Seven Areas You Can Save Money With Remote Work

If you work remotely or work from home, there are several places you can save money. If you’ve been working from home for some time, you probably know what these areas are, but you might not have realized these savings yet if you’ve started working from home. I’ll cover several places you can save money in your budget when you work from home.

Commuting and Transportation

I love working from home because I don’t have to deal with traffic or the costs associated with driving to and from a brick-and-mortar job every day. Yes, it means I spend less time talking to people, but to me, the money I save on transportation costs is worth it.

In 2021, there are other ways you can communicate with employees, such as through conference calls or conferencing apps like Skype and Zoom.

Lunches

When you work outside the home, you have to pay extra to buy lunch somewhere unless you choose to bring your lunch with you. If you work from home, you can prepare your lunch at your convenience and use your kitchen and food. This way, you save more money than you realize. A sandwich can cost up to $8 in some places. If you cook from home, you could spend less than that for a whole meal.

Phone Data

You probably have a smartphone that has a data plan, so you can use the internet when you’re out of the house and talk to the people who are important to you. You might also be using your phone when you’re bored at work.

You can cut down on this plan when working from home since you’re connected to your home Wifi.

That means you can look at your phone bill and find a lower-cost plan that gets you better value. There is the potential to save hundreds of dollars a year or more, depending on your current deal.

This won't have a direct effect on how you work, but it could make you less anxious about making business calls since you won’t need to worry about money as much.

Tax Breaks

You may find that you save money when paying taxes too. If you work as an employee, your employer pays your taxes, but you may be able to write some things off if your employer doesn’t reimburse you for them.

You may also be able to take advantage of other tax breaks depending on where you live. Certain states, such as Alabama, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Minnesota, New York, and Pennsylvania, provide deductions for unreimbursed employee business expenses on their state income tax returns. If you live in one of these states and work from home, you may be able to take advantage of these deductions.

If you work primarily from home, you can take the home office tax deduction on your tax return in the US.

Gym Memberships

Considering how much time you will spend at home, you may not need the gym subscription you’re paying a fortune for. You can work out from home using YouTube videos or workouts offered on other websites. If your schedule allows, you can also get out and walk in different areas around your neighborhood.

If you still want to work with a personal trainer or go to exercise classes, you can use Zoom or other platforms. Some are free, and others are not. In either case, you won’t have to pay as much for a gym membership and won’t have to pay for gas and other costs associated with it.

Coffee and Drinks

You’ll also save money because you won’t be purchasing as much coffee when you’re out and about. Depending on your drink preference, you could spend as much as $10 to $20 a week, and that’s assuming you only have one a day.

In some cases, people spend more than that every year, when they could drink one cup of coffee at home before they leave for work. Of course, working from home makes it even easier because you can choose when you have your coffee during the day and drink more than you could before.

You’ll also save money on other drinks. Buying a bottle of water or a soda can cost you a lot more than you realize.

Haircuts and Makeup

A lot of people feel pressured to look a certain way, especially when they go to work. This means they spend a great deal of money on new clothes, cosmetics, and hair treatments so they can look their best and keep up with society’s expectations.

When you work remotely, there’s less pressure. That doesn’t mean you can sit in your pajamas and not look after yourself, but you don’t have to go all out either. These days, it’s essential to be comfortable, with no pressure on what you want to do. It comes down to personal preferences for work-from-home outfits.

These are a few ways you can save money working remotely. When you see how much you're saving, think of ways you could use that money - could you take a trip or make some improvements in your home? Start making some goals for things you want to do with the money you’re saving working remotely.