3 ms·

Who taught us to consider our "free" or unpaid time in terms of monetary value, and why? I don't need to assign dollars and cents to my recreation or rest.

MattGaiser 5y ago
It is helpful for realizing how much it costs to buy back your time. I could go grocery shopping, or I could use Instacart for about $8 or so (as long as you use a store with in-store pricing). I could drive for 7 hours and spend 80 on gas or spend 200 on a plane ticket and for the most part use the time as I please.
- derekp7 5y ago
  How many hours of driving is the break-even for flying? 7 hours would be cutting it close, considering transportation to/from the airport, security, and waiting for boarding and post arrival. Personally my cutoff is driving long enough that it requires an overnight motel stay on the road.
  - MattGaiser 5y ago
    Personally, anything over 3 hours I tend to fly if possible, even if it is theoretically longer overall. Airport has food, washrooms, Wi-Fi, lets me walk around, and lets me work on things. Between 3 hours in a car or 3 hours in an airport and 1 on the plane, I much prefer the airport. I have never really understood the hatred people have for airports.
roymurdock 5y ago
It’s economics 101 - labor vs leisure time is a fundamental division of time, which is influenced by wages and is an input into a firm or economy’s production function. Even if you don’t assign your leisure time a monetary value, someone else (an economist) will.
InvertedRhodium 5y ago
I work as a contractor with milestone bonuses - my free (or unpaid) time is quite literally potential income that I'm forfeiting in order to have that lesire or recreation. Being able to quantify it in some manner gives me better perspective on whether or not the enjoyment I derive from those leisure activites are "worth it". It helps that a lot of my leisure activities are things like woodworking landscaping, carpentry, etc - so I always have the option of working instead and paying someone else to bring about the end result I'm seeking.

MattGaiser 5y ago

It is helpful for realizing how much it costs to buy back your time. I could go grocery shopping, or I could use Instacart for about $8 or so (as long as you use a store with in-store pricing). I could drive for 7 hours and spend 80 on gas or spend 200 on a plane ticket and for the most part use the time as I please.

derekp7 5y ago
How many hours of driving is the break-even for flying? 7 hours would be cutting it close, considering transportation to/from the airport, security, and waiting for boarding and post arrival. Personally my cutoff is driving long enough that it requires an overnight motel stay on the road.
- MattGaiser 5y ago
  Personally, anything over 3 hours I tend to fly if possible, even if it is theoretically longer overall. Airport has food, washrooms, Wi-Fi, lets me walk around, and lets me work on things. Between 3 hours in a car or 3 hours in an airport and 1 on the plane, I much prefer the airport. I have never really understood the hatred people have for airports.

roymurdock 5y ago

It’s economics 101 - labor vs leisure time is a fundamental division of time, which is influenced by wages and is an input into a firm or economy’s production function. Even if you don’t assign your leisure time a monetary value, someone else (an economist) will.

InvertedRhodium 5y ago

I work as a contractor with milestone bonuses - my free (or unpaid) time is quite literally potential income that I'm forfeiting in order to have that lesire or recreation. Being able to quantify it in some manner gives me better perspective on whether or not the enjoyment I derive from those leisure activites are "worth it". It helps that a lot of my leisure activities are things like woodworking landscaping, carpentry, etc - so I always have the option of working instead and paying someone else to bring about the end result I'm seeking.