what's your time worth to you

[xiphoid2010]

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Ran across this online analyzer, interesting and amusing. It trys to find how much you value your time. Good to know when to do something and when to pass.

http://programs.clearerthinking.org/what_is_your_time_really_worth_to_you.html#.U1wjpN8o5l4

My consistancy rate is 7.43, but I significantly underestimate the value of my time if it cost money to save time or when there are financial gains. As a result, it says i should consider delegate more home chores and work more PRN.

 

[awval999]

Overtime is $65 an hour. I never pick up a shift. So obviously I value my free time greater than that.

 

[xiphoid2010]

Overtime is $65 an hour. I never pick up a shift. So obviously I value my free time greater than that.

The calculator use scenarios to find out how much you actually value your time, not what your think. For example I refused to pay $40/hr to save on the chores around the house, which is illogical when an hr at PRN pays $65. Working a PRN shift and hiring domestic helper would produce a net gain in free time, and a better job around the house.

 

[Jibby321]

My consistency rating was 3.72.

 

[waiter]

i scored a consistency rate of 9.25

 

[Jibby321]

I'm assuming mines not accurate because I'm a student and only work 10 hrs a week for a skimpy inter pay. Lol

 

[IndustryPharmD]

I have consistency rate of 4.84 and my value of my free time and my actual pay in hourly equivalent are within 5 dollars of each other. I guess I found my happy medium... but then I knew it since the moment I realized that what I do at work is essentially the same thing I enjoy doing outside of work except with a different subject matter. 🙂 Interesting tool, though, thanks for the link!

 

[awval999]

Evidently mine's $85/hr

 

[mustang sally]

Lol. Apparently I value my time at $73/hr. It told me to either work fewer hours or find a higher paying job. Yeah, I would love to find a staffing job that paid me $73/hr!

 

[owlegrad]

I value my time at 57.50/hour with a consistentcy rate of 5.22.

 

[pezdispenser]

I've heard about these sort of things, but never really agreed with them.

Say we make about $35/hr after tax. One of the conclusions was we should hire someone to do chores if they charge less than $35/hr. But that's implying that instead of doing the chores yourself, you actually work and earn money. In practice, that doesn't really happen because:
- you don't work and end up doing some leisure activity, or even spending money instead.
- you don't have any overtime available, or any other job that pays $35/hr after tax.
- you don't want to work, because it is a bit of a chore itself, plus there is additional liability risk if something goes wrong.

 

[Ackj]

I've heard about these sort of things, but never really agreed with them.

Say we make about $35/hr after tax. One of the conclusions was we should hire someone to do chores if they charge less than $35/hr. But that's implying that instead of doing the chores yourself, you actually work and earn money. In practice, that doesn't really happen because:
- you don't work and end up doing some leisure activity, or even spending money instead.
- you don't have any overtime available, or any other job that pays $35/hr after tax.
- you don't want to work, because it is a bit of a chore itself, plus there is additional liability risk if something goes wrong.

I also disagree with the conclusions. For this to be valid, there has to be a limitless supply of hours available to work, and negligible additional cost to working. Overtime is rare for me, so I'm pretty likely to take it if offered; that skews the answer. Also, I have a significant commute, so if I was asked to come in to work for just 1-2 hours, it wouldn't be worth it. Staying an additional hour when I'm already there depends on many factors too. If I've already been working 12 hours, sure 13 doesn't sound too bad, but then 14, 15, 16, 17, etc, you have to draw the line. Same goes for how many days in a row you work, since that can cut into your preferred sleeping/ eating schedules. Not all hours are worth the same $ amount, for sure.

 

[xiphoid2010]

I think you guys are ignoring the underlying assumption that the calculations are based upon.

Of course this analysis assumes you can find additional work, eg overtime or PRN job, otherwise its purely academic. Also obviously who would drives 2 hrs just to work an hour? PRN comes in shifts.

