Price tags in hours
Converting a price into hours of work is one of the simplest ways to decide whether something is worth it. Use your take-home pay per hour, ideally your real hourly wage after commuting and work costs, because that is what each hour of work actually gives you to spend. A $1,200 phone at $22 an hour is 55 hours, or almost a week and a half at work.
The last row adds a second lens: what the same money could become if invested instead. That is not an argument against ever buying anything, just a way to make the trade-off visible.
Which hourly figure to use
The answer depends a lot on which hourly rate you enter. Using your gross wage makes purchases look cheaper than they are, because taxes take a share before you can spend anything. Using take-home pay is better, and using your real hourly wage, after commuting time and work costs, is better still. A $1,200 purchase is about 55 hours at $22 an hour, but about 64 hours if your real rate after work costs is 15% lower.
Thinking in hours works especially well for recurring costs. A $15 monthly subscription that costs 40 minutes of work each month feels different from a $15 charge you barely notice. The real hourly wage calculator finds your true rate, and the subscription audit shows what recurring costs add up to.
Common questions
Should I use my gross or take-home hourly pay?
Take-home pay, or better still your real hourly wage after work costs, because that is the money each hour actually gives you to spend.
How do I find my take-home hourly pay?
Divide one paycheck by the hours it covers. For a fuller picture, use the real hourly wage calculator.
Is this the same as "life energy"?
Yes, it is the idea from Your Money or Your Life of measuring purchases in hours of your life.
This calculator gives estimates for planning. Real returns, rates and prices change, so treat the result as a guide rather than a promise. Read how we build and check our calculators.