Economics 399

I debated long and hard about what kind of economics class I might teach, if I were an economist, and if I wanted to talk about the economics of my real life. My first thought, the Economics of Convenience. But I really just had to dismiss that right out of hand, and in fact, I’m offended with myself for considering it in the first place. There’s just not one single thing convenient about it. Then I thought, ECON 399: The Economics of Overwork. Or perhaps Haste? I’m not sure. Let’s see.

$4.23	Blockbuster rental fee for a movie I already own, but hadn’t planned to show in class until next week, so my copy was at home (after I was called at work to come pick Will up early from school because he’s sick)
$ .34	Buying gas in Lancaster ($1.72) instead of Rock Hill ($1.68) because I was running too late to work this morning to stop
$ .75	Toy for Will as a bribe while I dragged his poor sick self through Walmart trip to buy cardstock and kid Tylenol (and that was a bargain, let me tell you)
$1.50	How much more I had to pay for the slightly more expensive colored cardstock for Laura’s school because Walmart was out of stock of the cheapest brand and I couldn’t drag Will somewhere else to find it cheaper for that little bit of money
$1.20	Overdue fees for Laura’s books, which were due Tuesday, and which we tried to drop off Monday when the library was closed, but the drop-off bin was full (well, I’m giving the worst-case scenario estimate here—it might be only .60, depending on if they check in the books dropped off in the bin during the day—Will had fussed himself to sleep by then and there was no way in the world I was getting out of that car for that little bit of money)

$8.02 squandered in haste today. If I did that every day, it’d be close to $3000 bucks. Of course I’m ignoring the big-ticket items—the mortgage, the student loans, daycare—but it’s not really those that do us in. Nor most people, I suspect. Well, this certainly accounts for why I don’t buy my hot chocolate at Starbucks anymore.