‘Transaction unsuccessful.’ That’s what the message said when I was trying to make a purchase online. Once again, my bank had decided to block a purchase that appeared fraudulent. This isn’t the first time this has happened. My bank does this at least twice a month causing me to scream expletives at my laptop.
The problem is, getting through to the bank’s fraud department takes no less than 45 minutes each and every goddamn time I have to call. Just so I can say: “It’s me. Unblock my card.”
You see, I was making this purchase online instead of at the store because It was going to save me fifty dollars. So is it going to be worth my time to spend the next hour of my life begging my bank to let me spend my own money to save fifty bucks? In this case, probably yes.
$50/hour isn’t bad pay for a Saturday afternoon. And it got me thinking about what my time is worth.
A friend will drive ten minutes out of her way to save ten cents per gallon on gas. And if she fills her tank, she might save a total of $2. But if we do the math, ten minutes one way and ten minutes back equals twenty minutes. That $2 savings comes in at the hourly rate of $6/hour. Less than minimum wage. Totally not worth it.
So I decided to come up with a set of questions to ask when determining whether something is worth my time. Perhaps you can apply some of these and add a few of your own.
Is This Worth My Time? — 6 Questions to Ask
- What is my minimum hourly rate? — Your minimum hourly rate should probably be no less than the rate of pay at your regular job. The reason for this is if you had more time you could always pick up a second job. Then pay someone else to do the things you are spending your time on. For example, household chores. Pay someone $25/hour to clean while you’re at work making $40/hour. It also wouldn’t make sense to waste an hour on the phone with your bank if you’re only saving twenty dollars. You might as well go to work and earn double that amount. So give it some thought. What is your minimum hourly rate?
- Is all or part of the compensation enjoyment? — Your hourly rate drops considerably when you enjoy something. Like gardening. Most people would likely do it for free. Or in my case writing. The rule is, it’s okay to work for less if you are being compensated with joy.
- Am I stepping over dollars to pick up pennies? — If you are not good at something, it’s probably not worth your time. I’m not a carpenter. It would be unwise for me to spend 1-2 days doing something a professional could do in 3-4 hours with much better results. Not to mention, because of my lack of expertise, I may end up spending more on materials than a pro would or screwing something up costing me more in the long run. In this case, I’m better off using my time to earn enough money to pay someone else to tackle the job.
- Do I have the time? — If your supply of time is low and the demand for it is high, your minimum hourly rate should increase. For example, if you are working 3 jobs you don’t have a lot of time. You shouldn’t be clipping coupons. It’s not worth your time. Inversely, someone who is unemployed has a high supply of time and low demand. Their time becomes cheap. Taking the time to save $2 on a tank of gasoline is worth it because their hourly rate is effectively $0/hour. Unless of course, they are job searching. I suppose you could consider that an investment in future earnings making a $2 savings on fuel questionable. Simply put, the more time you have, the cheaper your minimum hourly rate might be.
- Am I wasting time? — Time is money. And I’m not saying we should be busy 24/7. Quite the contrary. But we should be aware of wasting time that could be put to better use. In the quest for work-life balance, time should be spent either earning or recharging. At least in a perfect world. Either way, if we are wasting time when we should be getting things done we are losing our minimum hourly rate. We are costing ourselves money. This is why it’s important to keep our minimum hourly rate in mind.
- What is the misery fee? — There are things that aren’t worth your time no matter what they pay. Stuff you absolutely hate doing. In this case, perhaps you set a minimum hourly rate of $1000/hour to make it worth it. Or become unbuyable. Either way, you get to decide and you shouldn’t feel guilty if something isn’t worth it to you. When calculating your minimum hourly rate remember, misery costs extra.
Final Thoughts
After 48 long ass minutes and riveting conversations with Pamela, Ed, Fred, and some lady whose name I couldn’t understand my card was unblocked. I was able to make my purchase. However next time, I am going to use a different card from a different bank. Because we should never let other people waste our time.