What is your time worth?

[alternateme]

I am curious. If you had to put a dollar amount on your time, what would you say that an hour of your time is worth?

[PaydayLoner]

That's an interesting question. The problem is it would totally depend on what I was expected to do. If it was something I enjoyed, the value might even be negative--I'd pay to do it. If it was kinda fun and I had some time to kill and didn't have anything else planned, maybe only a couple dollars. If it was work but not real bad, eight or ten dollars and up. If it was hard, dangerous, and something I really hated, we're talking prices ranging up to a hundred dollars or more. Some things I wouldn't do for any price.

[disneysteve]

This question has come up before. I agree with PaydayLoner. It all depends. If you want me to leave work early to do something, it had better pay a good amount more per hour than what I would have earned had I stayed in the office. On the other hand, if I'm sitting around in the evening doing nothing and I can make $3 doing a 15 minute Pinecone survey, I'll take it. And if you want me to give up vacation time with my family, I might refuse unless the offer is phenomenal, in the thousands of dollars range.

[wincrasher]

I value my off-time highly. Sometimes I give it away to friends or family. I'd rather cut my grass than hire it out because it helps me de-stress.

During the week though, I'm all business. I've given away time to cultivate other opportunities, or to reinforce relationships with existing clients. I don't have a set value on my time - that's really thinking small. Sometimes the market will bear $100's per hour, sometimes a fraction.

[am_vanquish]

$260/hour

[am_vanquish]

http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/general-discussion/48314-how-much-your-time-worth.html

[jIM_Ohio]

$60/hour gets my attention
$120/hour has me rearranging my schedule to free up more time
$200/hour or more and I will sacrifice others things to create more time.

I used to coach soccer and $60/hour was my rate... but when I needed to be somewhere else, or someone wanted me to drive 90 minutes round trip for one 90 minute session, I decided that it was not worth it (for example), so $60/hour has its limits.

My day job pays me between $60 and $120 per hour, depending on how you quantify benefits.

[cschin4]

My time really isn't "worth" anything. Nobody is paying me to stay at home and use my time as I please. It only has value when I am using my skills, knowledge to benefit someone else.
I think it is pretty funny to hear people waiting in line saying "my time is worth such and such". Actually, your time isn't worth anything. If you are waiting in line to see your doctor, sorry but your doctor's time is worth more than yours. Why does your time have value, because you need to hurry home and and watch Days of Our Lives?
But, I do see your point, how much time are you willing to sacririce for money? Because for most people that is what work is, exchanging time, skill and knowledge for money. I could work alot more than I am doing. But, I prefer more free time and less money. I could earn more money by giving up more time but I really don't like the rat race and like a simple lifestyle so that I am home with my kids and have time to to go to all their games and so forth.

[segmond]

Right now $10,000/hr as low as will ever be, and moving towards $1million/hr

[jIM_Ohio]

My time really isn't "worth" anything. Nobody is paying me to stay at home and use my time as I please. It only has value when I am using my skills, knowledge to benefit someone else.
I think it is pretty funny to hear people waiting in line saying "my time is worth such and such". Actually, your time isn't worth anything. If you are waiting in line to see your doctor, sorry but your doctor's time is worth more than yours. Why does your time have value, because you need to hurry home and and watch Days of Our Lives?
But, I do see your point, how much time are you willing to sacririce for money? Because for most people that is what work is, exchanging time, skill and knowledge for money. I could work alot more than I am doing. But, I prefer more free time and less money. I could earn more money by giving up more time but I really don't like the rat race and like a simple lifestyle so that I am home with my kids and have time to to go to all their games and so forth.

Everyone's time is worth something... right now no one has made you an offer to work, and you value staying at home more...

but if you found financial security in a job which paid $120 or $240/hr, you might see things much differently. Granted those jobs are few and far between, but as it was stated in another thread- time is a commodity some people are willing to pay more for than others. You cannot create time, you only get 24 hours per day and creating more either requires paying someone to help (for their time) or making trade offs as to what is more important.

[tripods68]

Taking my kids to basken robbins once in a while $1.09 per cone X2

Universal Studio (Hollywood trip) this past weekend $59.00 + tax (2 adult tickets + 2 children) $236.00 + 2 nights hotel room.


Coming home every day from work and spending quality time with wife and kids: PRICELESS!

[Scanner]

I have had to face this question in the most agonizing of ways. . .with my divorce.

Essentially, my time is worth about $50/hour, give or take a few dollars and that would include benefits.

40% of my income is derived on the weekends. My stb-x wants me to take the kids more on the weekends. Her motive is suspect (she is seeing a guy and doesn't want the kids to interrupt romantic weekends with him) but nonetheless that's what she watns.

The problem is, the moral dilemma, I face is that when I take them, the state only gives me about $5/hour credit on child support, if even that. Essentially, I make about $900 in a weekend. That's money lost, never to return if I don't work. Now, of coruse, on face value, one may say, "Well, just cut back. . .live barebones. . .see your kids while they are young!" and I have I think prety much (I am fairly frugal) have cut back.

But I need that $50/hour.

Factor into it the primary obligation of a non-custodial parent is to make child support (there are no men in jail for failure to visit kids, only not making child support), I feel like I have to tip towards getting my worth in the marketplace, being a "semi-provider" vs. being a parent.

