Question

Last month, you lent a work colleague $5000 to cover some overdue bills. He agreed to pay you in 1 month with interest at 2% for the month, thus owing you $5100. Today, when the repayment is due, he asked you to extend the loan for another month and he would pay you the $5100 next month. In the meantime, you have had the offer to invest as much as you wish in an oil-well venture that is expected to pay 28% per year and a hot new IT stock that is estimated to return 45% the first year. If you let your colleague have another month, what is the opportunity cost of your decision

Answer 1

The opportunity costs of letting your colleague to extend the loan for another month are:

• invest in oil-well venture = $5,100 x 28% = $1,428
• invest in new IT stock = $5,100 x 45% = $2,295

Your total opportunity cost depends on what you actually decide to do with the money, if you invest all of it on the oil-well venture it is $1,428, or all of it in the new IT stock it is $2,295, but if you invest 50/50 on each, then the opportunity cost would be $1,861.50, or any other possible combination.

Opportunity costs are the extra costs or benefits lost from choosing one investment or activity over another alternative.