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The Vocabulary:

Alternative – One of many choices or courses of action that might be taken in a given situation
Choice – Decision made or course of action taken when faced with a set of alternatives
Customs – Long-established practice or habit by a person, family, or society
Delayed gratification – Making an economic choice to postpone a reward
Evaluation – Setting criteria to help establish value or worth
Goods – Tangible objects that satisfy economic wants
Human Capital – The health, education, experience, training, skills, and values of people. Also known as human resources.
Impulse purchase – Making a purchase without comparing prices and benefits beforehand
Long-term goal – Something a person or organization plans to achieve at least five years in the future
Media literacy – Using critical thinking to analyze mass media and its messages
Needs – Items you must have to live
Opportunity Cost – The value of the best alternative you give up when scarce resources are used for one purpose rather than another
Peers – Those belonging to the same societal group based on age, grade, or status
Priorities – Judging among alternatives, especially when goods or services are in short supply
Pay Yourself First (PYF) – Putting money into savings each month (or each paycheck) before paying other bills
Resources – Items that are useful in the process of achieving goals; natural, human, and capital resources
are used to produce goods and services
Risk – The possibility of variation in the return on an investment
Scarcity – In an economic system, choices are made about how resources will be used because it is not possible to produce all goods and services that people want
Services – Actions performed to satisfy economic wants
Short-term goals – Something a person or organization plans to achieve within a one-year time period
Standards – An established measure of quality or quantity
Time-value-of-money – Money received today is worth more than the same amount received later due to its earning potential
Unintended consequences – Unexpected results of a decision or action
Values – Strongly held beliefs or principles about what is right or wrong, or what is valued
Wants – The items people wish to have, but that are not necessary for survival