One way to buy happiness

Think about these chores for a few moments:

• Mowing the lawn (including all the edging work)
• Doing the weekly grocery shopping
• Thoroughly cleaning all the bathrooms
• Writing thank you notes after your wedding
• Moving to a new house

If you had the extra money, which of those chores would you pay someone else to do for you?

We all have chores that we truly hate, however, most of us just do them anyway, because we are sure that they build character or show some sort of responsibility or are a sign of adulthood. But, it turns out, that we might be immensely happier if we paid someone else to do chores for us.

Think about your time and what it is worth: We are constantly trying to determine how much value to put on our time, and chores definitely fit into that mindset. I've thought about this a lot and always come back with the question of: Why pay someone to do something I could just do myself? Maybe I need to think about this with the question of: How would I spend that free time instead of doing that chore?

But then - oh no - the Mommy guilt comes trickling in. Aren't I supposed to be a good role model for my son? Aren't I supposed to show him the value of hard work and chores and how they build character (or whatever) and there is an importance in knowing how to do things on your own?

So, I have to ask others now: Do you think it is better for your children to see you value your time over money or for them to see you take responsibility for your own work?

Tell me your answer to the parental conundrum in the comments.