In How Much Time Does Your Job Cost You? I introduced Your Money or Your Life by Vicky Robin and Joe Dominguez  and the book’s primary principle that money is something we choose to trade our life energy for. We looked at how much we make per hour at our jobs, considering all the time we actually spend.

In this article we will look at the costs of our jobs.  What is the money we spend because we are working?   

• Commuting: How much are you spending on gas (or electricity) to drive to and from work?  How much more frequently does your car need maintenance because of the miles you’re putting on it for work?  Are you paying for parking at work?  Or purchasing train or bus tickets?  
• Clothes: do you have clothes, shoes, bags that you buy specifically for work?  I was fortunate that I worked in tech where I could dress very casually yet I still bought some clothing that I wouldn’t have otherwise. 
• Food: stopping for coffee on the way to work, going out to lunch, and grabbing takeout for dinner really adds up. Would these habits change if you weren’t rushing around for work all week? 
• Entertainment: do you have subscriptions to try to escape from work stress? Are you going on more expensive vacations to treat yourself because you’re working so hard? I definitely booked flights at expensive times to fit them into my schedule and didn’t hesitate to stay in expensive hotels.
• Day care – I don’t have children but I know this is a very expensive cost of work for parents, on the order of another mortgage.
• Dog walking – does your pup need daily walking or doggie daycare because you’re away? 
• House cleaners / lawn service – are you paying people to do chores because you can’t bear to do them with your limited free time? 

I’m sure you can think of other expenses that would either be reduced or eliminated if you weren’t working.  You could even ask some bigger questions like, could I get rid of a car if I didn’t work?  Would I live somewhere else if I didn’t need to be near the office?

Let’s plug in some reasonable yearly costs:

• Commuting: $1200
• Clothes: $1000 
• Food: $1000
• Entertainment: $1000
• Dog walking: $4300 
• Day care: 0 (would be much more than dog walking!)
• House cleaners: $2800 

Total = $11,300

If my $100,000 job is costing me $11,300 then I really earn $88,700.  If my 40 hour/week job takes 50 hours of my time then I really make $35.48 per hour ($88,700/2500).

Which means I’m trading an hour of my life for $35.48.

That, my friend, is an eye opener. 

I have to work nearly 30 minutes to pay for that $15 work lunch.  The $70 serving platter that I don’t really need is 2 hours. I’m trading nearly 3 hours of my life for that $100 pair of shoes.  My new $1000 phone requires me to work 28 hours.  

The beauty of knowing these numbers is you can decide what is worth spending your life energy on.  No judgment!  I love nice hotels when I travel and I am willing to spend more life energy to stay in them. I am not willing to spend it to have a bigger seat with more leg room and a glass of champagne in business class.  But that’s me!  We each get to decide what is important to us and align our spending with what brings us the most joy and satisfaction.

Read all the articles related to Your Money or Your Life:

• How Much Time Does Your Job Cost You?
• How Much Money Does Your Job Cost You? (this article)
• How Much is Your Stuff Worth?