Price vs. Value

Credit: digitalart

My Georgia Bulldogs recently clinched a berth to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championship Game to be held in Atlanta on December 1, 2012. I, like many of my Bulldog brethren, am very proud and excited that they have the honor and opportunity to play in such a game. Since I’ve been a true Georgia fan, I’ve only seen the Bulldogs actually win one SEC Championship. The game on December 1 is not a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it’s a very valuable and rare opportunity to say the least. That is what got me thinking about the value of the $90 ticket to the game.

Don’t get me wrong - $90 is a lot of money for a football game, but when it means I’ll have the chance to see my favorite team win a championship in person, $90 doesn’t seem that expensive anymore. Why is that? It’s because price does not equal value, and that’s what I’d like to talk about today.

Price can be defined as the sum or amount of money or its equivalent for which anything is bought, sold, or offered for sale.

Value can be defined, in this case, as the usefulness or importance to the possessor, the utility, the merit.

In the case of $90 SEC tickets to see the Georgia Bulldogs, the value of owning tickets and the thrill of being able to go to the championship game greatly exceed the money I will spend and the sacrifices I will have to make going forward to cover my unplanned and unbudgeted expenditure.

If the $90 tickets were to see another team that I don’t passionately root for (and wear lucky garments for) in the SEC Championship, there would be no way I’d pay that price to go to the game! The value of being at a championship game that my team isn’t in is easily dwarfed by the money I would have to fork over.

Price and value decisions are part of our everyday lives, and everyone needs to understand the differences. The price of a manicure and pedicure may be worth it to you, but for me, the value of such services is minimal. The price of a really nice bottle of wine may be worth it to you, but for me, the value that I would get out of a glass or two just isn’t there. You might be perfectly content with a serving of apple cobbler at a lower price, but the value of that ice cream a la mode deliciousness is worth the extra cost to me! No one is right or wrong as long as they can afford their price and value decisions, but when it comes to living within a budget and cutting back expenses, you need to take a close look at all of your expenditures and make sure the value of each of your purchases justifies its price.

As MasterCard might say, “SEC Championship tickets: $90 a piece, parking pass: $30, seeing my Bulldogs win a championship: priceless.” Well not priceless, but in my book, worth a few sacrifices over the next couple of weeks to make happen.

Go Dawgs!

-Tom