieve your Goals

What is scarcity? Scarcity is the lack of something, and in the case of economics, the lack of time and money are generally a factor. This is where the opportunity cost is factored in. Opportunity cost is when, in the midst of scarcity, each of us has to make the critical choice to do or not to do. In my personal experience, I am often faced with scarcity and opportunity cost. Although I am working a full-time job, I only make a small salary.

At present, I want to buy both a car and a high-quality digital photography camera. With the salary I earn, I can eventually have both the car and the camera, but at present, I can only afford one or the other. I can either buy a car and be able to get around conveniently and comfortably where I want to go, or I can buy the camera and use public transport or ride my bicycle.

As I am living in northern Japan, winter is very cold and we get a lot of snow. By having a car, I’ll stay warm and it will be convenient and comfortable for me. On the other hand, the career I have chosen is to be a videographer, and having the skill and knowledge of still photography will be a big benefit in my work. There is a strong possibility that I will even get a higher paycheck each month due to that skill. I can buy the car now and wait on the camera, but the longer I wait to buy the camera, the longer I’ll be putting off a potential raise in pay. Moreover, each month that passes by, I get a little older and I’m losing precious time gaining experience in still photography. At the moment, I’m still torn between the two decisions. A good example of opportunity cost that is felt by a whole country would be the national pension plan in Japan.

This is a government-run, mandatory pension scheme that all working residents must pay. Until recently, the rules and guidelines for paying to this pension plan were very loose and the majority of residents were not paying up. However, the government has cracked down and is going after all the residents that failed to pay and demanding back payments. In some cases, the pension office is threatening to remove assets in order to collect the amount due. Many residents are having to pay thousands of dollars in back payments, including myself. Because of this, many residents are having to give up their savings or reallocate funds that they had destined for other purposes. Unfortunately, when the government makes a decision, the people have no choice but to comply.

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