Working at home has been a revolution in lifestyles and expenses for modern professionals. You've cut the commute, the gas prices, the lunch orders and the shopping stops on the way home. You can set your thermostat, set up your office however you want, and now - it's time to think about costs.
At-home professionals have had more than a few months to explore cost-saving techniques, and today, we're here to share some of the best tips and tricks for reducing your expenses while working from home.
1) Making Your Own Coffee
Do you know how much you have spent on coffee in the past few years? It may not seem like a lot, but if your routine is to go grab a $4 latte every day then you end up spending $80-$100 on coffee in just a single month.
When you work at home, consider investing in a nice machine for yourself. You can brew the perfect cup of coffee, mix in just the right amount of creamer, and only pay bulk grocery store prices for your beans, milk, and sugar.
Become the barista you always wanted to be!
2) Creatively Sourced Office Furniture
Office furniture can cost hundreds of dollars to supply a home office, but it doesn't have to. There are tons of ways to find free, or nearly free, office furniture and to build a pretty swank home office without dipping into your personal budget. Not only do many employers offer a home office furnishing stipend, but there are also local swap groups that will connect you with anyone who has perfectly good office furniture they don't need anymore - free or low-cost if you'll come pick it up.
You can even refurbish old kitchen tables (wood tables are sturdier than flimsy pressed-board desks), or build your own desks out of other furniture if you're handy and already have a workshop at home.
Let your pinterest board lessons finally have its day in the sun!
3) Reduce Your Car Insurance Use-Based Rates
Many car insurance providers now adjust rates based on use. All you have to do is plug in an OBD II device (about palm-sized) into a port under your steering wheel for a month or two. The device picks up that you don't drive to work anymore and your rates lower. After the controversy about car insurance during the lockdowns, remote workers continue to benefit from these policies that can cut your car insurance to a fraction. If one car in the household is going almost unused, you can switch to the minimum insurance permitted by your state laws and auto loan.
4) Dress More Comfortably
Staying sharp and business casual takes money and - for many - being near shops during the day can inspire shopping. Dressing more comfortably when working at home is an all-time perk that every remote and hybrid working professional acknowledges - but it can also save you money.
Investing in business casual-looking activewear combines sleek cuts that look good on webcams with comfortable (and far more washable) fabrics at a typically lower price per outfit. Stocking your closet with clothes you enjoy wearing that are good enough for a web meeting can save you hundreds (maybe thousands) every year on more formal fabrics. Not to mention the savings on combining work, casual, and workout clothes into a single outfit set.
5) Get Reimbursed for Work-Related Expenses
If your household has any expenses exclusively because you work from home, you can often expense these with your employer. Many employers are required to provide reimbursement for business costs offloaded onto employees. For example, if you need to buy high-speed internet for your house or if you are required to buy a printer to complete your job, these are business expenses you can typically get reimbursed for.
Solopreneur or otherwise self-employed professionals have another option: all business expenses can be categorized as tax exemptions if properly documented as you make the purchases.
6) Box Your Lunches from the Grocery Store
You can also save on restaurant food - hundreds every month and thousands every year. The need to eat lunch, and sometimes dinner, at the office often inspires meal orders, group orders, or ducking out to the nearest cafe on breaks. This is not the most cost-efficient way to feed yourself, but not everyone is built for box lunches.
At home, you don't have to settle. Doing a big cook-up early in the week can make it easy to stock up your lunch and dinner supplies all week long - at the cost of simple groceries purchased in bulk. Make a stack of sandwiches or wraps to eat all week- or indulge in reheating delicious dinners like soups and lasagna squares freely using your own stove, oven, and clean microwave.
7) Cut Your Cell Phone Data Plan
Most professionals are used to maxing out their data plans in order to make sure they have wifi and browsing capabilities away from home. But you don't leave home as often or for as long anymore - which means you can hook your phone to the home's wifi network and cut that expensive data charge. In fact, now that so many teams are moving to video calls and chat platforms instead of using phones, you can likely cut your call minutes and your total plan size down to a fraction of what it was before - and switch with everyone else to the cloud.
8) Oversee Your At-Work Childcare
Childcare has always been a major expense for parents who commute. But now, you have a whole different set of options. While you may still need at-home childcare while you work (you can't fill out reports and feed a toddler at the same time) you can also oversee at-home childcare and find ways to cut expenses. Instead of a full-time daycare, you can hire a babysitter for specific hours or help your oldest children step into the role for a much more affordable boost in their allowance.
Some remote professionals partner with other nearby at-home parents to watch the shared pack of children as a community using a rotation.
9) Sign Up for Of-the-Month Boxes of Office and Home Supplies
If you need a steady shipment of office supplies to support your at-home work - don't let the expenses grow into a serious budget. One neat trick is to use "of the month club" or subscription box services designed for office supplies. You can get pens, folders, paper products, printer ink cartridges, and other goodies at a discount if you pre-build your box or accept some whimsical randomness.
10) Skip the Gym for Holistic At-Home Workouts
Last but not least, you can cancel that costly gym membership. Going to the gym is a ritual many people dropped in the last few years in favor of an at-home approach. Setting up a free weights and/or yoga station at home costs as much (or less) than a year's gym membership, while your local park's nature walk likely has several outdoor workout machines available for free public use.
Take a walk or a run, take a swim, or challenge members of your family to jump-rope endurance or hula hooping contests and get fit together - for free.
Working at home promises many different opportunities to save on typical costs and get creative with your household savings as well. For more great insights on how to get creative with your money savings, explore mph.bank today!
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