[JackOfCrows]

Most people will use time to save money. However, your time on earth is limited unless the Silicon Valley weirdos happen to be right.

Money is infinite in that you can earn more or get a second job or get a better paying job or whatever. (Obviously only to a point but stay with me).

Also: your time does have value or it should since it is limited.

What would you pay for an hour of your life "back"? Or an hour to do whatever you wanted?

The truly smart play is trading money for time.

I've been a freelancer for a while but there was a point when I got laid off from my full time job so I ramped up to make ends meet. And I was fortunate enough that I was basically able to work for myself full time...

But when you are doing that, especially in the early stage...like I know that if I burn a couple hours at my billing rate of $50 an hour trying to save a few dollarydoos on a TV by standing in line for a big sale, am I really saving that much money when I effectively paid $100 to stand in line for two hours, something I don't like doing anyway, instead of just paying a bit more and getting a TV right away and not having to do that?

Another example. Changing the oil on my car. Could I? I'm pretty sure I could. I know the process. I'd probably want to watch some YouTube videos and there's tools I'd need to pick up, but I could be a real manly man and change my own oil and not get screwed by the shop.

But...

Let's say it costs me $40 at Autozone for oil and filter.

Let's say it costs $80 at the shop. A real shop not a jiffy lube. PFFT THOSE GUYS ARE SCREWING YA JUST DO IT YOURSELF.

I'd save $40 doing it DIY.

Most people would be on their way to Autozone...but on the other hand, I am not a mechanic that does 20 of these a day. Between watching videos and trying to figure out where everything is and inevitably covering myself in oil and whatnot.

Let's say it takes me 2 hours and the shop 1 hour. Doesn't matter, I saved 40 bucks! Whadda ripoff!

Would you pay 40 bucks for an hour of your life back? Maybe you like tinkering on cars and thats legit. Satisfaction is another benefit.

But for me, I am effectively paying some other person $40 to get dirty and bang his knuckles and whatnot while I sit in the AC and watch cable and dick around on my phone (which I enjoy much more) AND a lot of places will check and top up your other fluids and top off your tires and do an inspection to see if anything else will need work, which I don't know how to do and obviously they know what they are looking for.

AND because the guy knows what he's doing, it's done faster.

So effectively, yes, I will absolutely pay 40 bucks to hang out and watch basic cable in the air conditioning and make sure my car is good to go and all my fluids are topped off and also I get a whole hour of my life for doing whatever I want.

Don't trade time for money. Trade money for time.

[dominicdoty]

While I broadly agree with this, you have to be careful you don't slide too far into this mindset. Vacations become hard to justify if you view them as both the price of the vacation+lost income opportunity. It's easy to find yourself in a place where it's hard to justify doing anything but working.

[tomcam]

Well I looked at it like this. A good two week vacation in Paris costs at least $10,000. I could instead bill out approximately $12,000 during that time. Therefore, the best thing to do is for me to pay a Parisian $2,000 to have my vacation for me. I stayed at home, and earned a lot more money. I can then spend that on another vacation. You can thank me later for this gem.

[bombcar]

Even better - you can hire a Parisian and a Roman and a Londoner to each have a vacation for you at the same time! 2 weeks of work and 6 weeks of vacation in just two weeks of clock time. This is the way.

[tomcam]

That’s what I call out-of-the-box thinking

[candiddevmike]

Vacations are already hard to justify IMO. All the garbage and fuel so you can go somewhere for a few days and inconvenience folks that live there?

[habibur]

That's what I thought in my 20s and 30s.

View flipped after that. Do your chores yourself as much as your time allows instead of jumping to pay someone to do it. There are other benefits not discussed here beside the time cost factor.

[plasticchris]

I went back to changing my own oil when I realized it took a lot more time to go there and wait for them to change it vs doing it myself in less time than it would take to drive to the oil change place. And I know I it is done right.

Same with more important stuff like brakes. It does take some knowledge but I’m more motivated to get it right than any given pro.

