Cost of owning a tractor

[oldpilgrim]

^^^ Spot on.... often say by the time I explain, hire and keep tabs... often the job could have been substantially completed.

yup, when I was unretired, I was frequently asked if I would like an intern, as I was out straight most of the time. I always refused as it would take longer for me to explain to the intern how to do it, and then verify what had been done, than if I did it myself correctly and in the first effort. i was in IT.

It was far more efficient to do it myself.

 

[big bubba]

yup, when I was unretired, I was frequently asked if I would like an intern, as I was out straight most of the time. I always refused as it would take longer for me to explain to the intern how to do it, and then verify what had been done, than if I did it myself correctly and in the first effort. i was in IT.

It was far more efficient to do it myself.

were you a young man again looking toward the trade or profession of your ambitions, would you understand or accept the above attitude from a seasoned elder as "well you're young & inexperienced, i can do it much better"? guess i can see your point, but.... I spent many years in the classroom teaching jr high hands on shop ...had many "interns" along the way wanting to become teachers ...sure it would have been easier just to do my own thing without the distraction of an inexperienced shadow following me around. but...i quickly realized that there were some "interns" far more skillful than myself, & i was the one learning...just a thought

 

[oldpilgrim]

were you a young man again looking toward the trade or profession of your ambitions, would you understand or accept the above attitude from a seasoned elder as "well you're young & inexperienced, i can do it much better"? guess i can see your point, but.... I spent many years in the classroom teaching jr high hands on shop ...had many "interns" along the way wanting to become teachers ...sure it would have been easier just to do my own thing without the distraction of an inexperienced shadow following me around. but...i quickly realized that there were some "interns" far more skillful than myself, & i was the one learning...just a thought

You are right, I did think about the fact that I was not helping to educate a young person, but with my workload and the demands placed on me, I really had no choice...I couldn't afford to not get my job done as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The other factor was that these 'interns' were only going to be available for a very few weeks and didn't really have much time to get 'educated' enough so I could leave them alone.

I do feel bad but I have to blame my boss who was putting some very unreasonable demands on my time.

Thankfully, now that I'm retired, I don't have those issues to contend with...just which project I want to use my tractor on today.

 

[big bubba]

You are right, I did think about the fact that I was not helping to educate a young person, but with my workload and the demands placed on me, I really had no choice...I couldn't afford to not get my job done as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The other factor was that these 'interns' were only going to be available for a very few weeks and didn't really have much time to get 'educated' enough so I could leave them alone.

I do feel bad but I have to blame my boss who was putting some very unreasonable demands on my time.

Thankfully, now that I'm retired, I don't have those issues to contend with...just which project I want to use my tractor on today.

old prlgram: i certainly don't mean to place judgement. it's so easy to place judgement in life about circumstances that we really don't understand. looking back in my own case, no matter how organized my shop/classroom was set up, there's always a better way....plus you having been in the private sector, there were other more production/economic demands placed on you...just glad now to crank up the tractor for projects i just love to do!
best regards :thumbsup:

 

[oldpilgrim]

old prlgram: i certainly don't mean to place judgement. it's so easy to place judgement in life about circumstances that we really don't understand. looking back in my own case, no matter how organized my shop/classroom was set up, there's always a better way....plus you having been in the private sector, there were other more production/economic demands placed on you...just glad now to crank up the tractor for projects i just love to do!
best regards :thumbsup:

I didn't take it as a judgement. All is good.

 

[smstonypoint]

And this is my point - marginal utility/opportunity cost assumes equivalence in outcome. I get better results at less cost when i do the work myself. If i don't get good results, I can improve and fix it (but that costs more time). And if I like doing it? It does not fit well in the models... There are times where paying for it makes sense. There are times where buying better equipment makes sense (your mowing example), but households do not react in the same manner as businesses do to these factors. Many people would like to spend less time mowing, but cannot justify the expense of a faster mower as it is not an investment but an expense. Opportunity cost all over that, baby.

I made no claims regarding the equivalence of outcomes between DIY and market goods/services. I have only a nodding acquaintance with the household economics/household production function literature, but I do know that some of the models from that literature do not require that DIY and market products/services be perfect substitutes,

My purchase of my ZTR was an expense -- I purchased an asset that will provide me with mowing services over many years (I hope). I expect that folks who purchase a push mower, a self-propelled mower, or a riding mower are doing so to obtain mowing services over many years.

My reason for posting in this thread was to point out that there is no such thing as "free time." The use of time in any activity is time that can't be used in other activities,

Steve

 

[ultrarunner]

The best outcome could very well be being paid to do what you enjoy or spending time on what you enjoy... some would call this priceless...

 

[Sysop]

Even that gets old. I do what was once my hobby for a living, and I get paid at least triple at it as what I could earn doing anything else. It was fun for a couple decades. Now I hobby at other things...