Formula: hours of life = total purchase cost Γ· real hourly wage
| Example 1 | $100 = 5 hours |
|---|---|
| Example 2 | $500 = 25 hours |
| Example 3 | $1,000 = 50 hours |
Real purchases, fully costed in working hours: phones, coffee, cars, streaming, rent and the commute. Each case study shows the arithmetic so you can rerun it with your own numbers.
The iPhone 16 Pro starts at $999. That number is engineered to feel survivable. Priced in hours of life at the US median wage, it is a full working week β and tβ¦
Read the case study βNobody regrets a single flat white. That is precisely the design. Micro-draining expenses stay below your outrage threshold individually while quietly billing yβ¦
Read the case study βA car is rarely bought as a financial decision. It is bought as a feeling: autonomy, status, the end of waiting in the rain. But every car quietly signs you upβ¦
Read the case study βSubscriptions are the most successful pricing innovation of the last two decades, and the reason is behavioural rather than financial. A $14.99 monthly charge dβ¦
Read the case study βThere is a specific day each month when your rent is finally covered and you begin working for yourself. For most renters in a major city, that day falls somewhβ¦
Read the case study βCommuting is the largest unpriced expense in most working lives. It does not appear on a payslip, it is rarely negotiated, and almost no one calculates it. Yetβ¦
Read the case study βI did not build this site because I am unusually disciplined with money. I built it because I was not.
Read the case study β