[sys_64738]

> Would you pay 40 bucks for an hour of your life back? Maybe you like tinkering on cars and thats legit. Satisfaction is another benefit.

You're missing your opportunity cost. Would you be doing utility during that hour to make 40 bucks? If not then to maximize your profit to time then you want to do it yourself.

[robbiep]

I agrée and it’s a bit of a maxim of mine, but the extreme of this is absurd. There’s lots of life that is worth doing for the pleasure of just doing. Sometimes that might be learning how to do an oil change (to follow the thread!) but sometimes that’s the exact absurd trade off you’re talking about

[posix86]

I think that's his point. The point in life isn't to have money, it's to spend time on things you liked. Thus, trading time to save money is a bad trade, but trading money for time that you enjoy is what you should do. Which in his case means spending time on your phone instead of changing oil, but it might look different for you.

[robbiep]

And my point is if you pursue that thread too aggressively, without knowing what you want to do - and I’ve seen quite a few friends do this especially after moving to the valley and getting into ‘always be optimising’ mode - they don’t actually take the time to make mistakes

[ananiochita]

While I get the general point ( and mostly agree, and practice myself ) for many people, if not most, this is not a choice or an option.

Plenty are working two or more jobs just to barely make it, if they even get to make it.

[slyall]

Agree. It's not just the medium sized things either. It works for the little stuff too.

Give yourself the permission to burn say $25/week on lifestyle. It means you can splash out for the more expensive parking, snack or item without feeling like you have to shop around to go somewhere so you aren't "overcharged".

An example might be if you want a can of coke but the vendor in front of you is charging $2 whereas you know the convenience store 3 minutes walk away would have it for $1. Just buy the thing.

Adjust the $25/week to your income.

[Test0129]

> But for me, I am effectively paying some other person $40 to get dirty and bang his knuckles and whatnot while I sit in the AC and watch cable and dick around on my phone (which I enjoy much more) AND a lot of places will check and top up your other fluids and top off your tires and do an inspection to see if anything else will need work, which I don't know how to do and obviously they know what they are looking for.

While I understand the point you're trying to make for people wandering by:

I've done my own oil, brakes, etc for as long as I remember. As long as you're not working on a supercar an oil change should take you less than an hour. Ideally inside of 30 minutes. 99.9% of vehicles are simple: place oil bucket under car, open oil cap on engine, gently loosen the oil pan bolt, drain oil. While the oil is draining you can get a second bucket and undo the filter. Reverse the process being careful to not strip the oil pan bolt, fill it up with the manufacturer recommended amount, and you're done. At least in America most AutoZones, Pep Boys, O'Reilly's, etc will take your used oil off your hands for free. As for tire inspection, fill up, etc you should also be doing this yourself. It's another 10 minute job with a $5 tool. I'm of the opinion every home should own an air compressor. It is one of the most universally useful things a person can have.

Why is this important? Oil shops are rife with fraud. The quality of your oil can dramatically influence the life of your car. I've had quick lube places rip me off so many times, leave parts off, etc. For what? I saved 30 minutes but gained another expense. Most of the time unless the shop is very reputable "premium" oils aren't actually royal purple. It's just the same crap they put in everyone else's car. By not paying dealer/etc premiums I save hundreds of dollars and get far better quality oil and service doing it myself. This is a skill I picked up being extremely broke before I got into tech and I've dedicated a small portion of my life to being able to fix (most of) my own issues. To the point I only show up to a shop when I need work that requires an engine crane or transmission lift (I've done transmission work myself before but its worth it to make it someone else's problem).

Do your own oil. You do it once or twice a year, you understand your vehicle better, and you get better oil and filters for the money. Moreover, the average tech connects an ODB-2 alarm checker to your car and then writes you an invoice. Cars are not difficult. If spending 2-3 hours a year is too time-expensive for you I'm not sure what to tell you. I just hope you don't run into a situation far from home where a tow truck is 6 hours away and understanding your car could get you home safe and fast.