Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/1vdpaml/lpt_before_any_significant_purchase_convert_the/

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The original was posted on /r/lifeprotips by /u/frankreddit5 on 2026-08-02 18:18:12+00:00.

Take your real take-home pay, subtract your actual fixed costs, divide what's left by your working hours including commute and recovery time. That's your real hourly rate.

Most people find it's significantly lower than their nominal wage suggests. The $300 impulse purchase stops looking the same when it's 14 hours of your actual life rather than 5 hours of your salary.

Not arguing against spending. Arguing for seeing the real exchange rate before you make it.

I'll give you an example. I bought a $5 bathmat that was too short while I was at Walmart last week. Walmart is a solid 30 minute drive each way from my home. That's one hour of my time. On top of this, I have to wait in the return line which takes a good 10 minutes, plus 5 minutes to park, walk inside, etc. Thus, there's about an hour and a half of my day that's gone so I could earn $5.

Think of money based on your hours available in the day!