Economist view costs differently than accountants and mostly everyone else. That's because we not only care about the choice made but the choice set available when the choice occurred. This allows us to think about pricing items, how to evaluate policy, or how to plan for future endeavors. In economics total cost reflects 1) explicit costs – the actual cost of the activity and 2) the implicit costs or the opportunity cost – which is the most highly valued opportunity forfeited when a choice is made or the value of the next best alternative. For example for a student going to college the total cost does not just represents the cost of books, tuition, and living experiences it also include the money earned had the student not attended college (assuming the student is not working while in college).