Work, Relax, Outsource Everything Else?



That's the wisdom of Naval Ravikant for becoming wealthy. Really. I take that to mean that you'd go to work, and instead of spending your free time cooking, cleaning, doing home repairs, sitting through a stressful commute, etc., you'd pay someone else to that all that for you. How would that work out in real life? I'll include meals, housekeeping, lawn mowing, and repairs & maintenance on the house. I won't include taking a cab or Uber to work because in all honesty, I usually enjoy my commute, even though it's long.


  • Eating out three times every day: $25/day => $9,125/year
  • Housekeeping: $50/week => $2,600/year
  • Lawn mowing: $20/week (35 weeks per year) => $700/year
  • Repairs & maintenance: $500/year


Grand total: $12,925 per year.

Ouch! After taxes and a substantial 401(k) contribution, that's almost half my take-home pay. How do you get wealthy by the modern equivalent of supporting a houseful of servants? (That's what I think every time I see a movie about a genteel family fallen on hard times: why don't they let the servants go?)

In fairness, Ravikant says you can spend your time earning money, not just relaxing. How could I earn $13,000 more per year? Not through my current employer, who never has any overtime for me. I can't think of any "side hustle" I'd be good at, unless I wanted to write articles after working at a computer all day. I'd be looking at a weekend or evening job, probably paying the going rate around here of $15 an hour. To make $15,500 ($13,000 after taxes), I'd have to work 1,032 hours a year, or over 20 hours per week. Seriously--is it worth working 60 hours per week (half of it at a low-paying job) just to avoid cooking, cleaning, mowing the lawn, and occasionally swinging a hammer? All on my own schedule and to my own satisfaction? So much for relaxing! 

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