Your time is not free

[/pine]

Clearly you girls are completely missing the concept behind my post. All you see is that $90. My time is actually priceless.

I'm not missing any point...I asked about overhead...I think $90/hr is a legitimate nominal rate a production/custom fabrication shop would charge for most projects (with working drawings)...Overhead is generally considered a "break even" monthly income requirement to remain in the black...

just more curiosity...when you are fabicrating do you produce at the same rate a professional (fabricator making $20-$25/hr) working in a production shop does? and does this equate to the time (man hours) you charge to any certain project?

 

[crazyal]

I tried paying myself but that made me my own boss and then I thought I could tell myself no drinking on the job so I quit. I showed me. :laughing:

Seriously though I can understand what you're saying about how much your time is worth but how much would you pay for the enjoyment of the satisfaction feeling of doing something yourself, not just when you finish the job but each and every time you see your work or talk about it.

What about the time it would take you to deal with having someone else do the job? If you are going to add up costs then you really need to add in stuff you normally never think of. If you have to make 2 or 3 phone calls to et a hold of the guy, that's 10 or 15 minutes. Then you need to add in the time you'd spend trying to work around his schedule.

To me it's only free if I enjoy what I'm going to do, what to learn how to do it and now have the chance, can justify buying a tool (I love tools) by doing the job myself, if I think I can do the job better or more to my liking, or if it'll take just as long or longer to deal with someone else doing it.

 

[chad22]

I know that I could go out and buy something and not use my time making it. But where's the fun in just buying it? I love to build things.

Take my backhoe for example. I might be out a lot of money on it. But at least I'm having fun welding and putting it together. I'll also appreciate it even more knowing that I built it, when I start the thing up hopefully] this summer and can get out there and dig with it.

I also built my dog a doghouse. Total was $75.00 I could have just bought one. But once again, where is the fun in that? I built that thing for her when it was freezing cold outside. She used to lie underneath my dads motorhome. She would not come into the house at all and still won't.

I said there is no way I'm letting her freeze out there. So as soon as I came up with the money. I got on the ball and worked on it and got the dog house done in 2 nights. (Freezing cold nights)

It took her a few days. But she finally went into it. I even built her a little foundation for it out of some old chimney bricks from and old house were tearing down.

She loves that doghouse. And I had fun doing those projects and still am having fun.

For the backhoe project. I'm figuring close to $1,000.00 But I don't care about the money part. I just care that I'm having fun and enjoying building it. :thumbsup:


Chad

 

[smstonypoint]

Clearly you girls are completely missing the concept behind my post. All you see is that $90. My time is actually priceless.

I agree that most folks are missing your point. Time is a limited resource.

I enjoy seat time on my tractor and I enjoy carpentry projects, but I can't do both at the same time. The time I spend on my tractor (on a carpentry project) has a cost -- the enjoyment I am missing from a carpentry project (tractor seat time). As long as anyone has beneficial but mutually-exclusive alternative ways to spend their time (that would be everyone), their time is not free.

Steve

 

[blueriver]

Clearly you girls are completely missing the concept behind my post. All you see is that $90. My time is actually priceless.

GIRLS ??? Come tote my lunch bucket just a half day ... The reason I am self employed ... I really have no idea how much I am worth ... per minute, hour, day or week.

 

[CBW1999]

Life is worthless if you must assign a dollar value to each measure.

Well said.

Yes, I agree that time has a value- but it is not measured by any monetary denomination. I will consider many things in comparison when deciding on "DIY" or hiring someone to do it (or buy it). I believe that knowledge is far more valuable than money. The opportunity to learn is priceless and I am always searching to expand my skills and abilities. Even when I hire out something, I often ask if I may watch and ask questions. So even though I am paying someone to do it, I also invest my time in the project- to gain knowledge. I never consider this a financial loss.

If your focus is money, you will never see the true treasures present in our lives. I have been blessed by God many times in my life......Remember- the "almighty" dollar reminds us that, "IN GOD WE TRUST".

 

[Piston]

I had $250 dollars in my pocket.
I wanted to build a new gate for my fence.
I paid 35 cents per board foot for rough cut lumber, I bought 20 board feet=$7.00
It took me 3 hrs to get the lumber, build the gate, and hang it.
I had 243 dollars in my pocket when all was said and done (I reused the old hardware)

According to the "my time isn't free" logic, that means 3hrs X $90/hr=$270 dollars
Somehow there was still 243 dollars in my pocket??????

Just sayin......

 

[doall]

If your that concerned about the dollars why do you even have a pond(buy your fish) why do you have a shop(buy what you need) but you are going to hire everything out, so you don't need anything that would be used for work.
What is the cost per use of your tools if they sit until a cost effective project does arise one day.

Sometimes it may make sense on paper, but not in your wallet.
Real money is limitted to some of us, so we have to spend more time than money every once in a while. But I don't think where this has went is really what you meant. I read that you really have more than $100 dollars in your homemade grapple if you count your time. I think this is right, and I agree.
If we only have $7 to put in a gate or if we want to do it ourself anyway, that's the way to go.

 

[David Devuono]

Lets say I have 30 hours a week to spare and I spend 20 building and 10 playing. If I could get $90 an hour for my time (sounds like we are talking Free and clear, under the table?) then I would work for 15 more hours at my $90per hour job, buy everything ready made and play for 15 hrs. Hope I am not repeating anyone, but up here in Canada $90 per hour x 40 hours a week= only $50 per hour in the pocket. If your self employed, even better, you can buy everything and put in on the Job. You don't think that big diesel dually pulling the enclosed snowmobile trailer (probably the trailer too) is not written off against the taxes for the family company.

 

[BobRip]

Another factor is the experience and knowledge you gain by doing it yourself. A lot of us do many different trades. Perhaps we are not experts at all of them, but we do know a fair amount. When you go back to your real job you can use this experience to make better decisions and probably earn more money. I think that the things I have learned on my own by doing stuff have at least as much value to my engineering income as the stuff I learned in college, and I am being generous with the college. In college it was all basics, and I never got good at it. When I did it at home, I really started to understand. The value of this is priceless.