I did my dishes by hand for years after moving out; on my own, it was just once a week, took about 20-30 minutes.

Now I own a house and have a small (3 person, 4 animal) household, and the thing runs daily. To me it makes a ton of difference; to the family I wouldn't be able to rely on the others, because the one is a teenage child and the other has debilitating joint problems.

I'd rather load / run / unload the thing every day than do things by hand again.