Time-Money Trade-Off Calculator

Understanding the value of your time can help make outsourcing decisions clearer. Enter your income and work hours to see what your time is really worth.

I've found it hard to conceptualize outsourcing tasks as an option. This calculator provides a simple view of time-value for various income levels to help make these trade-offs concrete.

Region

Annual Household Income ($)

Hours Worked Per Week

Weeks Worked Per Year

Effective Tax Rate (%) Combined federal + state + local

Worth It If Under (%) Highlight tasks where outsourcing costs less than this % of your time cost

Your Hourly Rate

Your Hourly Value (after tax)

$142

$178/hr pre-tax

Task Comparison

"Your Time Cost" = your hourly value × task hours. Green = outsourcing costs <80% of your time cost.

Task Assumptions

Base costs from SF Bay Area (TaskRabbit, Thumbtack, Care.com), adjusted by regional cost-of-living multiplier (1.0x). Adjust as needed.

Task	Your Time Cost	Outsource Cost	% of Your Time