The Opportunity Cost of Tariffs
What Tariffs Cost You Outside of Money
I don’t want to be writing about tariffs again. But here we are.
Another wave. More price hikes. And the slow, creeping cost that no one really sees coming.
We talk about inflation. We talk about prices. But the hidden tax?
It's your time.
It’s your progress. Your upgrades. Your momentum.
Let me explain.
Not Just Money. Time.
There’s this lie floating around that if you just wait out inflation, things will go back to normal. But the longer you wait, the more time you lose babysitting broken tools, patching together half-functioning appliances, and working harder because you can’t afford to work smarter.
You don’t see that cost on a receipt. But it’s real.
Every delayed upgrade bleeds time:
That ancient laptop that takes five minutes to boot? That’s five minutes you lose every morning.
That shaky dryer that leaves clothes half-wet? Add another hour to your Sunday routine.
That tool you don’t have? Projects delayed. Workflows broken. Ideas postponed.
This isn’t theory. It’s daily life.
Tariffs vs. Inflation: Know the Difference Before You Blame the Wrong Thing
Let’s clear something up: tariffs and inflation are not the same beast. If you lump them together, you’ll misdiagnose the problem and build the wrong solution.
Here’s the breakdown:
👉 Tariffs = Targeted Price Spikes
Tariffs raise prices on specific goods (especially imports). Think:
Appliances
Tools
Electronics
Cars
They act like a penalty on certain categories. You’ll feel it in the checkout line only for the stuff that’s been hit.
Example:
Trump’s 2018 washing machine tariff raised prices by about $100 per unit. That’s not inflation across the board. That’s a price punch to one product.
And today? These new tariffs are bigger, broader, and multiplying across categories like vehicles, manufacturing parts, and tech. But they’re still surgical, not systemic.
Also: only about 15% of U.S. imports come from China now, down from 22% in 2018. That means tariffs impact fewer products than they used to—but the products they hit still hurt.
Inflation = Across-the-Board Cost Creep
Inflation is what happens when the money supply balloons. Think:
Stimulus checks
Loose monetary policy
High consumer demand chasing low supply
You feel it everywhere—from eggs to rent to software subscriptions. That’s the kind of inflation that wrecks purchasing power and jacks up prices across the board, no matter where the product comes from.
Why This Matters
If you're waiting for the “economy” to cool off, but the gear you need is under a tariff, you’re waiting on the wrong lever.
Tariffs need policy shifts.
Inflation needs monetary tightening.
Know which force is choking your upgrades—then respond accordingly.
An Economist Just Backed This Up. Big Time.
In a recent New York Times op-ed, economist Justin Wolfers explained the real cost of tariffs using a dead-simple example: a washing machine.
In 2018, a tariff made washers about $100 more expensive. So people held onto their old machines longer.
But that led to:
Higher water and energy bills
Broken cycles
Wasted time rearranging loads and wringing out wet clothes by hand
That $100 turned into dozens of hours lost.
And now? The new round of tariffs is 50 times more painful, by Wolfers’ calculations.
That means this isn’t just about washers anymore. It’s your fridge. Your stove. Your car. Your groceries. Your gear.
The price tags are going up, but so are the invisible costs: time, energy, decision fatigue.
You don’t just buy less. You settle more. You give up more.
Death by Delay
This is the opportunity cost no one calculates.
You put off upgrading a key appliance, and suddenly your whole routine has to adapt around it. You spend your time compensating instead of creating.
You fix things you should be replacing. You troubleshoot stuff you should’ve outgrown.
That’s the slow rot of inaction.
I’ve written about this before, in this post about the cost of skipping maintenance. Because when things start breaking faster than you can fix them, the stress adds up. So does the time.
And you can’t earn time back.
No, This Isn’t a Normal Tariff Cycle
Here’s the part that hits different.
Wolfers points out that the average tariff rate before 2016 was 1.5%. Now we’re headed toward rates that are 15 times higher.
The pain doesn’t rise in a straight line. It multiplies.
It squares.
And so does your frustration.
This isn’t a bump in the road. It’s a landslide. And no one’s coming to clean it up for you.
What Do You Do?
You build smarter, not harder.
Stop waiting for prices to drop or for the next election to fix things. Instead:
Audit your time leaks. Identify where outdated tools, broken workflows, or inefficient routines are costing you the most hours each week. Start there.
Prioritize high-leverage upgrades. If a $200 tool saves you 5 hours a week, it pays for itself fast. Focus on buying back time, not chasing convenience.
Explore refurbished or secondhand options. Quality doesn’t have to mean brand new. Many tools and appliances have strong aftermarket support with warranties.
Automate one task per week. Whether it’s bill payments, email replies, or calendar booking, start stacking small wins that free up headspace.
Invest in learning, not just gear. Sometimes the bottleneck isn’t the tool—it’s knowing how to use it. Watch the tutorials. Take the course. Ask the question.
And when your budget says no? Use constraint as creative fuel.
Design better systems with what you’ve got. Cut the fluff. Focus on output.
Because if you’re not moving forward with intention, the system will move over you. Slowly. Quietly. Completely.
My Ask
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I write about the systems behind time, money, and leverage. My goal is for us to feel empowered during this chaotic time with strategies for people who are tired of the noise.
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Have a good week,
Jordan