Gas

Everyone hates that time of the week. When the car runs out of gas and need to go fill up more. Everyone dreads the prices of the gas because no one every knows what its going to be. The New York times article Gas, Still Not as Cheap as It Used to Be demonstrates how supply and demand controls how much you but gas. Supply is how much of a product there is and demand is how much the consumers want the product. For example, if a determinant for supply, like technology and resources, increase then the easier it is to get oil. This causes a decrease in the price of oil. Another example is that if there is an oil spill, then there is limited supply and the prices go up. This allows the seller to increase the prices to as much the consumers would buy.

Economics in our Everyday Lives

Do you ever have to weigh your options and have to pick between two things? Well that is opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is what you give up in order to get what you want. Soccer Fest is a soccer tournament that happens every year the weekend before labor day weekend. It takes place over the course of three days in three different locations. Over three hundred teams from Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin take part in this event. They need many workers to keep everything working smoothly for example, field marshals and referees. I worked all weekend as a referee in the cold and rain. I had the option of staying home in the warmth and relaxing with my family and friends but instead I chose to work in the cold and rain and give up my time to make a good amount of money. Another example would be this weekend at September Fest. Instead of having fun with my friends at September Fest, I chose to stay home to study for math test that I need to get above an 80% in order to stay in that class. You may not know it, but subconsciously we use opportunity cost all the time.