The decision pyramid, a working opportunity cost calculator, and the regret-minimization framework. Three of thirteen modules from the full $77 system. Free. No email required.
Personal-use template. Not legal, financial, or professional advice. Calculator outputs are estimates from inputs you provide.
Free Module 01 of 13
The Decision Pyramid — match decision quality to decision stakes
Not every decision deserves the same effort. Sort first; spend energy second.
Tier
Stakes
Reversibility
Process
Time spent
1 — Trivial
Low
Easy reverse
Decide and move
Seconds
2 — Low-stakes
Modest
Easy reverse
Quick gut check
Minutes
3 — Mid-stakes
Meaningful
Hard reverse
Pros/cons + sleep on it
Hours / 1–2 days
4 — High-stakes
Significant
Hard reverse
Pre-mortem + 2nd opinion + full process
Days / weeks
5 — Life-altering
Career, health, family, money
Mostly irreversible
Full system: criteria → options → expected value → regret minimization → 3rd party advice
Weeks / months
The two failure modes: over-deliberating tier-1 (analysis paralysis on what to eat for lunch) and under-deliberating tier-5 (10 minutes on whether to take the job). Both are common; both are costly.
Free Module 02 of 13
Opportunity Cost Calculator
Every "yes" is a "no" to everything else you could do with that time or money. Make the cost explicit.
Time-as-money cost
The reframe: a $500 spend isn't $500 — it's the future $500 × growth rate ^ years that you've now removed from compounding. Same with time. You don't have either to spend twice.
Free Module 03 of 13
Regret Minimization Framework
For tier-4 and tier-5 decisions, the most useful question isn't "what's the best outcome?" but "which choice will I regret least at 80?"
The 4-question worksheet
The decision in one sentence: ______
If I choose A, what's the regret if it fails? ______ If it succeeds? ______
If I choose B, what's the regret if it fails? ______ If it succeeds? ______
Which has the worse "I never tried" regret in 30 years? ______
Regret types — score each from 1 (light) to 5 (heavy)
Regret type
If I take Option A
If I take Option B
Action regret (I did it and it failed)
__
__
Inaction regret (I didn't try)
__
__
Identity regret (I became someone I don't want to be)
__
__
Relationship regret (I damaged people I care about)
__
__
Long-term financial regret
__
__
The 80-year-old test: picture yourself at 80, looking back. Which choice do you wish you had made? Trust that instinct — they will know more than you do now.
Get the full 13-module Decision Mastery
You just saw 3 modules. The full $77 system has 10 more — including pre-mortem, decision log, decision tree builder, expected value calculator, Bayesian update, weighted pros/cons matrix, reversibility assessment, 10 mental models library, decision review cadence, and decision principles.