I think the notion of the time and value of time is being drawn out incorrectly. Time and money are both costs, whether they represent realized or unrealized costs. Said concisely, reloading is most cost effective for those who have the time to give to the process. For those that don't have the time to give to the process but who have money, purchasing ammo is more cost effective.
With that said, when I hear most folks tell me how much ammo they can reload in just a small amount of time and tell me how inexpensive it is, they don't ever really seem to give me accurate assessments of their time investment. Except for a couple of benchrest guys I have met, I don't know any that show all new materials. So, there are several time aspects involved in procuring and preparing raw materials.
1. There is the scrounge time of collecting brass off the ground at the range.
2. ...brass sorting time (which may be done at the range)
3. ...brass grading (which may be done at the range)
4. ...brass depriming
5. ...brass cleaning
6. ...brass inspection
Then comes the process of the actual reloading once the raw material brass has been processed.
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In any case, reloading isn't about saving money. It's about using the best possible ammo in your firearms.
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I really liked this quote. I honestly can't say that I know anyone outside of benchrest competition who reloads because they want the best possible ammunition for their firearms. Nearly everybody I know does it to save money and/or because they enjoy it. Those that reload practice ammo are usually NOT shooting the best possible ammo for their guns.