September 11, 2026

Why TimeCost divides spending by 720 hours

30 × 24 = 720 is not a physical law — it is one ruler for comparing months, people, and countries.

720 hours — 30 days × 24 hours — TimeCost
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One of the first questions after a TimeCost result: Why 720? Months have 28 to 31 days. Because 720 is not a claim that every calendar month has exactly 30 days. It is a standard unit of measure.

The formula

Formula
30 days × 24 hours = 720

30 days × 24 hours = 720

If monthly spending is €2,160: €2,160 ÷ 720 = €3 per hour You could use 730 hours — roughly the calendar average. You could use actual days each month. Then the same life would look “more expensive per hour” in February than in January — just because of the calendar. For TimeCost that is noise. We need one scale to compare months, people, and countries.

How far is 720 from the calendar average?

Not much — about one and a half percent. At €2,160 spending:

  • with 720 hours you get €3.00/hour;
  • with ~730 calendar-average hours, about €2.96/hour.

That gap matters for accounting. For “what does one hour of my life cost on average” — practically not.

What does a €15 purchase mean?

At a €3 burn rate, €15 is what your lifestyle spends on average in about 5 hours.

Read it that way. 720 is not a law of physics. It is a ruler. What matters is using the same ruler every time.

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