How Much Is Your Time Worth?

I have always been a frugal person.  Growing up we never had a lot of money.  That's not to say that I ever felt poor or deprived.  My family was so great it always felt like, "Well...we've got each other, and that's all we need."  But subconsciously I developed an inner mantra that I wasn't always fully aware was at play: "You can do it cheaper by doing it yourself."

Now that works out for me in a lot of ways.  Being artistically capable allows me to design things, paint things, decorate a certain way, etc., and doing so saves me money.  The same usually applies for home repair.  It's easy to put a new wax ring on a toilet than it is to hire a plumber.  Over the years I've built up skills that enable me to do some a great deal of cosmetic work (new tile, new sheetrock, etc.) and some more serious repairs/alterations (i.e., minor electrical and plumbing).  Having these skills usually saves me money.  It does not, however, save me time.

In my Minnesota days I had a friend named Josh, and he was the first to challenge my thinking on the matter.  The main criterion, he suggested, for determining which projects to undertake was not which way was more expensive (hire someone or do it myself) but how much time would it cost me.  He tried to get me to see that my time was worth a great deal.  Essentially, if I could make $20 an hour by painting and selling works, I would actually be LOSING money by NOT hiring someone who would "only" cost me $15/hr.  In his thinking, it's a better choice to do something I love, which I'm good at, which could bring me some income, rather than give that up to do something I will bumble through.  Better to hire someone who is an expert and free myself up to use my expertise.  It has never replaced my frugal mindset, but it has tempered it.

Never before (NEVER, I tell you) have I felt capable of fixing anything automotive.  Sure, I've changed a flat.  But in the auto realm, the "save yourself time and money by hiring someone" mentality always wins over the "do it yourself" mentality.

Until the sunroof.

Brandi has a sunroof on her Trailblazer that stopped working.  That type of repair is apparently one of the most expensive there is.  So I threw my hat in the ring.  I gave it a shot.  And I fixed it.  Sort of.  I was able to get it to close with the replacement parts I ordered.  When the part broke, it damaged more than one part of the mechanism.  Basically, it looks like I'll be replacing the rest of it over Spring or Summer break.  That's not terrible, because now I know how to do it.  But for the three or four days (spaced out over several weeks) that I worked on the sunroof, it was a chore.

Is there a silver lining in these seemingly pointless story?  Sure.  1) I kind of fixed an automotive issue.  2) Even better, it motivated me to compensate for the time spent on the repair by dragging my keister out to the studio and painting.  It's been good to return to painting.  And it's been good to ask myself again, "How much did that repair really cost me?  How much is my time worth?"

Year In Review

I have been trying for a week to post a year-end, pictorial summary of 2012, but I haven't been able to, due to some mysterious issue with the blogger website.  

But at long last, here it is!!  This is what has been going on over the course of the past year. 

At the beginning of the year the folks came to visit, which was nice.  Also, I had the privilege of coaching Aydan's 6th grade basketball team.  I figured it was my last chance before he was "stuck" in school sports so I seized the opportunity and really enjoyed it.  

Thanks to a Christmas gift from my beloved brother-in-law Jason I am now a gun owner.  Since I have a gun in the house, I want to make sure the boys don't treat it as a toy, so I have taken them to the gun range and endeavored to teach them gun safety.  

One of the highlights of the year was my trip to Amsterdam/Scotland.  I loved getting to hang out with my brother, and I loved getting to see the cosmopolitan sites of city...

...as well as the rustic sites of the Highlands.  

Certainly NOT a highlight, yet nevertheless a significant event of the past year, was the finalization of my divorce (I took this photo of myself prior to leaving for the courthouse).  

Over the past year, I have become close friends with my fellow coach Michael, and in the spring he was kind enough to invite me to be a judge at the Germanfest (held in Meunster, TX) Rib-Eating Contest.  But since we were hungry and the competition wasn't started, we took these entires from the chicken contest out of the trash and downed them.  

Although this photo was not a part of our Tour of Texas Lakes that was a major part of the summer, the boys and I enjoyed every opportunity to swim that was presented to us.  This shot was taken at the lake house that belongs to the aunt of my dear, sweet Brandi (more on her later).  

Aydan, Brennan and I made a trip to OH to visit my family and celebrate my dad's birthday.  I love this picture of my siblings and me gathered together in my parents' hotel room.  

"The Games" were a series of events, similar to an obstacle course, that occupied a weekend in the summer.  In the lead-up to the event, t-shirts were made.  This is a photo of the boys and I with Brandi's kids (family friends for the past four years).    

The Trash Bash is an annual event in Keller to beautify the city.  We took part in the effort to help clean up the streets.  The boys are pictured here with Brandi (she's the little one that Aydan is hugging), her kids, Brandi's sister Lisa and her kids.  

In addition to being a gun owner, I am now a motorcycle rider.  I'm not one of those people that calls their bike their "baby", but it is beautiful and fun and I really enjoy having it.  

 

I absolutely love my job.  In addition to getting to teach high-schoolers about art, I get to work with great people.  Here I am pictured with my friend Jen, who teaches choir.  We happened to wear red pants on the same day.  

Two great trips in one year seems like an undeserved blessing, but I am super thankful to have been able to travel to Maine this past fall.  It was absolutely beautiful.   

 Perhaps the biggest news of the past year is that I have begun dating a wonderful woman named Brandi.  Anyone who can appreciate my beard growing project (I tried to spray it white for the last day of school before Christmas break) must be someone special.  I do not have time to adequately tell about Brandi here, but there will be time for that in the future.  Suffice to say that I am happy and thankful to have her in my life.  

So there is a very brief summary of 2012.  I've committed Thursday nights during 2013 to be "painting nights" so hopefully there will be more updates of completed artwork in the coming year.  I have bright hopes for 2013 and I hope it treats you well!