How Much Work to Pay for That Stuff?

Every so often we personal finance bloggers like to do a post on how much work you have to do in order to pay for your stuff. I thought that, since today is Labor Day, it would be the perfect time for such a post. I am also thinking about it because my husband and I are planning on buying a new dining table. We frequently have company, and our four-person table constantly needs to be augmented with a sad, plastic table of questionable stability.

So, I figured up how much I make an hour (a rough estimate) and how much I would have to work in order to pay for the table and four chairs. (We’re going to buy four more chairs, two at a time, over the next few months. Anyone who has bought chairs to go with a dining table knows how fast they can add up.) I figure that I work 12 hours to pay for the dining table and chairs. That’s two six-hour days (which is about average for me).

Not bad. Especially considering the enjoyment I will get out of having a table large enough to seat my friends and family. And we will have this table for years and years. Our current cheapy was a five-piece set we bought for less than $100 almost eight years ago when we got married. This higher quality table should last us at least 12 or 15 years. Longer if we take good care of it.

So it appears to be a good trade off. What I’m less sure about is the new 20-gallon fish tank my husband wants. We already have a 10-gallon tank, and I’m not sure the upgrade is worth it, even if it would only take 2 hours of my time to pay for…

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