Count the cost, both present and future
July 4th, 2009 | by mbhunter |“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost?” Luke 14:28
First off, Happy Independence Day to my American readers. Happy July 4th to others. 
Gary North’s Tip of the Week (subscribe for free in the upper right of this page) was on outsourcing. He doesn’t plan to ever mow his lawn himself, because the net cost would be a loss. He values what he can accomplish in those couple of hours higher than what it would cost him to have someone else mow his lawn.
The answer is easy for him because counting the cost for him is easy. But what about for people who aren’t as productive now? Do you outsource in that case?
Counting the cost is more complicated in this case. Mowing your own lawn, making your own meals, clipping coupons, hitting yard sales, and the like are little money-saving things, but they all take time, which is irreplaceable.
Some questions that might be good to ask if the answer isn’t clear what to do:
- Do you have a clear vision where you’re going? If this is not the case, counting the cost really doesn’t have much meaning anyway. No one can answer this except you. Aside from just not having one, another indication of lack of clear vision is having a lot of projects that aren’t really going much of anywhere. It is time to cut out the losers.
- Are you having trouble making your bills? If this is the case, then a good use of your time is making the money, and reducing expenses, to keep on top of your bills. Not doing so has clear costs: late fees, higher interest rates both for not making payments and as the result of a low credit rating. If these things happen, they will postpone the grander legacy you have in mind.
- Are you in fair shape financially, but not good enough shape that you don’t really have to worry? This is where it gets trickier. You can free up more time by paying to get things done that don’t directly contribute to your legacy. The more of these activities you pay for, the more you can accomplish with the finite amount of time you’re given. But, the more this costs — there’s the rub. Do you sacrifice the appearance of present financial security to go full-bore at something great, or take up some of that time keeping a good financial cushion and work your legacy more slowly? This brings about lots more questions, like whether your family is behind you, what other expenses or commitments are down the road, etc. A silver lining to the recession, by the way, is that hiring out some activities now can be cheaper because business are hungrier for work now.
Happy cost counting! Here’s to moving in the right direction. Half the year is ahead of us!
6 Responses to “Count the cost, both present and future”
By Best CSS Gallery on Jul 6, 2009 | Reply
Thanks for the guide
By Michelle on Jul 6, 2009 | Reply
I think counting your costs properly is important ’cause otherwise you can mess up the whole business! So, thanks for the tips!
By Mikael @ Retire Early on Jul 6, 2009 | Reply
Indeed a very interesting post. This is something that I have given a lot of thought and I have come to the conclusion that if I can’t clearly state what I am going to do with the extra time and make up why it will benefit me to have others do it (here we’re also talking benefit in the long run and not just the short), then I don’t do it.
By Free Coupons on Jul 14, 2009 | Reply
You can can count cost but also must be aware of the the value of your time. If you make 40 dollars an hour then anything that is cost less than than you should outsource to someone else.
By Frank @ ab rocket on Jul 21, 2009 | Reply
I often do a lot of outsourcing in order to improve my productivity. But one thing I’ve noticed, is that there are certain tasks that I outsource that are actually taking away from my net gain. Therefore, if you discover that you are paying for worthless tasks to be done, then you may need to cut these tasks out….especially in a recession economy where every penny matters.
By Carlo on Nov 5, 2009 | Reply
it is truly essential to know your goals and to have a clear vision of what you want to reach, so I guess it’s good to take your time on determining your goals.