Question 1

What is opportunity cost?

Accepted Answer

Opportunity cost is the potential benefit you miss out on when choosing one option over another. When you spend money on a purchase instead of investing it, the opportunity cost is the future value that money could have grown to through compound interest and market returns.

Question 2

How does the cooling-off timer help me save money?

Accepted Answer

Research in behavioral economics shows that desire for impulse purchases drops sharply after 24-48 hours. The Decision Lab tracks whether you come back to an item — if you forget about it, that's proof it was impulse, not need. Items that fade are added to the Passed On list, showing what those items would have cost and what that money could become if invested.

Question 3

How is the future value of my purchase calculated?

Accepted Answer

The calculator uses compound interest to project what your purchase amount would grow to if invested instead. It compounds monthly at your chosen annual return rate, and also shows an inflation-adjusted (real) value so you can see the true purchasing power difference. For example, $1,000 at 8% annual return grows to about $2,220 in 10 years before adjusting for inflation.

Opportunity Cost Calculator

Assumptions

Total Wishlist Cost

Future Value (FV) if Invested

True Cost (Opportunity Cost)

Growth Multiple

Decision Lab

Passed On

Growth if Invested Instead

Year-by-Year Breakdown