Economics: Today and Tomorrow © 2008

Chapter 5: Buying the Necessities

Chapter Overviews

Section 1: Shopping for Food
When buying the necessities, consumers need to know how to get the most for the money and time that they spend. Trade-offs and opportunity costs will exist, and they must be considered when shopping. When shopping for food, clothing, housing, and transportation, numerous factors affect the value of the products.

Section 2: Clothing Choices
Comparison food shopping provides information about generic and private labels versus national brands, cents-off coupons, and store discount cards. Furthermore, the chapter points out the decisions that consumers need to make when shopping for clothing, discusses the factors involved in clothing choice, and explains why comparing clothing value depends on more than just price.

Section 3: To Rent or To Buy
Besides food and clothing, housing is an important necessity in everybody's budget. The chapter considers the decision of whether to rent or buy housing and explores the economic and psychological advantages and disadvantages of both. Rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords are discussed, including the types of clauses that renters are likely to encounter when signing a lease. The characteristics of several types of mortgages available to buyers are explained.

Section 4: Buying and Operating a Vehicle
In terms of transportation, the last necessity, a list and explanation of the costs of owning and operating a vehicle is given. A checklist is provided for the consumer who is considering buying a vehicle.