Cost of living

Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time are often operationalized in a cost of living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living in different geographic areas. Differences in cost of living between locations can also be measured in terms of purchasing power parity rates.

Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)

Employment contracts, pension benefits, and government entitlements such as Social Security can be tied to a cost-of-living index, typically to the consumer price index (CPI). A COLA adjusts salaries based on changes in a cost-of-living index. Salaries are typically adjusted annually. They may also be tied to a cost-of-living index that varies by geographic location if the employee moves. In this later case, the expatriate employee will likely see only the discretionary income part of their salary indexed by a differential CPI between the new and old employment locations, leaving the non-discretionary part of the salary (e.g., mortgage payments, insurance, car payments) unmodified.

Cost of living (disambiguation)

Cost of living may refer to:

Television & Film

Music

Albums

The Cost of Living (Lost)

"The Cost of Living" is the 5th episode of the third season of Lost, and the 54th episode overall. It aired on November 1, 2006, in the US, averaging 16.07 million viewers, and on December 5, 2006, in the UK, being watched by 1.15 million viewers. The episode was written by Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker and directed by Jack Bender. The plot centers on the character of Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), who in flashbacks shows how he became a priest replacing his dead brother Yemi (Adetokumboh M'Cormack), and in the present day events is haunted by visions of Yemi while other castaways decide to visit a Dharma Initiative station.

The episode was written to finish Eko's character arc as Akinnuoye-Agbaje had requested to leave the show while finishing the second season. Reviewers subsequently praised "The Cost of Living" while considering that the departure of Eko made Lost lose one of its best characters.

Plot

Flashbacks

Shortly after the death of his brother Yemi, Eko is driven back to Yemi's village. Inside the church, Eko announces to the altar boy Daniel and his mother Amina that he will be taking his brother's place at the church. When Amina also inquires about Yemi's upcoming trip to London, a surprised Eko states that he would also replace him there.