Your time is not free

[o2batsea]

I see so many threads where the poster claims they only have a few bucks worth of materials in a project. I always calculate my own "shop hourly rate" into my projects to see whether I am actually saving money by doing some of these things myself. My personal rate is $90/hr.
My current wind powered pond aerator project is rapidly nearing the cost of the commercially available ones using this calc, but I'm in too deep to stop now so I will just go on and see it through.
It's an old habit and hard to break as the urge to do it myself is very strong. I am learning slowly that everything you bring home takes a little piece of your life away from you, whether it is a dozen eggs, a TV or a tractor. Spend your time wisely.

 

[Zick]

I consider it free especially if I enjoy doing it. It's my time, what does it matter if I don't charge myself for it?

 

[teg]

I view what I build as a hobby... so I don't count any costs that is incurred :2cents:

I viewed adding hydraulics to my tractor as a $600 class that I learned a great deal in!!! (and money well spent!)

For vacations, I trade money for memories... Everything I spend, Adds to my life.

Now, where are those photos from the "wind powered pond aerator project"?

 

[Craig Clayton]

Kenny Rogers has a line in the song the gambler, you have to know when to hold them , when to fold them , and when to run.
Craig Clayton

 

[brin]

Geeez, I read all of your posts and agree with all of them. Seriously I see wisdom and the point to each post...So in my view they all apply to one degree or another...:thumbsup:

 

[CowwFace]

Pfff,

You guys are talking old school... I just follow the Federal Reserve and pay MYSELF... I have an uncashed check I wrote to myself for $90,000.00 on my desk now.. I'll let you know how it works when I get back from bank ...

Tractor on.

 

[GT2]

I see so many threads where the poster claims they only have a few bucks worth of materials in a project. I always calculate my own "shop hourly rate" into my projects to see whether I am actually saving money by doing some of these things myself. My personal rate is $90/hr.
.

Your point is only valid if in fact you had real income generating work you could be doing instead.

 

[LD1]

If I charged myself $90 per hour I would never do any projects, as using your logic, I would always be "spending" more than hiring the work done.

Case in point, the $300 50 hour service that kubota charges. I did mine myself and had ~150 in materials. Spent probabally 2 hours in the shop, drinking a few cold ones, and I had her done. I thought I saved money, man what a bummer to be $30 in the red

And I should probabally sell my mowers too, cause it takes me about 2 hours to mow my 2 acres. That $180. A commercial outfit with a ZTR could probabally do it in 1 hour and would charge less than that.

Same with doing the oil changes on my vehichles. I'm in no rush so it usually takes 45min-1 hour. Add the cost of oil and I am $100+ just in my oil changes.

Heck I dont know why I even built a shop. It cost me money to try to do anything myself. I do consider my time free. Because what else would I be doing??? Sitting on the couch watching TV???Posting on TBN???

I can maybe see figuring your time at something but $90 is a rediculuous figure. Does your employer think your time is worth that much??

 

[/pine]

I see so many threads where the poster claims they only have a few bucks worth of materials in a project. I always calculate my own "shop hourly rate" into my projects to see whether I am actually saving money by doing some of these things myself. My personal rate is $90/hr.

just curious where you come up with the $90 hourly rate?

granted...this is what you might pay a fabrication shop owner (with overhead) etc. but the actual fabricator that is working for the shop owner is likely seeing $20-$25/hour out of that $90...
...So the question is...what makes your fabrication time worth more than the $25/hr the fabricator that works for a shop?...do you also pay yourself $90/hr when you are out buying materials and supplies?

 

[o2batsea]

Your point is only valid if in fact you had real income generating work you could be doing instead.

I don't agree with that of course, and it's not really based on money in the strictest sense anyway. It's more a way for me to figure out whether it is better to build or buy. The time I would not spend building would be spent on my wife and friends, pursuing other interests and probably napping. Napping trumps welding every time as far as I am concerned. So does boating.

let's say i see a piece of tractor equipment on Craigslist and I think, "hey that's super cheap for a (fill in the blank)" If I have to put in 8 or 10 hours cleaning it up, installing new parts and getting it to work, have I really saved any money? Well, sure I guess but it's likely still not worth more than what I paid and if I bought a new one I'd be out more cash for sure but at least the thing would work and if it didn't i could take it back or get it fixed under warranty. Plus it would have more resale value so if I sold it I wouldn't be out more than the cost of the piece of junk one I might have brought home.

