The Price of Aggravation

During our ice storm clean up last spring I suffered a small cut in my right rear lawn tractor tire. It resulted in a slow air leak that would leave the tire soft after a couple of days. I used some tire plugs to try and plug the leak but because it was a cut I couldn't stop the leak completely. So I decided that instead of having the leak repaired I would simply air up the tire when I need the tractor using my trusty old air compressor. I did this for about four or five months. However it was an aggravation to back my tractor up to the garage, start the compressor and air up the tire. It didn't take long, but I do like convenience.

This Saturday I decided to see if I could get the tire fixed, or replaced. I have suffered enough aggravation. The end result was I took it to a tire repair center where they put a tube in the tire for me. Now the tire maintains pressure and the problem is solved for now. The cost was $20.50 to have a new tube mounted in the tire. Now one has to wonder, how much is my time worth? Insurance companies and the IRS say my time is worth zero, zip, nada. So then how much to fire up the compressor, a few cents, lets say $0.05, that means I could could air up my tire 410 times before I spent $20.50. If I used the tractor twice a week that means I could go 205 weeks before I hit break even. Almost four years before I reached the cost of having a tube installed, and I still have an old tire. Hmmm, what price aggravation???