The Value of Time

No, not the typical "you don't get seconds back, don't waste them;" sort of post, although tangently related. Rather, just another observation today of the price of my time, and what I'm willing to spend it on - or, conversely, what I will spend money to avoid. Today stemmed from some car work done in conjunction with the annual safety inspection. Could I have done the majority of what I had the mechanic do this morning? Sure, particularly since there's an Internet video for just about any sort of maintenance these days. But, odds are it would have taken me about twice as long to do so, not counting dealing with the mess afterwards, probably at least one bonus run for parts, and so forth. So, I paid someone else to do the work and deal with the stress (along with the comfort of knowing it was probably done better than anything I would have managed). I've reached a point in life where fortunately I can do so, both financially and mentally. Not that I do so carelessly, or for everything. Some tasks I want to do my own work so I know it's done a certain way, or to develop a skill, or simply because I enjoy them. I'd rather spend an hour outside in the world mowing my lawn and getting fresh air than pay someone to do yard work as one example. But, for a number of things part of the decision factor is "will the stress and time of doing this myself outweigh the financial cost in paying someone else to do it?" Because my time and mood have a value as well.