Changing your job can save you money. And I don’t mean getting a raise, I mean changing your work style. Working from home can save you major money over the course of a year if you do it correctly.
How working from home (WFH) saves money
No commuting. Less wear and tear on your car and less gas expense. No train or bus fare. Just move from your bed to your office area, and you’re ready to work. This alone, depending on how far you typically had to commute to your office, can save you $2,000 or more per year.
Less eating out. All those grease truck lunches, pizza runs and Starbucks coffees add up quick. No more peer pressure to go out to the burger joint for lunch, no more chipping in for Chinese takeout. Instead, you can have healthier, cheaper meals in the comfort of home. You don’t have to cook daily either. With proper planning, you can cook in bulk and divide into portions that can be heated quickly and ready in minutes.
Try cooking in bulk based on what’s on sale that week. If chicken is on sale this week, buy a large pack and roast, air fry, or pressure cook the chicken. Then, during the week, you can change it up and have chicken burritos one day, chicken salad the next, chicken and roasted veggies another, and so on.
You can save a $100 or more a month just by eliminating your office based eating out habit.
A smaller wardrobe. When working from home, you won’t need to keep up a rotation of “work only” clothes and shoes constantly. A single set of comfy sweats or jeans and tees will do the trick. Plus, any dry cleaning bills go away, just like that.
No just for work items. You know that cardigan you bought for work because it’s always too cold in the office? Or that cushion for your office chair because it’s not comfortable? Or your special work all day shoes? All of those things and the expense to acquire them go away. Working from home, you can choose the comfiest chair, completely control the temperature, and your bare feet or slippers are your wear all day footwear.
A less expensive home or apartment. If you work exclusively from home, you can practice geographic arbitrage and choose to live in a cheaper location. Just moving 30 minutes away from the city center can save you $300 or more a month in rent without sacrificing apartment amenities. Home prices drop as well as you move further out from the city centers. Or you can change states completely and opt for a lower cost-of-living state and save big on housing costs.
How to get a work from home job
Since the pandemic, landing a 100% remote work from home job is easier. Don’t get discouraged. Work from home jobs are out there for every experience and educational level. Work from home isn’t just for IT anymore. There are WFH call center jobs, administrative assistant jobs, accounting jobs, marketing specialist jobs, and, of course, the traditional IT and programmer jobs.
No need to spend money to find a WFH job. Those websites that promise “exclusive” postings are generally a waste of money. Start your search with Glassdoor and LinkedIn. Both sites are free to use and have robust search features that allow you to filter job results for remote positions only.
I would recommend joining both sites, as some jobs may be posted on one site but not on the other. Glassdoor is definitely a must use, because along with the important filter and search features it also allows you to see employee submitted company reviews, which can help you avoid companies with toxic cultures.