Five Ways To Save Money When Working From Home

One silver lining from the past few years is that more companies are allowing their staff to work remotely, or at least partially from home. People proved that working from home was still productive and the job could be done. Plus it gave everyone a better work, life balance which is why a lot of companies have carried it on. I know for certain that I’d never apply for a job in the future that required me to be office based anything more than 2 or maybe 3 days a week.

Ways to save money when working from home

There are of course both advantages and disadvantages to working from home, both from a financial perspective which I’ll talk about, but also from a mental perspective. It can be quite lonely working from home, especially if you also live on your own. So it’s important to try and get that personal interaction. Not only via zoom calls or meetings, but by going out or socialising around work.

Personally I’d say both the financial and other perks massively outweigh the benefits. Especially when I still go into the office occasionally so I see my lovely team in person.

Commuting costs

I did a whole post on how to save money when commuting via train, but commuting still costs. Whether that’s fares on public transport, fuel for your car, or even repairs on your bike if you cycle. For most people commuting will cost us something, and by working from home this cost is eliminated.

It’s not just the immediate costs if you drive into work. But if you are driving your car less than chances are you’ll have less maintenance like tyre and break replacements. Plus you also save the time of commuting, which means you can spend more time on yourself, and doing the things that make you happy. Because let’s face it commuting isn’t fun.

Working from home saves on eating out

On the days I go into the office I can easily spend £10 on breakfast, lunch, drinks, snacks etc. And that’s without going overboard or going out for a proper lunch which could cost a lot more. Luckily there aren’t too many places within walking distance of our office so the options have been removed. But if I worked in London I’d spend so much money on different eating out.

When I’m working from home I can buy what I need for lunches during my weekly shop. And being at home means I know it will get eaten. The number of times I’ve taken my own food into an office and then left it in favour of buying food. One way you can save money on eating at home is to over make dinners and have leftovers for lunch. Nothing is wasted then, and all you have to do is warm up your lunch.

By eating at home I do also find eating out or treating myself as a bit of a novelty now.

Coffee

Now I’m not a coffee drinker myself so this doesn’t directly apply to me. But if you’re not commuting/ spending time in the office you’re not getting takeaway coffees which could save you thousands of pounds. Even just one coffee before work, and one during the day could cost you £7-8 a day.

If you’re working from home a lot you may have invested in a good at home coffee maker which has probably paid for itself already. Or you may have just gotten used to homemade coffee. Being able to avoid any temptation from coffee shops is a great advantage of being at home.

Clothes and makeup

I would never go into work without a full face of makeup. Not only was it not great for my skin, but I also was regularly buying new makeup when things ran out. But when I’m working from home I do not wear makeup, even though we almost always use video calls. Because in reality you can’t really tell through a computer screen as to whether someone is wearing makeup.

You can also save a lot of money on clothes as there’s no conscious thought about wanting new items for work. Especially true if your work attire/ dress code is different from what you usually wear. When I’m working from home I don’t mind rewearing clothes more regularly as I know people aren’t seeing me in person. And I tend to wear a lot of lounge pants/ jogging bottoms because they’re comfortable.

I have also noticed that my shoes aren’t wearing out anywhere near as much. And that’s because I’m barely wearing shoes during thew week as I’m working from home. I wear them if I pop out on a walk at lunch, or go out after work. But when I was in the office they’d be on for 10+ hours a day.

Working from home saves on gym memberships

I don’t know about you but I much prefer working out at home. No one else can see me and I can do it when ever I want. But when I wasn’t working from home I’d pay a regular gym membership cost which I didn’t use as much as I’d like. But since exercising at home I have kept up with it so much more and I actually enjoy it.

I have the Peloton Bike which is quite an expensive piece of equipment, but for me it’s worth it. But you can easily create an at-home station without throwing too much cash at it.

Some of the disadvantages of working from home

• Higher utility costs- with these on the rise it’s certainly something to bear in mind, so make sure to renegotiate your utility costs with your electricity supplier as well as your Viasat internet provider to agree to a cheaper plan – if at all possible. At the moment you may not notice it as much, but when it’s colder and you need to heat your space it may go up. If you have a space to work in that you can close the door, think about just heating that room when it’s cold so you’re not heating a whole house/ flat.
• You spend more on groceries- you’ll probably find your food shopping bill will go up. While this is likely to be less than the amount you’d spend eating out you will spend more on the regular.
• You may need to update your internet connection- if yours is slow you may need to upgrade. Thankfully our connection has always been pretty good, but this isn’t always the case.
• Office supplies- I know a lot of offices have helped people out over the past few years with desks/ chairs etc, but you may need to spend out to upgrade things. Or it might be that you need to use a personal printer, or supplies like pens/ post it notes.

Do you work from home?