How Many Work Hours Does a Purchase Really Cost?
It's easy to look at a $900 purchase and think of it just as a number. It's harder to ignore when you realize it's the equivalent of nearly a full week of work.
Where This Idea Comes From
The concept comes from the book Your Money or Your Life (Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez), which proposes measuring purchases not in dollars, but in the hours of your life it took to earn that money. Use the Work Hours Calculator on this site to convert your own net income and any product price into real work time.
Use Your Net Income, Not Gross
For the conversion to reflect reality, use your net (take-home) income after federal and provincial tax, CPP, and EI deductions — not your gross salary, which overstates how much each hour is actually worth to you after deductions.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How is the number of work hours something costs calculated?
- Your net monthly income is divided by the hours you work per month to get your hourly value, then the product price is divided by that hourly value.
- Why think in work hours instead of dollars?
- It makes the real cost of a purchase more tangible — a large purchase feels different when framed as 'a week of my time' instead of just a dollar figure.
- Should I use gross or net income for this?
- Net income — what you actually take home after tax, CPP, and EI deductions — so the calculation reflects your real purchasing power.
- Does this account for overtime or bonuses?
- No, it's a simple estimate based on your regular net income and hours worked, without adjusting for variable pay.
Informational content, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Verify amounts, limits, and current conditions directly with official sources (CRA, CDIC, OSFI) before making a decision.
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