Value & worth

Soldato
Joined
13 Apr 2013
Posts
12,371
Location
La France
I used to really begrudge having to spent time gardening or doing DIY at the weekend after working 50 hour weeks with another 10 hours of commuting added on top, but I grew to appreciate seeing the improvements we made and getting to complete a project without being messed about by managers or suppliers.

Just as well really, now I have an acre of gardens and 3 buildings to look after.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
29,509
Location
Surrey
Time is the one thing you can't get more of. As long as you can cover your bills then spend the time doing what you want.
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Jul 2010
Posts
23,738
Location
Lincs
I've always valued Life more in the Work / Life balance problem.

To the degree that I have recently jacked in one of my jobs, which was about 40% of my income, to get more life back and it was the best decision I have made in a long time. Admittedly working multiple jobs these last 8 years has allowed me to save a considerable amount and I'm now financially independent and even though I was only working about 40 hrs a week (which was a lot for me :p ) I'm now down to 15 - 20 hrs per week and I love it! :D
 
Associate
Joined
20 May 2009
Posts
1,857
Life is short and time is valuable , I was going to paint one of my bedrooms this week but a decorator was doing next door so I asked for a quote , it worked out more cost effective for me to do a few hours overtime and pay him to do it, it would have taken me a few days to paint it when 4 hrs o/t will cover the cost and it’ll look a lot better than my shoddy work plus I have more free time now to go and do something fun

I look at jobs in a similar way. I'm all for doing my own work and saving money where possible but for some things it's just not beneficial.

Household jobs and vehicle maintenance don't bother me, but sometimes I'd rather pay for someone to do it in half the time while I'm working and earning similar money to what the work costs. I may not have saved money but I've saved time.
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Nov 2009
Posts
19,798
Location
Glasgow
I think we all assign value in our certain ways. My wife thinks mine is bizarre because i'll happily spend £8 on a single can of beer or £1500 on a pair of speakers, but i'll begrudge paying £1 for a Mars bar in a corner shop because i know i could buy it cheaper somewhere else.

Likewise i'll happily pay a cleaner (and do) because i hate cleaning and it's a regular thing but i'd rather do my own painting than pay someone because i could do it myself and it's a one-off job.

This sums it up. I have no issue spending hundreds of pounds on dinner at a restaurant, £10+ on one can of beer etc.
However, I won't spend more than £50 on shoes, happy to wear Tesco suit trousers to work and would rather walk 20 minutes than pay for a taxi.

It doesn't make sense really once you think about it and it bemuses my girlfriend but I feel that I can afford the expensive beers and dinners because I save in other areas whereas I could probably afford everything.

On a similar note, I took a £20k drop (£50k - £30k) to go from working 70 odd hours a week over 6 days to 40 hours over 5. It was the best thing that I've done and I'm much happier and don't miss the money.
 
Caporegime
OP
Joined
24 Oct 2012
Posts
25,024
Location
Godalming
Does she not realise it'd cost more than £5 in fuel? Women...

Women are idiots. One gave birth to me and decided to devote her life to me for 21 years all on her own. Another one decided to marry me and make sure I stay out of trouble, if that doesn’t tell you all you need to know then nothing will.
 

K-2

K-2

Associate
Joined
4 Dec 2002
Posts
248
Location
Glasgow, UK
Life is short and time is valuable , I was going to paint one of my bedrooms this week but a decorator was doing next door so I asked for a quote , it worked out more cost effective for me to do a few hours overtime and pay him to do it, it would have taken me a few days to paint it when 4 hrs o/t will cover the cost and it’ll look a lot better than my shoddy work plus I have more free time now to go and do something fun

How big is this bedroom?
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Oct 2006
Posts
12,456
Location
Sufferlandria
wife however doesn't seem to grasp this concept yet and is happy to waste a Saturday driving 200 miles to a Robert Dyas in Coventry to save a fiver off a kettle. This obviously leads to arguments

You would have spent less time just driving the 200 miles than you spent on the argument about it.
 
Soldato
Joined
15 May 2007
Posts
12,804
Location
Ipswich / Bodham
Thank god you won't have kids. Having you as a role model would likely end up with them taking heroin by age 12.

Also your wife sounds like a bag of fun. Enjoy the rest of eternity with her.

What a **** post. You come across as a complete ****. Presumably that was the intention - get a bit of 'alpha at all costs' out on the internet this morning.
 
Soldato
Joined
15 May 2007
Posts
12,804
Location
Ipswich / Bodham
I think time is worthless.
I trade skills (not time) for money via employment.
I won't spend money to get more free time.

I think I'm pretty much the polar opposite of 2/3 if this.

I place huge value on time. I work fairly hard and both my wife and I are paid well in return, but that inevitably has a time cost attached to it. So we do spend money to get more time back as it represents a good return for our money and gives us the extra time that we have. So we have a cleaner and someone else does the decorating. I used to service my cars and motorbike myself - now they get serviced at a dealer (although I couldn't service these modern things myself anyway!). I also spend money to have better quality time, e.g. doing the things that we really want to do, see and experience rather than staring at a TV on a day off.

So @Diddums , I think I'm with you. I value time equally alongside worth, and one is a means to end for another.
 
Caporegime
Joined
9 May 2004
Posts
28,551
Location
Leafy outskirts of London
A= £value of each free hour
B = Number of free hours
C = Hours worked
D = Disposable income earned per hour worked

A = (C x D)/B

There, I’ve done it all for you, noobs. An absolutely foolproof equation that is immune to all scrutiny. So good I haven’t even checked it.

£3.10 per free hour, after taking sleep and commute out of the equation.

So yeah, mowing the lawn and cleaning the house myself is definitely worth it. :p
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Nov 2002
Posts
11,202
Location
Cumbria
How big is this bedroom?

About 2.6m x 4.8m

Work involves priming, filling & sanding all woodwork (2 door frames, skirting, windowsill) , glossing and emulsion all walls

A few days work for me, a day for the decorator, I can do 5 hrs work and that covers all costs
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Jul 2009
Posts
7,223
The trick for doing chores is either to live in the moment and concentrate on what your doing and nothing else. Do it the best you can. Then it becomes enjoyable. The other way is to practice something well enough so you can switch off your brain and think of nothing. Again. Enjoyable. Both increase dopamine levels and therefore happiness.

The problem people have (like everyone) is when you decide whatever it is your about to do is a PITA and just pay enough attention to it get it done badly. That's just not fun or constructive on any level and produces cortisol which makes you stressed and annoyed.
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Sep 2012
Posts
3,860
Location
Monterrey, Mexico
I tend to just think of it in terms of what I earn, and what my strengths and weaknesses are.

I’m not very good at cleaning, and I earn more per hour than I pay our cleaner, so it makes sense to have one. If I had to pay her considerably more than I earned, we wouldn’t have one.

I’m currently sitting on a very cold floor at LAX airport, having sat here for several hours. Saved us $200 for a hotel we’d only have stayed in for a few hours, and I’d have had to pay a taxi there and back, so call it $250. To me, the discomfort is worth it as I’d have to do a fair bit of work to earn that money back, and we’d have less to spend at our destination. I’m sure many others would think we were crazy.
 
Back
Top Bottom