What is Your Time Worth?

I've grown increasingly irritated at the cost of getting an oil change lately. Probably because I often did it myself after my Dad showed me how. Over time, I justified having professionals do it because my time was worth more than the $35 (back then) that it cost to have someone else do it. A few months ago, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when my daughter said it was nearly $120 to get her oil changed at one of those super convenient "stay in your car while we do it in 10 minutes" places. So when it was time for her oil to be changed again, I decided I was going to tap into my knowledge from when I was a teenager and do it myself. "This will be a fun learning moment for my boys," I thought. "Crawling under the car with my Dad to change the oil was a core memory for me, maybe it will be for them too."

So I went to the auto parts store and picked up a few tools I needed, along with the oil and filter. Reality check: My total bill was $100. Granted, $50 was the one-time purchase of tools I'll get to reuse, but I couldn't believe how much the cost of the supplies had risen. I have a little more appreciation for how much the shops charge for an oil change these days.

When I got home, my kids weren't interested in seeing an oil change, but I'm pretty sure my wife kicked them out the door, so they joined me once I had the car up on ramps. I had them shimmy under the car with me. In retrospect, it very well might be a core memory for my 9-year-old son Jonah after all. I placed him a little too close to the drain plug and he ended up getting his arm splashed with some warm black oil. :-) After the oil was drained, I realized that I didn't have the right tool to get the used oil filter off, so I had to run to the store to buy one. It took about 30 minutes to drive to the store and back.

When I got home, I saw Jonah had set himself up in front of his batting net to hit baseballs off a tee. That is when I realized that the sun was setting and I had completely missed my opportunity to pitch balls to him in the backyard for batting practice. He never complained once, but I regretted the fact that I had spent time doing something that I could have paid someone else to do in a fraction of the time (with none of the mess) instead of playing baseball with my kids. I know plenty of other places that can change your oil for far less than $120 if you schedule it in advance, but even that sounded like a bargain in the moment.

I am guessing that someday I'll have less opportunity cost to change my own oil and it could be something worth doing again. But in this chapter of my life, I'll try harder to look past the dollars and cents and recognize where my time is worth spending.