Source: The Daily Economy
by Michael Munger
“[Adam] Smith discussed how households decide what to make for themselves, and what to buy in the marketplace. The paradox is that it can cost much more to make something yourself, if someone else can make it more cheaply. You may have had this experience yourself. To ‘save money,’ I decided to grow tomatoes. I spent a lot of money and time preparing the ground and cultivating the plants, and then spraying bugs and trying to prevent rot when it rained too much. My wife calculated the total costs, including my time, and to this day laughingly refers to my ‘$100 tomatoes.’ I didn’t save money at all; in fact, by making the thing instead of buying it, I lost both the expense of the making, and the value of whatever I could have been doing instead. Smith recognized that the principle is very general, and extends beyond the household.” (05/14/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/make-or-buy-the-100-tomato/