Many people dream of working from their own home. There are many advantages to doing so. Whether you want to work from home to set up your own business, to escape the tension and drama of the workplace, to change your career, or for other reasons you can also save money by doing so.
Childcare costs a great deal. Most working parents do not get home in time to collect school age children from school and younger children need care all day. You may be able to save some or all of your present childcare expenses. You will be able to juggle your work around your children’s needs, e.g. if you have school aged children you could work whilst they are at school and if you have young children you could perhaps send them to the child minder or nursery only when you need uninterrupted work time.
Travelling each day to work costs money, train and bus fares or motoring costs, petrol, wear and tear on your vehicle et cetera all add up to a lot of money. By working at home, you will not have this expense. You may be able to claim some working at home expenses off your taxes, office supplies and other items, you should check with the tax authorities in your country.
You will also save money on food by working from home, whether you have your lunch in the works canteen, grab a sandwich, or go out to a local café or restaurant for lunch it all adds up. When you work at home, you can make a healthy, tasty lunch in your own kitchen, which will be much cheaper than anything you can buy ready made.
Most workplaces require a particular dress standard. When you work at home, you can work in casual clothes. Business suits, dresses, skirts and blouses for the office are expensive over time, as are shoes for the office. When you work at home, you need far fewer special clothes, only perhaps for meeting clients, and you can wear casual clothes for every day working.
Working at home saves you commuting time it also saves you money. How can having extra time save you money? Instead of grabbing convenience food in the shop on your way home or arriving home late and ordering in take away, you will have the time to prepare food for the family. Invest in a slow cooker, you can prepare a casserole in the morning and leave the slow cooker to simmer away whilst you work at home. Slow cookers do not use much electricity, they mean that you can use the cheaper cuts of meat and you can feel very virtuous as you earn money whilst the family’s dinner is cooking.
Working from home can save you a great deal of money in so many ways. Even if your salary is less than you earn by going out to work you may find, when you actually look at the figures and calculate what it costs you to go to work, that working from home means that you will actually be financially better off. It might persuade you to chase your dream of beginning your business or work at home career.