 

[jgrreed]

I consider it free especially if I enjoy doing it. It's my time, what does it matter if I don't charge myself for it?

I agree. If I'm going to learn something new, or really enjoy what I'm doing, I do it. If it's going to take too much time away from something else important, like family or friends, I hire it out, or just wait until I have time. Lately I've been 'pulling strings' to get someone that-I-know "knows" to help me and teach me new things.

Everyone's time is valuable, as are the "years off your life" that occur when you get in over your head!!! No one will lay on their deathbed and say "I really wish I had packed my own bearings back in '97", nor with they say "I wish I had saved that 55$ the shop charged me to repack my bearings"

-Jer.

 

[o2batsea]

just curious where you come up with the $90 hourly rate?

granted...this is what you might pay a fabrication shop owner (with overhead) etc. but the actual fabricator that is working for the shop owner is likely seeing $20-$25/hour out of that $90...
...So the question is...what makes your fabrication time worth more than the $25/hr the fabricator that works for a shop?...do you also pay yourself $90/hr when you are out buying materials and supplies?

Same thing as Mr Fab Shop: overhead.

 

[smstonypoint]

Your point is only valid if in fact you had real income generating work you could be doing instead.

At the risk of being flamed on this, as an economist (actually an agricultural economist) I have to disagree. "Opportunity cost" is an important concept in economics (one that too often managed to elude my former students) and need not be restricted to monetary terms. Accountants don't consider opportunity costs, economists do.

The time you devote to an activity (say, building a pond aerator) is time that you could have spent on another activity (e.g., working for pay, time with your family, fishing, whatever). The opportunity cost of that time is the benefit that you forgo in the next-best use of that time.

Steve

 

[Marveltone]

I tried paying myself for projects I've done for myself. I took the money out of one pocket and put it in the other. Come bill time, it didn't seem to make any difference. Maybe I should've taken it out of savings and redeposited it back into savings.

Maybe I'm just a little dense, because I still haven't figured out how to pay myself yet. If you're taking time away from a paying job to do these projects, then yes, you're losing money. If you're doing them after hours, or on your days off, when you're not getting paid anyway, you're not losing any money. In fact, you're likely saving money by not paying somebody else's labor for an already finished product.

Then again, what do I know? I was an art major.

Joe

 

[tungularafishcamp]

Lets see, best I ever did solo fishing was 23,000 lbs of halibut in 24 hours x1.35 a lb makes my time worth 1200something$ an hour. Dang at that rate I can't afford to play my wife a game of cribbage much less have a little fun in the shop:laughing:

Rick

Of course I won't mention all the seasons I have spent fishing where I barely if ever made it to the black or is it green that might make my time almost worthless and it's all the time I have left so might as well use it as I want.

 

[W7XYZ]

My personal rate is $90/hr.

Is that with or without benefits? The question for DIY, am I rich or broke?

 

[smstonypoint]

Then again, what do I know? I was an art major.

Joe

Joe,

Didn't you have to take at least one economics course? But you may have been like some of my former students who used my lectures to catch up on their sleep.

Steve

 

[o2batsea]

Is that with or without benefits? The question for DIY, am I rich or broke?

I'm only gonna answer this one time, regardless of how many different ways it gets asked.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Most of us only get 41,340,614 minutes of life to live on the average. You use 9,467,280 minutes just getting to age 18.

I'm almost 52, which means I have about 13,990,694 minutes left on the clock.

You personal time is worth whatever pay level a job had that would make you drop whatever you are doing at home (i.e. give up your personal time) to go work at. I make roughly $41/hr at work with everything added in; but it would take at least twice that for me to give up my personal time for work I didn't care for; which makes o2batsea's figure of $90/hr pretty much on the money. (No pun intended.)

Most hobbies cost money, if you can reduce the cost, that's money in your pocket. Education costs money (Oh boy, does it ever!). If you can learn it on your own, you're making money doing it. Most therapy and vacation packages cost money. If you're doing something that takes their place, you're making money.

If you're building, doing, or making something on your own, and you can't stand it, then you're wasting money and your life time. If you're enjoying yourself, learning something, or staying in shape doing it, it's worth it.

 

[ihuntbear]

I can't beleive someone needs to pay them self to do the things that need to be done around the house that they like doing.If thats the case why do we buy lawn mowers,tractors ,shovels etc to get the things done.We may as well just keep working for somebody else to pay somebody else to do the things we like doing.Does that make any sense,90.00 an hour.Wow this world is gone to sh.t....sorry just my .02 cents:confused2: