Value of time

[joeea]

DW and I babysit the GK's and GM for the pure satisfaction of helping out.

We babysit our grandchildren as well.

While it helps out our son and daughter-in-law, we probably get more out of it than anyone else.

Yesterday, we took our 4 year old grandson to tour a submarine. He loved it so much we went through twice.

And of course I got to play in a submarine. How much fun is that?

 

[athena53]

Or, suppose a person has a modest retirement income. For example:

Retiree A paints the interior of their home in 2 or 3 days and saves the equivalent of a month of income.

Retiree B paints the interior of their larger home in 3 or 4 days and saves the equivalent of a week of income.

I'm Retiree C. I paint the house or put down tile, figure out what I saved by doing it myself, then buy myself something nice.

 

[audreyh1]

I’m retiree D. I have an immodest retirement income and no way am I doing any house painting myself or ask DH to do it.

 

[Amethyst]

It takes me about 40 hours total to do ours, with a brush, counting all the railings and supports, trip to buy stain, and time spent getting pressure washer to start At my arbitrary rate of $50 per hour, that's $2000 (plus deck paint cost) about half what we'd be charged, for a less picky job using spray paint instead of brush. The contractors would also demand to sand the boards for smoothness, whereas I am willing to paint over texture.

Ha ha.

Here's an easy one. Cleaning and refinishing the stain on a deck. It takes a lot of simple labor. Incredible cost savings if you DYI. Of course if a retired person does it, I guess it is just free.

 

[JoeWras]

It takes me about 40 hours total to do ours, with a brush, counting all the railings and supports, trip to buy stain, and time spent getting pressure washer to start At my arbitrary rate of $50 per hour, that's $2000 (plus deck paint cost) about half what we'd be charged, for a less picky job using spray paint instead of brush. The contractors would also demand to sand the boards for smoothness, whereas I am willing to paint over texture.

I was shocked with the rough quote I got from my painter. (I hire to paint the outside of the house.)

The thing about the deck is that it is relatively safe to do, and very straightforward.

I considered it 4 days of exercise.

 

[PointBreeze]

I don't do trees! I have a pole saw and will trim a low hanging, tiny caliber branch. That's it. We have a now disabled friend who was injured doing tree work. Pretty much scared me away.

Otherwise, I do as much as possible. I did my last light remodel of the kitchen and family room, which included new countertops, sink and flooring. I may do another slight refresh next year. I'm thinking about bathroom tiling next. I also do all landscaping that is ground based.

Sadly, my body is not cooperating to do the heavy stuff like I used to. I see myself hiring out a lot more. That's OK.

My retired grandfather died at age 80 when he fell out of a tree he had climbed to trim. While I was devastated that he had died early, I was also incredibly proud of him! However, I won't climb higher than about 6 feet because of that.

 

[HI Bill]

My retired grandfather died at age 80 when he fell out of a tree he had climbed to trim. While I was devastated that he had died early, I was also incredibly proud of him!

Sorry for your loss, but to me, I'd rather die climbing a tree, or scuba diving, or doing anything active, than on a bed in a care facility.

That said, my dad lost his balance around age 75 while trimming a tree from a ladder placed on a moderately sloping driveway. He fell, hit his head, and had to crawl to the garage to get to the phone to call for help. Could have easily been fatal!

 

[FreeBear]

I can be pretty handy if I have to, but after owning a SFH with a big yard for decades, I'm now over this stuff. I still do smaller projects because it's more trouble finding someone to do them reasonably well. This time around, we bought a townhome with an HOA that handles most of the exterior issues. Love to hear the lawn guys cutting and edging. I'm glad I don't have to do it or directly hire someone.


Oh, I hate kitchen prep and cleaning after cooking and meals. I love to eat out and just sit there doing "nothing" while someone else hustles. It's the very definition of luxury; maybe this should belong on the "Blow Some Dough" thread! Actually, I don't mind the drive and short wait for food, in part because we eat off-hours. It's relaxing and gets us out of the house.


Actually, FIRE is itself the luxury to avoid undesirable tasks and relationships. If I had more dough, I'd avoid even more of the cold gloomy weather in northern flyover country...

 

[rmcelwee]

Although I will probably slow down on doing my own car repairs as I get older, for years I took the following approach. I would call the dealership and see what they charged ($1000 to change out an AC compressor) and would spend half that amount buying any tools needed to do it myself. I outfitted my entire garage using that method and now I can do just about any work that needs to be done. My bad back is an issue but I'm still too cheap to pay someone to work on most stuff. I think I can count on one hand how many times I have paid someone to do work for me (I'm 51 YO).

