Drinks After Work??

Every now and then I get to write about a topic that is loosely related to my degree in Economics. What's even more exciting about today's topic is that it also relates to drinking alcohol. Economics and alcohol, what can be better? Well actually I can think of a few things better but let's keep it legal. I'd like to talk a little bit about opportunity cost when it comes to drinking on a weeknight. Or any night where you have to work the next morning.

Opportunity cost can be defined by the benefits you forgo by taking an alternative action. For example, if you decide to go out to dinner with you're friends instead of having a family meal at home; the opportunity cost of going out to dinner would be the money you spent on dinner and the family time you could have had at home. Let me put that another way. If you go out for drinks on a Tuesday night, the opportunity cost would be the money you spend plus the rest and relaxation you passed up by going out. If you didn't go out, you could have read a book and got plenty of rest for work the next morning. You can also think of it as the opportunity cost of staying in would be the fun you could have had if you went out for drinks. It all depends on which one would be your first choice.

So here is the question. What should you do if someone invites you out for drinks on a weeknight? We have to weigh the pros and cons of each option and make an educated decision. Whichever one you decide has the lower opportunity cost is the correct choice. For this example there are only two options. Either you go out, or you stay home and rest. I don't want to 'what if' this to death. "Well what if instead of going out, I take night classes and learn a new language?" NO, there are only two options. Go out, or stay in. What's the best choice?

Let's start with the staying in option. If we stay in we can just lounge around the house. Watch some TV and just relax. We'll go to bed early and be nice and rested for work in the morning. It feels pretty good when you wake up refreshed and ready to start your day. I'm a bit of a morning person, so I'm sure you don't all share my enthusiasm about the AM. You have to admit if you rated your weekdays on a scale of 1-10 (1 being a really really shitty Monday morning, 10 being a half-day Friday before a 3-day weekend) the days you got a full nights rest would score significantly higher, ceteris paribus. (which is a Latin term used in Economics and Finance that means "holding all other things equal") Certainly the argument can be made that it is more beneficial to stay in and rest on the weeknights. However, we didn't even hear the other side yet.

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Now I said earlier to make a pros and cons list. This is how it's going to work. All the pros of staying in are listed above. All the pros of going out will be listed below. The cons of staying in are that you can't go out. The cons of going out are that you can't stay in. If you'd like to go over the cons again please refer to the appropriate paragraph.

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If we decide to go out for drinks on a Tuesday night there are a number of crazy things that could happen. I don't want to 'what if' this one to death either so this is what we'll do. It will be a standard Tuesday night on the town. Out with friends and having a great time. The possibility of meeting a nice lady (guy) is always there. I have a hard time finding things I like to do more than going out and getting beers with my friends. Being out, telling jokes, getting a nice healthy buzz going and maybe chatting it up with a few randoms. That makes for a great Tuesday night. The chance you'll get a little too buzzed and feel like a pile of shit the next morning is over 50% but if you want to play the game you've got to pay the fee.

After weighing the options what would your choice be? Which one of the options has the lower opportunity cost to you? Sunday funday and a lousy Monday morning? Or a night on the couch and an early bird gets the worm type of morning? I've had my fair share of experience with both and I have to say I'm leaning towards the night out on the town. I wouldn't be able to do it every night but one or two nights a week will do the trick. I value sleep as much as the next guy but if I stay in every night I feel like I'm missing out on life. So the opportunity cost of staying in is much too high for me. So make your own pros and cons list and you decide. For now, I'm going to grab a couple beers after work, get nice and sauced up, head over to the IHOP and get a Hand-job for a Ham Sandwich. Enjoy the week!