Making the Most of Your Resources

First, figure out how much your time is really worth to you, and then act/spend accordingly

You’ve probably heard the saying “time is money.” It’s a popular line for a reason — it’s true. This tool will help you understand how much money your time is worth.

Everyone has an implicit value for their time, though they may not think in those terms. Even a billionaire will volunteer to work an extra hour if offered enough money (say, $10 million), while even someone in dire straits will refuse an extra hour of work if the compensation is too small (say, a penny).
The value of time can change dramatically depending on how much of it you have available — you’ll likely value your free time much more highly if you’re very busy than if your schedule is wide open.

It’s extremely useful to know how you value your own time. Knowing how much money each extra hour is worth will help you make smarter decisions about many aspects of your life, including:

  • Whether to take on additional part-time work, and at what rate.
  • Whether you should try to scale down your hours at your current job.
  • How long you should wait in line for a free item.
  • Whether taking a cab is worth the extra cost.
  • Whether it’s worth hiring a personal assistant, a laundry service, or other help.

This tool is an hourly time calculator. It will ask you a series of questions to help estimate how much money each extra hour is worth to you, and then provide a customized report highlighting any inconsistencies in your answers and concrete suggestions for applying your newfound knowledge in daily life.

You might not always find it useful to put a monetary value on your time (for instance, while relaxing on a beach vacation). However, many of life’s decisions require you to trade money for time or vice versa, so knowing your personal hourly value can be very helpful.

This tool is designed to estimate the value of an additional hour of a neutral task. Here’s what that means:

  • Additional Hour:
    This is the monetary value of each extra hour on top of your current schedule. For example, if you work 35 hours a week, the calculator will estimate how much money you’d need for a 36th hour of work—or, conversely, the amount you’d pay to free up an hour of time.

  • Neutral Task:
    This refers to work that you neither particularly enjoy nor dislike. You’d expect to be paid more to work an hour on something you hate, or less for something you enjoy. If you really enjoy a task, you might even pay someone to let you do it!

Note: If you earn a very low wage, have an unstable income, or very little savings, the calculator may overestimate the value of your time and underestimate your need for funds. If this tool recommends spending more money or reducing your work hours, please exercise caution.

Experiments

Experiment 1: Part-Time Work

Imagine someone offers you a part-time job that requires only one extra hour per week on top of your current work. The job involves neutral work—nothing you particularly like or dislike—and it doesn’t conflict with your existing schedule. You won’t really learn anything new from it.

Question:
How much money per hour, after tax, would someone have to offer you to take this job?

Experiment 2: Machine Assistance

Suppose you have a neutral 4-hour personal task to complete this weekend. You also have the opportunity to pay for a machine that can finish the task in 2 minutes instead of 4 hours.

Question:
What’s the maximum amount of money you’d be willing to pay to use this machine?

Keep in mind:
If you’re on a budget, your willingness to pay might be small. Please provide an honest answer (e.g., 0.25 for 25 cents, where the decimal point denotes cents).

Experiment 3: Waiting for a Gift Certificate

You come across an opportunity to get a €100 gift certificate to a store you frequent, but the promotion requires you to wait in line. Suppose you have minimal entertainment, so waiting is neither especially pleasant nor unpleasant.

Question:
How long in minutes would you be willing to wait for the gift certificate?
(For example, answering “180” means you’re willing to wait 3 hours.)

Experiment 4: Express Train vs. Local Train

Imagine you’re in an unfamiliar city with plans on the other side town that are too far to walk. You have two options:

  • Local train: Cheap, but slower.
  • Express train: More expensive, but will save you a full hour of travel time.

Question:
How much extra would you be willing to pay for the express train?

Remember:
If you’re on a budget, even a small extra cost (a few cents) is acceptable as your honest answer.

Summary of Implied Values

Based on your responses, here’s what your answers imply about how you value your time:

  • Part-Time Work:
    If you require €10 per additional hour of work, you value your time at €10/hour.

  • Waiting for Gift Certificate:
    If you’re willing to wait 15 minutes for a €100 certificate, that implies you trade each hour of waiting for €400.

  • Machine Assistance:
    If you’d pay €20 for a machine that cuts a 4-hour task down to 2 minutes, that implies you value each freed-up hour at €5.

  • Express Train:
    If you’d pay €5 extra to save one hour of travel time, then you value that additional free hour at €5.

Additional Strategies and Suggestions

Here are some other actions you might consider—ways to make better use of your time or save it for more valuable activities:

  • Modify or Repair Your Stuff:
    Whether it’s repairing your belongings or getting them fixed professionally.

  • Grocery Delivery & Cleaning Services:
    Save time by outsourcing routine tasks.

  • Treat Fines as Payments:
    Reframe penalties as investments in your time.

  • Telemedicine & Cosmetic/Surgical Options:
    Consider these for health, appearance, or comfort if they save you valuable time.

  • Generate Your Own Media:
    • Create audiobooks or ebooks.
    • Dictate your ideas to have them written down.
  • Job-Hunting Strategies:
    • Ignore outdated job postings and pitch companies directly.
    • Figure out the company’s needs before making your pitch.
  • Negotiate Your Job Offer:
    • Ask for better terms or a signing bonus.
    • Propose a longer vesting schedule to demonstrate commitment.
  • Other Work Strategies:
    • Ask for a raise.
    • Request waivers for admission or graduation requirements.
    • Consider quitting or taking a leave if necessary.
  • Live off Your Savings While Trying Something New

  • Work for Yourself:
    Coaching, contracting, etc.

  • Effective Communication:
    • Write forwardable emails.
    • Follow up persistently (but politely).
      Moral: When emailing busy people, imagine their cluttered inboxes—if you don’t follow up, they’ll likely ignore you, assuming you don’t really want to talk.
  • Network Strategically:
    • Approach a person or group you admire to see if they want to cofound something with you.
    • Learn professional email techniques by reading leaked emails.

  • Work in Public:
    Or at least share your progress publicly, similar to SpaceX livestreaming their work.

  • Self-Promotion:
    • Write interviews with yourself and send them to journalists (see Tom Kalil).
    • Fly to people for in-person meetings to demonstrate seriousness.
  • In General, Just Ask:
    Don’t hesitate to ask for things—even if you’ve never heard someone ask for them before.