All of your activities in the garden could be used for some other occupation that earns more dollars per hour. Your barn could be used to rent out to others. Just because you don't write checks doesn't mean the costs are not there.
Dear Lord, you are absolutely dense, aren't you????????
Did you even bother to read what I wrote??????? I am a FULL TIME STAY AT HOME MOM.......that earns me NOTHING monetarily. Are you suggesting that I should be out in the workforce earning money and paying someone else to take care of my child instead of being home saving money and teaching my daughter valuable skills?
You are an absolute lunatic if you think that I should be doing something else to earn money. But you're a money man and have absolutely no understanding of the intangibles that are worth far more to some people than the almighty dollar.
Rent out my barn? You need to get a clue. Not write checks? I write plenty - I know exactly what my costs are for everything I do. I may not have the letters "CPA" after my name, but my accountant asked me why I bothered having her do my taxes this year because I already had everything organized properly - to me it was worth paying her to do the 2 states and fed and file them for me. Just like like it is worth more to me to have my child home with me and work in my garden than it is to have a paying job and have her in daycare.