How do you Value Time

[Don Jean]

tl;dr: How do you measure the use of your time for a monetary--value and cost--perspective?

I'm reading a book called Brilliant Time Management and in Chapter 2--Understand how you use time--the author proposes different ways to value time based on whether one is employed, self-employed, or on leisure time, which we'll consider to be early retirement. He divides the calculation into two components: cost and value. I've provided two examples below.

Assumptions for Employed
Value: No clear definition given (for those who bill customers, such as lawyers, that rate is used)
Cost: Benchmarked at approximately 1.5x your base salary.
Hourly rate based on the number of hours worked.

Assumptions for Self-Employed
Value: Income generated in a year
Cost: Expenses from running the business
Hourly rate based on number of hours worked

How do you Mustachians measure the use of your time for a monetary--value and cost--perspective?

[redbird]

I can't put a figure on it, but when I still worked, I considered my free time to be worth more $$ to me per hour than the $$ out of my salary that I got paid per hour. For example, I could've lived in cheaper, nicer places if I'd lived farther from work with a longer commute. But that would've eaten more of my free time (and more gas costs and higher car maintenance costs...) and thus was unacceptable to me. It was worth paying higher housing costs to have more free time.

Time is the reason why I worked towards FIRE. I never needed work to prevent me from being bored. Honestly, I have more than enough things that I want to do to fill several lifetimes I feel like. I only needed work to get the money to buy my freedom.

[undercover]

I think it's silly to put a number on one's time. It's simple. We can always make more money - but we can't always make more time. So that leads to the conclusion that one should try to make the most amount of money in the smallest amount of time. Sometimes what you enjoy doing with your time leads to making money, which is the best case scenario. I think we all organically turn our "free time" into interests that eventually lead us towards earning more.

[KarefulKactus15]

I like what you said, and reading around the forum it seems like there are people making more after they quit their jobs then when they worked lol.  I guess they just fall into something they enjoy more and pursue it with a passion.   

But yes, I value my time highly,  not sure if there is a $ amount I use. 

[Easye418]

I typically think of this when I am shopping on Craigslist for bargains. 

If doing 1 hour work or travel will net in $100 profit or gain, I will typically consider it valuable.  If it is small, $25-$40, I usually pass and just buy new.

However, I had a large amount of coins to sell on eBay so I sold 80% of the value (20% of the quantity) and consigned the rest to someone for a 10% commission.  We are talking hundreds of individually coins, top quality photos, shipping individually, etc. 

[Don Jean]

I can't put a figure on it, but when I still worked, I considered my free time to be worth more $$ to me per hour than the $$ out of my salary

Time is a limited and valuable resource. How did you measure the financial trade off? Time cannot be priceless; otherwise, we would simply pay to address all the inconveniences that would go against the principles of Mustachianism since they would on the face save us time; however, as we know they would deprive us of the value of learning a new skill, independence, etc.

[Don Jean]

On a side note, the book postulates that one cannot save time. I only mention that because I caught myself using the phrase and coincidently, the author does too later in the book. Colloquialisms are difficult to unconsciously avoid.