4 ms·
Yup. My parents will drive 10 minutes one way to save $0.10 on gas. Assuming a 20 gallon tank size and filling from empty, that's a savings of $2.00. At 20 minu
by 2024throwaway 2y ago
Yup. My parents will drive 10 minutes one way to save $0.10 on gas. Assuming a 20 gallon tank size and filling from empty, that's a savings of $2.00. At 20 minutes for $2.00 savings, the expected value of that action is $6/hr, ignoring the additional gas and wear/tear which would lower number that even further. They are not poor people.
- shermantanktop 2y agoAre they retired? Their time is worth nothing, at least apparently not to them. And the thrill of saving that $2 is worth something, as is the resulting mild brag they can tell their friends.
- animuchan 2y agoI love the second point, that the act of saving itself has added value. I often hack together my own tools instead of buying available commercial ones (stuff like notes apps, cloud sync, ...) The act of not buying another subscription just feels good, monetary value is negligible.
- euroderf 2y agoBeing retired def changes your relationship to time. It stretches as needed or desired. Sometimes your perceptions of things and activities expand to fill the time available.
- kynetic 2y agoThe part that baffles me is the cognitive dissonance between wasting time in this manner and subsequently complaining about not having enough time to do things.
- AnthonyMouse 2y agoNot only that, it also goes the other way. If you're retired, you can't easily pick up another shift or do some overtime if you need to balance the budget, so the most available option for trading time for money is in finding savings. And people always forget to account for taxes. Purchase prices are in after-tax dollars and hourly wages aren't. Between sales tax, state and federal income tax and government benefits phase outs from earning more money, the wage-equivalent value of saving a buck can be around double the nominal hourly wage.
- robocat 2y agoAnd taxes strongly discourage trading time with others: I can't trade an hour of work with somebody else because my hour gets taxed and their hour gets taxed. In New Zealand the marginal tax rate for the median earner takes more than 1/3rd of your wages. The top marginal rate is 39%. It isn't motivating! All else equal, even if it takes you twice as long to do something (compared to employing someone), you are often better off doing it yourself.
- ansible 2y agoSome retired people I know are bored. Driving across town gets them out of the house and gives them something to do.
- b112 2y agoOne thing people often miss is how valuable to society this is. Many don't have time to price shop. However any pressure such as this, rewards competitive pricing, and damages gougers. It does matter.
- veunes 2y agoSometimes my mind is blown away with how some people come up with these kind of saving ideas
- dayjaby 2y agoMeanwhile, gas station operators want you to buy their expensive fuel. $6/hr is not bad if it makes the greedy not any richer.