How Many Hours to Get Something?

Do you ever think about how many hours it takes to get something that you want?

When I worked at a TV station, we recorded a Sunday Mass in the studio every Wednesday to be played on the air the following Sunday morning. I often thought about how many Masses I had to work through in order to buy something that I wanted. This is not an opinion about the Catholic Mass itself, it's just that being on the production crew for this particular TV show was rather boring because there wasn't much to do while it was being recorded.  A half-hour of this show would be one-half of an hourly rate for me. In some of those days, I'd make around $25 an hour, which translates to $12.50 earned per half-hour show. So, if I wanted to purchase a $15,000 car,  I'd have to sit through 1,200 Masses!  

I think it's worth taking this kind of perspective when you try to decide whether to spend money on something.  State minimum wages are hovering in the vicinity of $13.00 per hour now, so if you're someone making minimum wage or an amount near it, you might want to think about how many hours you're spending at work to get something.  That would help you decide whether it's worth giving up that much time of your life for it.  It would take 38 1/2 hours to buy something that's $500.


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