You probably write out your rent check every month without too much thought. And you probably go about your day without worrying how much time you’re spending at each stop. But if you’re curious, we calculated where that rent check really goes and what your time both at home and away is actually costing you. Join us as we show you why your time is money and how much it is actually costing you.
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There are 1,440 minutes in a 24-hour period. The average American with children spends 534 minutes working, 462 minutes sleeping, 150 minutes engaged in leisure and sports, 72 minutes caring for others, 60 minutes eating and drinking, 60 minutes on household activities and 102 minutes on other various activities.
The median rent in the U.S. for a 1-bedroom is $1,140 a month. That means rent is costing you $37.48 per day and 2.6¢ per minute. Across different metropolitan areas, we see rents vary. In San Francisco, the average 1-bedroom rent is $3,460, which is 7.9¢ per minute and very close to New York City, where rent is $3,500, or 8¢ per minute. In Los Angeles, rent is typically $1,930 per month, which is 4.4¢ per minute. Portland’s rent is $1,400 per month, or 3.2¢ per minute, which is very close to Atlanta’s $1,380 monthly rent. It costs $1,210 a month, or 2.8¢ a minute, to live in Dallas. On the opposite end of the spectrum, rent in Las Vegas is $850 per month, or only 1.9¢ per minute. Rent in Omaha is only $750 per month, just 1.7¢ per minute.
Now that we know how much your apartment is costing you by the minute, let’s see how much you’re spending while you’re lounging around in there. If 462 minutes are spent sleeping, then you are spending $12.03 each day to catch your z’s. If caring for your spouse or children takes up 72 minutes on average, then you are spending $1.87. Eating and drinking at home takes up 60 minutes daily, at a cost of $1.56. This exact same time and cost is also spent on household activities like cleaning and laundry. Playing video games or working on the computer comes in at 31 minutes per day, an average of 81¢, while 21 minutes and 55¢ is spent reading, and 19 minutes worth 50¢ is dedicated to relaxing. We spend a good chunk of our time, 201 minutes, at home in front of the TV, which is costing up to $5.23 per day.
Now let’s see how much that empty apartment is costing you when you’re on the go. Working for 534 minutes a day costs $13.90. When you are at the gym or playing hoops for 61 minutes, it’s costing $1.59. That 20 minutes spent socializing is worth 52¢, and commuting at the average U.S. commute time of 25.4 minutes is costing 66¢. Even the 3.3 minutes spent parking adds up to 9¢ every day.
These figures vary with college students, who spend 198 minutes — that breaks down to $5.15 — in the classroom, 144 minutes worth $3.74 working, 522 minutes worth $13.59 to sleep in a bit more and 48 minutes worth $1.25 on grooming each day.
So if you are paying approximately 2.6¢ per minute to stay at your apartment, why not make the most of your experience. You could save by doing your laundry on site at your complex for only $2.15 per load, compared to going to a laundromat and spending $3.12 a load. Why pay for the typical gym membership fee of $55 a month when you could use the amenities in your apartment, such as the gym or swimming pool. For the first time, Americans are now spending more on eating out at bars and restaurants, $54.9 billion, than they are on groceries, $52.5 billion. On top of that, millennials are spending $174 on eating out per month, compared to the non-millennials who spend $153 on eating out. We encourage you to take advantage of your outdoor patios and grilling amenities by investing in groceries and eating in. It will make your food budget go further.