 

[68bucks]

I have always had a hard time paying to have someone do what I can do myself so I end up doing most things myself. I do enjoy not having to spend 16 hours on Saturday and Sunday to ge a project done before Monday morning. The only things I hire are things that would take too long to suite my time frame. It's not usually a monitarialy based decision. For example I built a barn and started the electrical recently. I hired to get the power trenched in because it was faster and easier than using my backhoe. The rest I'll do myself, in no big hurry. And now I rarely work on stuff on the weekends so I can hang out with the working stiffs I know. Time management has taken in a whole new meaning.

 

[TwoByFour]

It takes me about 40 hours total to do ours, with a brush, counting all the railings and supports, trip to buy stain, and time spent getting pressure washer to start At my arbitrary rate of $50 per hour, that's $2000 (plus deck paint cost) about half what we'd be charged, for a less picky job using spray paint instead of brush. The contractors would also demand to sand the boards for smoothness, whereas I am willing to paint over texture.

But that is 40 hours I will never get back. I could spend that 40 hours hiking, bird watching, paddling, surfing. I am pretty sure when I am on my death bed I will have more fond memories of doing one of the latter things than I would about the money I saved painting it myself. That is the value I put on my time - I only have so much of it left.

 

[audreyh1]

But that is 40 hours I will never get back. I could spend that 40 hours hiking, bird watching, paddling, surfing. I am pretty sure when I am on my death bed I will have more fond memories of doing one of the latter things than I would about the money I saved painting it myself. That is the value I put on my time - I only have so much of it left.

Exactly!

Physical labor takes energy as well - you are tired afterwards. There is risk of injury as well.

We do maintenance of our shrubs because we have a large butterfly garden and the HOA landscaping crew always trims at the wrong time. But I’m tired afterwards! Thanks goodness they take care of the grass and edging.

We did pressure wash the outside of the house. That wasn’t too taxing. But we’ve hired someone to was ph the exterior windows and solar screens which have to be removed for cleaning.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Exactly!

Physical labor takes energy as well - you are tired afterwards. There is risk of injury as well.

We do maintenance of our shrubs because we have a large butterfly garden and the HOA landscaping crew always trims at the wrong time. But I’m tired afterwards! Thanks goodness they take care of the grass and edging.

We did pressure wash the outside of the house. That wasn’t too taxing. But we’ve hired someone to was ph the exterior windows and solar screens which have to be removed for cleaning.

True, time is more important than money, but there's also the sense of mastery and self-reliance that comes from learning to do something yourself. (Remember the thread we had on learning new skills/languages in retirement?) It really depends on what you enjoy more, and I know for me that can vary depending on the day.

 

[davedionne]

My retired grandfather died at age 80 when he fell out of a tree he had climbed to trim. While I was devastated that he had died early, I was also incredibly proud of him! However, I won't climb higher than about 6 feet because of that.

Just to go off the storyline....

I'm retired Professional Firefighter. Early in my career a man came into the firehouse asking us to come rescue a cat out of a tree. We don't do that as a service. We told him that the cat would come down by itself. Did you ever see a cat skeleton in a tree?

One hour latter we responsed to a medical call. Turns out to be the gentleman from earlier. Unfortunately... he did not survive the fall from the tree.

 

[mystang52]

When I was still w*rking, DW commanded - I mean, asked - me to trim a whole bunch of low lying tree branches in our backyard. I duly went out, surveyed the work to be done, and realized I would have to forego any plans for a run that weekend day. Then it dawned on me.....I whipped out my cell phone, called a tree service, and enjoyed my run. Best $450 check I ever wrote.

Since then, the only DIY chores I do are those that are either simple, quick, and/or don't impede on time I'd rather spend doing something else.

 

[Music Lover]

But that is 40 hours I will never get back. I could spend that 40 hours hiking, bird watching, paddling, surfing. I am pretty sure when I am on my death bed I will have more fond memories of doing one of the latter things than I would about the money I saved painting it myself. That is the value I put on my time - I only have so much of it left.

It may be a waste of time if you don't like doing it, but not everyone hates home projects or renos. I can build a beautiful deck in 40 hours (in fact, probably less), have a good time doing it, save money, and at the end have a finished product that I can enjoy for decades. I may enjoy building a deck as much as you like bird watching.

 

[jollystomper]

I'll do home repairs or improvements that do not require dealing with water pipes (other than things like connectors that one can screw on), electricity (other than plugging things in or changing light bulbs), opening up walls, or having to climb onto anything higher than a 5' step ladder. One of the reasons I saved for FI is to able to pay others to handle those repairs for me.


The biggest home project I have done is ripping up carpet and installing laminate floors. Very easy, especially when glue is not needed. I probably took twice as long as the average person, but I am patient and would rather go slow and be sure.



I have a contractor friend who has renovated our bathrooms. He did the heavy work, but DW and I did all of the spackling and painting work. That we could handle.

