ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Cost-effectiveness

Okay kiddo, let me explain cost-effectiveness to you.

Cost-effectiveness means finding the best way of using your money to get the most benefits. Let's say that you have some money to spend on toys. You want to get the most fun toys possible for the amount of money that you have. So, you start looking at different toys and their prices.

You find two toys: one that costs $5 and another that costs $10. The $5 toy can give you 5 hours of fun, while the $10 toy can give you 10 hours of fun. Which toy should you buy?

If you choose the $10 toy, you get more hours of fun for your money. It means that the $10 toy is more cost-effective than the $5 toy.

The same idea applies to other things too, like medicine or education. If you need to take a medicine to make you feel better, and there are two different medicines available. One medicine costs $20 and can make you feel better for one week, while another medicine costs $30 and can make you feel better for two weeks.

Which medicine would you choose?

If you choose the $30 medicine, it's more cost-effective because it can make you feel better for longer, even though it costs more money.

So, being cost-effective is all about getting the most out of your money and making smart choices to get the biggest benefits possible.