Money WondersPlay

Work & the Rat RaceTime and Money

What's Your Hour Really Worth?

Your real hourly wage is lower than your paycheck says

Your job pays by the hour. But how many hours does it really take from you? The answer changes every price tag.

You'll find out

  • The hours your paycheck never counts
  • What one hour of your life earns
  • What $60 shoes really cost you

Why it matters

Seeing prices in hours of your life is the first step to deciding what your time is really for.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 3 · Zone 1

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More in this zone

  1. 1Modern MoneyWhere Is Your Money?Your balance is a number on a screen; only about one US dollar in ten exists as cash
  2. 2What Money IsWhat Is Money, Really?Swap it, price with it, save it, and believe in it
  3. 4CoinsThe Four-Cent PennyMaking a cent cost the US Mint almost four, so in 2025 it stopped
  4. 5History of MoneyFrom Shells to CoinsCowrie shells, silver lumps and the first stamped coins
  5. 6History of MoneyThe Barter MythTextbooks say people bartered before money. Anthropologists can't find it
  6. 7History of MoneyPaper PromisesThe first paper money was an IOU you could pass on
  7. 8History of MoneyWhy It's Called a DollarThe name started in a silver mine in Bohemia
  8. 9OpportunityAcres of DiamondsIn a famous 1890 lecture, a farmer sells his land to hunt the world for diamonds; the next owner finds them in the backyard stream