 

[audreyh1]

True, time is more important than money, but there's also the sense of mastery and self-reliance that comes from learning to do something yourself. (Remember the thread we had on learning new skills/languages in retirement?) It really depends on what you enjoy more, and I know for me that can vary depending on the day.

Sure. if you are enjoying yourself doing a chore, that makes all the difference.

Not sure how hobbies or things like learning languages came in here. We were talking mostly about chores/home maintenance projects and saving money versus the time spent.

 

[Jerry1]

Just to go off the storyline....

I'm retired Professional Firefighter. Early in my career a man came into the firehouse asking us to come rescue a cat out of a tree. We don't do that as a service. We told him that the cat would come down by itself. Did you ever see a cat skeleton in a tree?

One hour latter we responsed to a medical call. Turns out to be the gentleman from earlier. Unfortunately... he did not survive the fall from the tree.

But what happened to the cat? Was it still in the tree when you got there?

 

[ncbill]

My retired grandfather died at age 80 when he fell out of a tree he had climbed to trim. While I was devastated that he had died early, I was also incredibly proud of him! However, I won't climb higher than about 6 feet because of that.

Ditto.

I have relatives on both sides of the family who fell off ladders.

One shattered both ankles, the other both wrists.

I'm happy to pay someone else to get up there.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Sure. if you are enjoying yourself doing a chore, that makes all the difference.

Not sure how hobbies or things like learning languages came in here. We were talking mostly about chores/home maintenance projects and saving money versus the time spent.

For some of us, learning and becoming competent at basic DIY projects like wiring or plumbing or auto maintenance/repair is more of a hobby than a chore. And as I tried (but apparently failed) to convey, the parallel is that it's rewarding to learn and become competent at a new skill, whether it's languages or repairs.

 

[TwoByFour]

For some of us, learning and becoming competent at basic DIY projects like wiring or plumbing or auto maintenance/repair is more of a hobby than a chore. And as I tried (but apparently failed) to convey, the parallel is that it's rewarding to learn and become competent at a new skill, whether it's languages or repairs.

And that is fine. The point is to enjoy your final years of your life and if doing projects is how you like to spend your time there is nothing wrong with that. I like doing some home projects. My point in starting this thread is that time does have value and if you don't enjoy a chore, hire it out and spend time doing what you enjoy.

 

[TEO]

For me it isn't about money and never has been. If it involves learning a new skill, I'll.probably do it. If it anyone with half a brain could do it then I'll likely pass on it. The other factor is whether it requires attention to detail. I've found that you cannot buy that these days (or at least at a price I will pay), so that job will always be done by me.

Sometimes it doesn't work out, but usually the satisfaction is well worth the time.

 

[sgstaley]

Justified Time

Before I retired and when faced with a house repair that I could do, or not, I would try to quantify it - I figured my time was worth about $60/hour, so if a repair person charged more than that, I would do it myself. The 60 number reflected that I felt like my free time was important to me since I had little of it.

Now I am retired and I do the same thing (sort of) but the value of my time is closer to $25-30. I have other limits though, like I won't do any job that has the potential to throw my back out (I have a back that easily gets lumbar strains). I end up repairing all of our appliances, plumbing, electrical, carpentry since all of that is way more than $30 an hour.

It's not exactly how I want to spend my time, but it does save money. I am curious what others do. Who does the repairs?

We all seem to have our way of figuring how and who will do our projects.

I have always thought that if I do the work, then my family and I can spend the amount of money that would have been spent on hiring someone else to do it on a vacation or maybe some time away from home. I do have my limitations (i.e. NO electric wires, NO high tree climbing/cutting.) Most everything else I do on my retired schedule . . . no big deadlines for the most part.
I guess working around the house doing general maintenance is one of my joys. I would never venture into things like adding a bedroom or resodding the yard.
On a sidebar; I have really hired some bad help over the years. Although I am somewhat of a perfectionist, I look at some of the work that I have hired done and frequently think that I could have done better myself. For the most part, that is what has led be to embrace doing my own projects. At the end I am always pleased.

 

[Amethyst]

Oh, the poor man.

I wish I had been there to talk to him; I grew up with indoor/outdoor cats, and tall trees that they loved to climb. Cats do, indeed, figure out how to back down out of the tree, all by themselves, once they get hungry enough.

It seemed to me, even as a kid, that my feline "little brother or sister" was just trying to rile up our Mother by making a big production out of "Waah, I can't get dooowwwn!"

Just to go off the storyline....

I'm retired Professional Firefighter. Early in my career a man came into the firehouse asking us to come rescue a cat out of a tree. We don't do that as a service. We told him that the cat would come down by itself. Did you ever see a cat skeleton in a tree?

One hour latter we responsed to a medical call. Turns out to be the gentleman from earlier. Unfortunately... he did not survive the fall from the tree.