Thanks for taking the time to comment! Here’s my response to your thoughts.

“…the remaining 10-14 hours in the day are worth a whole more than my gross or my “net” hourly wage from my occupation.” This is exactly why I said, “This could mean enjoying a leisure activity or spending time with family. If mowing the yard would have prevented us from those (non-income producing) activities, then paying someone else to mow our yard might make sense depending on how much we value that time.” It all depends on how much you value that time or replacement activity or whatever you want to call it. My overall point is that people can often “earn” much more by doing things themselves than they can by working at their jobs.

As far as changing oil goes, I know that you can often just drop off the used oil at your local Jiffy Lube or Pep Boys for free. Additionally, you may be able to find someone who uses used motor oil to heat – as I have. Even if you can’t do that for whatever reason, changing your oil was just one example. If you don’t like that one, substitute something else – like eating fast food.

Also, changing oil was a poor example because the cost of disposing of the used oil safely and legally is high in many (if not most) areas of the US. The local Jiffy Lube or whatever can dispose of the motor oil more cheaply because it’s doing so in bulk.