Decisions! Decisions! Decide!
By Maria Bossert
SO MUCH TO DECIDE!!!
“MIINNE!!” I scream as a volleyball comes my way. I dive for the ball, just managing to bump it up from the floor. I love volleyball and practice all the time outside with my mom. But, here’s the thing; I seriously need a new volleyball. It’s hard to tell that mine was once white since I've spiked it against my driveway so many times. A new volleyball would cost twenty dollars. The problem is that I only have thirty-five dollars to spend and I've been saving up for the new BabyCakes® cupcake maker that costs thirty dollars. I got the donut maker for Christmas and I absolutely love it, so the cupcake maker sounds so much fun. What do I do? I just remembered--I could use my six step decision making model! This model helps you decide and figure out tough choices when purchasing an item. I have to decide whether to buy a new volleyball or a BabyCakes® cupcake maker.
Resources Available
The second step in the decision making model is to estimate my resources available. The resources available are time, money, and transportation. A new volleyball at Dick’s Sporting Goods usually costs around twenty dollars. I have enough money to buy it and my parents could take me to the store at any time. A BabyCakes® cupcake maker costs thirty dollars at Kohl’s. My parents could also take me to Kohl’s at any time.
Alternatives
The third step in this process is to consider my alternatives. This is also stating all of the different choices I could make. I could either buy a new volleyball for twenty dollars at Dick’s Sporting Goods or I could buy a new BabyCakes® cupcake maker at Kohl’s for thirty dollars. These are my alternatives.
Information
The fourth step in my riveting decision making process is to gather information. This step is very important in the process because information about the products that you are buying can change your decision. The volleyball I want to purchase is at Dick’s Sporting Goods. It is a harder than a volley-light, but not quite a full game ball. This type of ball is perfect to practice with. The volleyball costs $19.99 and comes with an air pump. The BabyCakes® cupcake maker is $29.99 at Kohl’s. The package comes with one free cupcake mix and instructions.
Deciding and Evaluating
Finally! A decision has been made! The fifth step in the decision making process is to decide. I decided to get the volleyball. The sixth step is to evaluate my decision and decide (so many decisions!), if I made the right choice. I believe that I did make the right choice. I went with the volleyball over the cupcake maker because it was cheaper and requires me to be active and I can have fun while using it. The cupcake maker was my opportunity cost since I did not buy it. I still have fifteen dollars to spend and I am satisfied with my purchase.