There are only so many chores around that you can delegate. Maybe 8 hrs of yardwork + cleaning/laundry per week. In Texas, hiring some to clean a 3000 sq feet house once a week cost ~$160, and less than that for yard work. So 2 shifts would pay for a whole month,

You have to follow the plan though. If you let frugality derail the plan, you'll end with lots of money but no time/energy to spend it.

 

[owlegrad]

It is interesting but has several limitations. For one thing, who would describe their work as perfectly neutral?

 

[Ackj]

Of course this analysis assumes you can find additional work, eg overtime or PRN job, otherwise its purely academic. Also obviously who would drives 2 hrs just to work an hour? PRN comes in shifts.

Yes, but this gives you an hourly cost, not cost of a shift. Whether it's a 4,6,8,12 hour shift does indeed matter, which is why I put my criticism that not all hours have the same value.

There are only so many chores around that you can delegate. Maybe 8 hrs of yardwork + cleaning/laundry per week. In Texas, hiring some to clean a 3000 sq feet house once a week cost ~$160, and less than that for yard work. So 2 shifts would pay for a whole month,

Okay, so you take 2 shifts per month to offset the cost of the cleaning. You're still left with plenty of open time during which you cannot be earning income, where you could have done that chore instead.

I think this would be useful when you are nearing the limits and actually have to choose between another shift and a chore. If you normally work 6 days per week, then maybe it is something worth considering. For most of us who average 3-4 days/week, picking up an extra few shifts won't push us into "no time for chores."

It's like that old analysis that showed that the average income per second of Bill Gates was such that it wouldn't be worth it for him to pick up a $100 bill at his feet. In that precise moment, he is not likely to be performing another task that would have earned him the money, so it's not a true tradeoff of time/money.

If you let frugality derail the plan, you'll end with lots of money but no time/energy to spend it.

At a certain point, frugality will win the time/money tradeoff as you will no longer have to work at all, thanks to having the money. An oversimplification, but if you could save and invest the money you would've spent on hiring household help over a career, you'd likely be able to retire years earlier.

None of this will be a true tradeoff in most practical scenarios. Why outsource labor when you already have an excess available? It's just laziness.

 

[xiphoid2010]

1) 2 shifts a month is near bare minimum for a PRN position, one I used as an example. If you just want to make money, you can easily work 7 days a week with FT+2-3 PRN jobs.

2) Life was free and leisurely back when single, but now we definitely feel like 24 hrs in a day just doesnt leave enough free time to be ourselves. Its basically work/chores from 7 am until the 2 little ones are asleep at 9 pm. It is terrible? I wouldn't say so, but an extra 8 hr's of free time a week would be a godsend.

3) Why would you argue to invest for early retirement if using money to create an excess of free time is what you would call laziness? I know what you are trying to say, and I'm doing it too. But buying time intelligently is not laziness.

Whats logical is the old saying that time is money. Time has a value. It make sense to to spend money, or time, in such a way as to maximize the overall quantity and quality. Obviously individual situations will be different, but the logic is the same. The link I posted is a tool to help people individualize the translational value of time/money.

 

[spacecowgirl]

Cool. I feel more justified having a housekeeper now. I agree with Ackj that this doesn't make complete sense, but also agree with xiphoid that things are different for me with kids and free time (pregnancy insomnia=SDN time) is so much scarcer now and worth paying for.

 

[297point1]

I value my time at $83.22/hr with a consistency score of 8.11.
Sounds about right.

The question about the 2 second time machine was interesting; my results for that one were way out of whack compared to the other three questions.

 

[RxMonkey]

I haven't taken the quiz yet. But wouldn't it make sense that if you imagine your personal time as any other limited asset, that the monetary value you place on your free time will depend on how much of it there is available? Let's say hypothetically, I have 40 hours of 'free time' on a given week. I will value those hours a lot less than on a week where I only have 8 hours of free time. Therefore, the formula changes over time and is not that valuable.

Am I thinkin about this right?