Time Valuer / Resources / Glossary / Sunk cost
Sunk cost
Time or money already spent that can't be recovered, and so shouldn't decide what you do next.
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What it means
The sunk cost fallacy is continuing something because of what you've already put in. Hours spent on a failing project are gone either way.
The better question looks forward: what will the next hours cost, and what will they return?
Example
| Already spent on a project | 40 hours |
| Still needed | 30 hours |
| Cost of the next 30 hours at $72.12 | $2,164 |
| Decide on | the $2,164, not the 40 hours |
In Time Valuer
Time Valuer helps you price the remaining hours of a project, so decisions are made on what's still to spend.
Related terms
Questions and answers
What is a sunk cost?
Time or money already spent that can't be recovered, and so shouldn't decide what you do next.
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