Interactive - Tools

Real Hourly Wage Calculator

Your salary tells you what an hour of work earns. It doesn't tell you what an hour costs you once you count commuting, email after dinner, preparation, and work-related expenses. Enter the hours and costs your job actually requires, then use the result to compare one real decision.

1 - Your real hourly rate

Annual take-home pay

Weeks worked per year Regular work hours per week Commute hours / week Additional work hours per week (email, preparation, calls) Work-related expenses per week (commuting, lunches, clothing)

Hourly rate using regular work hours only -- paid hours only

Hourly rate after extra time and work expenses -- every hour the job really takes

2 - Is buying it back worth it?

You can pay to skip a chore — a cleaner, delivery, someone to handle the thing you neither enjoy nor do well. Enter what it costs and the hours it gives back. We'll price it against the real rate above.

What it costs

Hours it gives back

The number isn't the point. Knowing it, and then acting like you do — that's the whole game.

A rough mirror, not financial advice. The "right" answer also depends on what you'd actually do with the hour — see Buy Back Your Time and The Two Currencies.

1 - Your real hourly rate

2 - Is buying it back worth it?

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