I had similar problems with the whole setup. Given A) you have no repercussions for your actions and B) the money can't make up for the action, the setup seemed to have nothing whatsoever to do with the real world. Example:

How much would it take for me to listen to loud music for 24 hours? Realistically, it would throw off my sleep schedule, so I'd need to take enough money to offset the impact on my work performance, and make up for the extra day off. But I'm supposed to think that the choice wouldn't impact my sleep schedule or work performance, and furthermore I can't use the money to make up for any time lost. So I'm left without any standard for comparison.