@marriedwoman As /@angie826 says it's a useful construct of how to think about things - would I rather lose a weekend of my free time re-decorating a room or would I rather pay someone to do it and have a weekend doing something I enjoy, even if that's just sitting on the sofa watching TV?
I've got friends who will spend all weekend sweating swearing and labouring over something to save less than £50 - sure, sometimes in life you're skint and that's the
only option, but when it's not it's worth sitting back and thinking about it.
I've been on contracts and I've been salaried and I still find it useful - I do not have infinite free time, or energy, or mental bandwidth, for stuff either way round - an evening or weekend spent doing
more work is eating into my hobbies, relaxation, family time, time with friends, etc.
Also I've found some stuff really adds up surprisingly quickly - cutting the hedge doesn't take long but clearing it all up, loading a big heap of clippings & spiders into my car, driving to the tip, queueing up, unloading, driving back, cleaning all the debris & spiders out of the car really DOES add up to most of a day lost to being sweaty, itchy, and covered in spiders. Whereas for £50 some chap will come and do the lot for me while I do something else that doesn't involve being covered in spiders.