ThePricer Antishopping Mobile

Let's Understand Time Value

How your $X purchase translates to life energy

Your Time Investment

At $X per hour, this $X purchase requires X hours (X workdays) of your life.

This represents X% of a 45-year working lifetime.

In context: That's X.

Opportunity Cost

Your $X purchase costs you X hours of life energy. During this time, you could alternatively:

  • Learn a new skill - Your X% of the 20-40 hours needed to learn a basic skill
  • Read a book - Your X pages at average reading speed
  • Invest the money - Your $X could grow to approximately $X over 10 years at 7% annual return

Practical Financial Context

For your $X purchase:

  • Cost-per-use perspective: If you use this item 10 times, each use costs you $X in money or X minutes of your life
  • 1% rule application: At $X/hour and X hours per week, this purchase represents approximately X% of your annual income
  • Weekly budget impact: This is equivalent to X weeks of discretionary spending, assuming 30% of income is discretionary

Value Assessment

To make your X hours of work worthwhile:

  • If it's an experience: Will it create memories worth X hours of your life?
  • If it's a time-saving item: Will it save more than X hours over its lifetime?
  • If it's for enjoyment: Will it provide more than X hours of genuine satisfaction (calculated as 2× work hours)
  • If it's a necessity: Can you find ways to optimize the X days of your life it costs?

Time Cost Calculator

Find out how much of your life you're trading for any purchase or expense.

The amount you're getting paid per hour of work
The cost of the item or service you want to buy
How many hours you spend at work each week

Total Work Hours

0

Workdays

0

Life Percentage

0%

Taylor's Purchase Journey

Follow along with a real-life example

Taylor

Meet Taylor

Taylor earns $X per hour and works X hours weekly.

Like many people, Taylor is trying to make smart financial decisions while enjoying life.

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Taylor is thinking about buying an item that costs $X.

"Should I buy this? How much of my life will it cost me?"

Taylor knows that thoughtful spending isn't about depriving oneself, but about making choices that truly enhance life and bring real happiness rather than just momentary satisfaction.

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Taylor calculates that this purchase will require X hours of work.

Each blue square represents one day of Taylor's working life that would go toward this purchase.

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If the average person works for 45 years (ages 20-65), then this item costs approximately X.

"When I think about trading actual days of my life for this, it makes me consider my priorities more carefully."