A consumer maximizes their utility when they spend their entire budget on the good with the highest marginal utility, regardless of the price of that good.

Maximizing utility means getting the most satisfaction or happiness from the money a consumer spends. When a consumer has a budget, they should look at the marginal utility, which is the extra satisfaction they get from consuming one more unit of a good. It’s important to consider both the utility and the price of the goods. For example, if a consumer has $10 and can buy apples for $2 each and oranges for $1 each, they should calculate the satisfaction from each fruit. If the satisfaction from one apple is higher than that of two oranges, it might be better to buy apples, but they should also think about how many they can buy within their budget to maximize overall happiness.