With that being said, my $50/hr figure is a full-employment all-things-considered figure. In fact if someone is a freelancer, their invoice rate is likely twice or thrice that rate. But my figure even takes downtime into account.
If you’re making $50/hr, then 4 hours of work time spent troubleshooting a router is not worth it financially. It’s also up to you decide whether it’s worth it emotionally or spiritually.
How so? If I come into work (self employed) and have no Internet access I immediately start losing money (double if you count both people in my office). If I have to debug my own hardware, possibly drive to Staples to buy new hardware - I lose even more money, not to mention the cost of new hardware.
My only recourse is to eliminate some personal time with my family and replace with more business time to make up for the losses.
I don't see how this calculation makes buying my own hardware more economically attractive.
Where you mention cutting into personal time with family is precisely what I mentioned when I said the opportunity costs aren’t monetary when at full employment. If that non monetary opportunity cost is too high then one should rent the modem.