Time is money: how to price spending in hours of work
Turn any price into hours of your own work, or days of runway. A simple formula with a worked example, and when it helps you decide.
A price tag tells you how much money something costs. It does not tell you what it costs you. Converting a price into hours of your own work, or into days of runway, makes a trade-off visible. This is the idea behind “time is money”, made practical.
Step 1: find what an hour of your work is worth
Divide your monthly take-home pay by the hours you work in a month. If you take home 60,000 and work about 160 hours, an hour is worth 60,000 ÷ 160 = 375. If you count commuting and unpaid admin, use more hours and the figure drops; that is a stricter, more honest number.
Step 2: price a purchase in hours
Divide the price by your hourly value. A 12,000 purchase is 12,000 ÷ 375 = 32 hours, about four working days. Seen that way, some purchases feel cheap and some feel very expensive, and that is the point.
Step 3: price it in days of runway
Hours measure effort. Runway measures security. If your costs are 40,000 a month, you spend about 1,300 a day, so the same 12,000 purchase uses roughly nine days of runway: your cash would run out nine days sooner. For a recurring cost, multiply by twelve first; a 500-a-month subscription is 6,000 a year, or about five days of runway every year.
When this helps
- Large purchases, where the choice deserves more than a glance.
- Subscriptions and habits, where a small number repeats for years.
- Comparing options, for example whether a faster commute is worth its price in hours.
When it does not
This is a lens, not a verdict. Some things are worth the hours: a good bed, a course, time with family. The aim is to decide on purpose. If a figure makes you feel guilty rather than clear, use it less often.
Find your own numbers with the runway calculator, and read what financial runway is for the full picture.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out what an hour of my work is worth?
Divide your monthly take-home pay by the hours you actually work in a month, including the unpaid ones such as commuting or admin if you want a stricter figure.
Is this just a way to feel guilty about spending?
It should not be. Use it on large or repeating purchases, to see the trade-off clearly, and then decide. Some things are worth the hours.
What is the difference between hours of work and days of runway?
Hours of work shows what a purchase costs in effort. Days of runway shows what it costs in security: how much sooner your cash would run out.
This guide is general information, not financial advice. Your tax, debts and plans are your own, so check what applies to you.