Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Long Commutes Are Sucking the Life Out of You

Nerys · 06-04-2012, 02:12 PM

Time has ZERO monetary value in small doses

this is factually correct no matter which way you spin it for one very simple reason.

Let me explain.

Lets say you commute 60 minutes. it costs you X. you want to save money on fuel but slowing down will add 10 minutes to your commute

and you do some fairy math to equate that 20 minutes per day times 5 times 50 weeks to come up with 83.33 extra hours in the car

lets say slowing down will save you $500 but you say the 83 hours is worth $625 (minimum wage) so its not worth it.

this is poppycock and here is why. its a very confusing but insidiously simply concept once you actually "get it" which is why I call it fairy math.

You can not BANK TIME.

if I save $1 today I can put that $1 in a box and "save" it.

when you save 10 minutes today what are you going to do with it? RIGHT NOW. do something with it. not 30 minutes from now not 3 days from now not 3 months from now.

RIGHT NOW. you see time comes and goes. you can't stop it bank it save it or add it up.

but YOU CAN save DOLLARS. you can add them up.

I look at it this way.

TIME does not equal money but MONEY "CAN" equal time.

I drive slower. this saves me roughly $400 a year. you say I wasted time. I say I just got a week for free.

you see now when I take off a week in august for Naram the week is PAID FOR. its FREE. its like paid vacation because the money I saved is greater than what I would have made had I "worked" that week.

this is because "I CAN" bank money and then use that money later to "BUY" time.

but I can not bank time. I can't trade it save or convert it. once it passes ITS GONE.

now if you can save a SUBSTANTIAL amount of time. (say a job with no commute so now you save 40 minutes each way) OK now you have an actual substantial amount of time you can ACTUALLY USE to do something with on a daily basis (sleep in later and more time with family after work)

but for SMALL bits of time (slow down take 10 minutes longer) YOU CAN NOT USE that 10 minutes to actually "do" anything on a regular basis. SO bank the cash you save and BUY that time back later.

06-04-2012, 02:12 PM	#58 (permalink)
Nerys Grrr :-) Join Date: May 2008 Location: Levittown PA Posts: 800 Cherokee - '88 Jeep Cherokee 90 day: 19.44 mpg (US) Ryo-Ohki - '94 Geo Metro Xfi 90 day: 50.15 mpg (US) Vger 2 - '00 Plymouth Grand Voyager SE Ninja - '89 Geo Tracker 90 day: 30.27 mpg (US) Thanks: 12 Thanked 31 Times in 25 Posts	Time has ZERO monetary value in small doses this is factually correct no matter which way you spin it for one very simple reason. Let me explain. Lets say you commute 60 minutes. it costs you X. you want to save money on fuel but slowing down will add 10 minutes to your commute and you do some fairy math to equate that 20 minutes per day times 5 times 50 weeks to come up with 83.33 extra hours in the car lets say slowing down will save you $500 but you say the 83 hours is worth $625 (minimum wage) so its not worth it. this is poppycock and here is why. its a very confusing but insidiously simply concept once you actually "get it" which is why I call it fairy math. You can not BANK TIME. if I save $1 today I can put that $1 in a box and "save" it. when you save 10 minutes today what are you going to do with it? RIGHT NOW. do something with it. not 30 minutes from now not 3 days from now not 3 months from now. RIGHT NOW. you see time comes and goes. you can't stop it bank it save it or add it up. but YOU CAN save DOLLARS. you can add them up. I look at it this way. TIME does not equal money but MONEY "CAN" equal time. I drive slower. this saves me roughly $400 a year. you say I wasted time. I say I just got a week for free. you see now when I take off a week in august for Naram the week is PAID FOR. its FREE. its like paid vacation because the money I saved is greater than what I would have made had I "worked" that week. this is because "I CAN" bank money and then use that money later to "BUY" time. but I can not bank time. I can't trade it save or convert it. once it passes ITS GONE. now if you can save a SUBSTANTIAL amount of time. (say a job with no commute so now you save 40 minutes each way) OK now you have an actual substantial amount of time you can ACTUALLY USE to do something with on a daily basis (sleep in later and more time with family after work) but for SMALL bits of time (slow down take 10 minutes longer) YOU CAN NOT USE that 10 minutes to actually "do" anything on a regular basis. SO bank the cash you save and BUY that time back later.