I told her if she relieved me of child support, I could take them more but she doesn't want to do that (and nor should she have to. . .it's just the choice she has)

The cold reality of divorce my stb-x didn't realize was the non-custodial parent has to work more and the custodial parent ends up being a single parent. Hopefully better circumstances can evolve. The further dilemma is though. . .as I make more. . .the more the kids and wife extrapolate (with good reason too). SO. . .I have kinda resigned that I am going to be a "peripherally involved" father for a long time but I do my best to remain in their social orbit.

Anyway. . .I have had to think about this a lot. Sorry if this is TMI.

[jIM_Ohio]

I have had to face this question in the most agonizing of ways. . .with my divorce.

Essentially, my time is worth about $50/hour, give or take a few dollars and that would include benefits.

40% of my income is derived on the weekends. My stb-x wants me to take the kids more on the weekends. Her motive is suspect (she is seeing a guy and doesn't want the kids to interrupt romantic weekends with him) but nonetheless that's what she watns.

The problem is, the moral dilemma, I face is that when I take them, the state only gives me about $5/hour credit on child support, if even that. Essentially, I make about $900 in a weekend. That's money lost, never to return if I don't work. Now, of coruse, on face value, one may say, "Well, just cut back. . .live barebones. . .see your kids while they are young!" and I have I think prety much (I am fairly frugal) have cut back.

But I need that $50/hour.

Factor into it the primary obligation of a non-custodial parent is to make child support (there are no men in jail for failure to visit kids, only not making child support), I feel like I have to tip towards getting my worth in the marketplace, being a "semi-provider" vs. being a parent.

I told her if she relieved me of child support, I could take them more but she doesn't want to do that (and nor should she have to. . .it's just the choice she has)

The cold reality of divorce my stb-x didn't realize was the non-custodial parent has to work more and the custodial parent ends up being a single parent. Hopefully better circumstances can evolve. The further dilemma is though. . .as I make more. . .the more the kids and wife extrapolate (with good reason too). SO. . .I have kinda resigned that I am going to be a "peripherally involved" father for a long time but I do my best to remain in their social orbit.

Anyway. . .I have had to think about this a lot. Sorry if this is TMI.

Scanner- I read your posts and get a heavy heart when I read them.

My wife is product of a seperated family (parents divorced when she was 10, and her aunt divorced a few years later- to point where my wife lived with mother and aunt during college) and now my wife's cousin is going thru divorce where the cousins XH is now living with a new woman.

What I see in first two cases (wife's parents and wife's aunt and uncle) is the father "distanced" themself to point where the kids want NOTHING to do with father (all kids are now about my age +/- 5 years). If wife's case her father missed just about every birthday and xmas and major event, except college graduation. At one point the her father lost job in Texas and wife invited him to live with us to get back on his feet, needless to say he kept making bad financial decisions and we asked him to move out.

My wife has made it clear she does not want our kids involved with grandfather because no guarantee he will stay in their life. Her brother made that same decision regarding his daughters, meaning the grandfather is persona non grata at any family functions (easter, xmas, birthdays etc...)

In case of my wife's cousin, her father is on wife #5. He has fathered 4-5 kids from 4-5 different wives (so wife's cousin has lots of half sisters). In her case she cut her father out when she was around 22 yo because she did not accept his behavior.

My point is this, time is temporary. Missing kids when they grow up is very subjective. What the kids will want most is for you to be around when they need you and they will remember the big stuff (holidays, vacations) and some of the little stuff (like finding time on weekends) could easily be forgiven if they knew it was for the greater good (like college).


For example, what would happen if you could not afford to send kids to college? Would they resent you? If you worked weekends and could not send kids to college, that is trouble in the making. If you worked weekends now, and could send kids thru college, I think they would respect you "then" even if it less apparent now why you choose to work weekends.

Make good decisions which have a decent mid term and long term effect on the kids- even if it means spending less time with them now, I think you will reap rewards throughout your life as kids have a way of growing up fast if life throws them curves.

[Scanner]

JimOhio,

I know, I know. . .my heart is heavy too - to have it come down to between money and time with kids. . .not sure how to reconcile that sometimes. The funny thing is I am actually enjoying working more. . .being more of a career man vs. a Mr. Mom in an egalitarian sense (I was never really a total stay-at-home dad although I was around a lot of the time) so it's like you feel guilty everyday for your life actually going the way you wanted.

I am trying to compromise with her but she is unyielding. I thought in the summer, when the boys reach 14 years old, they could live with me and save for college, working a job at the boardwalk/beach. SHe says, "No! I could never be away from the kids more than 1 week." I told her she could visit everyday as far as i am concerned.

Everything is a fight so I just yield. All I can do is try to create opportunity for her and the kids to take advantage of, with what I am able to offer. She seems content to stay in the area, which is good (and a fear of mine - that she'll move miles away), so I can really be involved.

1. I am volunteering to be a Room Dad for the first grader.
2. I get the baby every Tuesday (mon nite to wed. a.m.) for Daddy Day.
3. I am trying to get the 12 year old to work in my business.
4. In the summer, I can take all of them every Tuesday (and vacations).

Hopefully this can evolve. I am working out goals right now and the forum is helping me. Thank you.

Anyway, my time is worth $50/hour and the state takes that for the kids (about 30% of take home). . .but certainly doesn't credit that.

[cschin4]

Everyone's time is worth something... right now no one has made you an offer to work, and you value staying at home more.

Not true at all. I have all the work I want, when I want it and at a very good wage. I just prefer free time over money. And, my time sitting and waiting in line at the grocery store isn't worth anything because nobody is paying me to stand in line. My choice. So, those people who pitch fits over "their time is valuable" are quite comical.