Income
Time the job consumes
Your contracted hours
Showering, dressing, etc., that wouldn't happen if you didn't work
The 'I can't think after work' window
Costs the job creates ($/month)
The Your-Money-or-Your-Life math
Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez popularized this exercise: your real wage is (take-home minus job-related costs) divided by (paid hours plus commute, prep, and decompression). For many people the real number is 30–50% lower than their stated salary divided by 40 hours.
The point isn't to feel bad. The point is to convert future purchases into time. "$3,000 vacation" is much easier to evaluate as "X weeks of my life," and that framing quietly improves nearly every spending decision.
Sources: IRS 2026 inflation adjustments (Rev. Proc. 2025-32, post-OBBBA), IRS Notice 2025-67 (retirement limits), IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-19 (HSA limits), SSA 2026 COLA fact sheet, state revenue departments, Tax Foundation 2026 State Individual Income Tax Rates. Estimates only — not tax advice.
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